We just launched this as a Kickstarter. It's a simple silicone keyboard cover plus Apple keyboard layout installer. Thanks for any feedback or help getting the word out there. It's a wacky video, but we have been using the prototypes for a while, and for emoji lovers, it's a useful tool!
I have used FOBO as a customer and a seller, pretty amazing on both ends. I really think that adding in payment support as an option in Yardsale would have helped boost that platform a ton. Perhaps if FOBO succeeds the team will circle back and give yardsale another serious go with everything they're learning from this project.
just really hard to turn down opportunities which don't even seem that difficult to achieve, and customers asking so much for so many things i want to give them to make THEM happy :-) plus the goal of wanting to actually have some more impact in the space. As an entrepreneur the success of the company quickly blurs so much with having an impact in the world, whether thats true or not... i feel it. Plus, i owe it to my company to keep us growing. We all want to share in on this success. I have actually not even taken a real salary yet, and was never really in this for the money.
sound advice, thanks a bunch. i just threw the executive titles out there since i think that's where they would ideally lead to, and i don't exactly know how to speak to the people we are looking for to help us. I will read the medium post you linked now! if you are ever in the bay area, hit me up, id love to meet for coffee.
Just to add to the general chorus, what you really want are good consultants (or coaches, depending on your vernacular) for the specific problems you're facing. Crossing your fingers and letting a new CTO or CEO figure out the big picture for you is attractive, sure, but the risks are too high.
After you've filled in the blanks, you'll feel much more comfortable, and at that point make some hires to deal with those specific business areas, while still maintaining overall control. As others have said, you guys are doing something right or you wouldn't be in this position in the first place.
If I was over in SF, I'd love to help you out, but I'm based in Sydney.
I think Paul's advice is sound... get consultants/coaches, but keep the leadership !!
I don't have a company myself, but some people I know who do have had a lot of success linking up with the local university's Business programs (MBAs, or in my case a Master's in Management of Technology)... many professors have consultancy businesses on the side, and you can also draw on the students' abilities - for example, as a student, I got assigned to a 2M/year company, they gave us insider access and, with the teachers' guidance, we gave them a free consultancy.
I also recommend a Master's in Management (MOT or an MBA), running a company yourself you'll get a lot of value out of it. I see many California universities offer one (MOT or similar), maybe there's a graduate here on Hacker News who can recommend one.
Going with the "get good consultants/coaches" - if the coaches/consultants are good, and a good fit, then see if you can bring them on board.
Traditional "interview and put in place" hiring strategies are built around the needs of traditional large organisations with massive amounts of existing organisational momentum and plenty of time to recover from mistakes or retrain duff hires.
Small fast-moving companies don't have those advantages, and shouldn't hire that way. You're obviously innovative - don't forget to apply that creativity to your business processes.
yeah, i mean, i know what i;m doing by following instinct... but really at this scale... all decisions seem wrong. we truly have no one in the company who has been here before, and that is a problem.
> we truly have no one in the company who has been here before, and that is a problem.
I have bad news: Nobody has been there before.
Perhaps they have managed $10M rev companies before, but they haven't managed your $10M company. No matter what, the prescription is going to be the same:
1. Make serious, solid decisions,
2. Get some of the right
3. Get some of them wrong
4. Course-correct the wrong ones.
I'm taking a wild guess here, but is there any chance the real problem is that you are a bunch of friends? ie, that there is no one with final authority? If so, that will not be solved with a hire.
Anyway, good luck. We should all have such high-quality problems. (btw, currently bootstrapped to 1/10th your number. Prior company founded was an $80M VC-funded company.)
one of your challenges is that at this point, anyone who is interested in helping you, is also the kind of person who wants to get rich off of your hard work (aka ownership in your company). not to say that they won't work hard themselves, but incentives are incentives.
just be careful when you talk to private equity, investment banking and growth capital folks and do not give up ownership of your business easily, if at all.
if they haven't hit you up yet, they certainly will after your posting this. like moths to a flame, they will appear. or maybe wolves to a kill. or vultures.
be especially suspicious of companies that wish to incorporate your firm before you're ready.
also beware of competitors or "consulting firms" calling you up to find out more about your firm for the purposes of a "purchase or partnership" who really just want to squeeze out as much info about you as they can before never calling back.
either way make sure you have good legal representation.
wow, you totally called it! already got on the phone with someone wanting to take things over and do crazy things. shady people ;-) Thanks, i'll be careful. appreciate the advice. I've kept close control thus far and have not wanted to raise money. Hope the right person might come into the picture. Already happy to get a couple genuine emails. cheers!
What you're looking for is a mentor, not a hire. You need someone who's been around the block to give you pointers and illuminate your blind spots. You're clearly doing very, very well already and should be proud of it. Don't let yourself feel like an impostor. You're not. You've earned your success.
It would be ingenious to advertise job postings where you claim to be incompetent. It would appear to hard workers as one of those truly rare opportunities they simply can't miss and start lining up.
My company, SocialPrintStudio.com is looking for a lead designer. we are a small bootstrapped (profitable!) startup in the heart of SF, looking for someone who can work directly with me (the founder) to guide all design efforts across many awesome projects. This will be a hands on and all around awesome opportunity to join a small company while growing. The right candidate will grow our design team and bring a strong aesthetic and voice into our mix and push us all to the next level. Your starting pay will be between 4-6k monthly DOE, and we can offer health plus other benefits and up to 3% equity stake in a company doing over 2 million revenue a year and growing. I'll say it again, JOIN US, or at least get in touch and see what we're about and what we are up to.
ok, thats it for now. check our site and email me directly: ben@socialprintstudio.com
