Does anyone else dislike the "Startup" community?

[Shepherd]

I live in Louisville as well eliquid, and I roll my eyes everytime the news promotes these startup events, usually during the "business" section of the newscast. Fischer (Louisville's mayor) is always there for his camera time and it's usually in NULU (the hipster area of Louisville). I watch and listen and in my head, all I am thinking is: there's a slowlaner, there's another slowlaner and oh, suprise, there's a sidewalker. It's all about keeping up appearances and making the city look like it's trending with upward mobility and progress. Whatever let's 'em sleep at night.

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[/QUOTE]
I'm in the Louisville area as well and get invited to "meetups" every couple weeks. As a redneck with little interest in overpriced cocktails, I tend to steer clear.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Okay I found some pics of a "Startup Incubator" in Isla-Vista. If you didnt know where that is, its in Santa Barbara aka UCSB (Party Central University)...

These pictures are epic:

"Lets lounge around to greatness they said"
View attachment 16782

As I mentioned, startup-incubators include way to many distractions and promote the idea of well: Have a great idea? Build it with us! <-- Without validating it of-course!

LOL, now that picture is just screaming INNOVATION and DISRUPTION! Definitely the next Facebook is being built there.

. It's this whole "Being an entrepreneur is cool" generation.

That means it's time for me to retire... again.

Here's another great piece of work. Holacracy. Makes me want to holacry.

View attachment 16788

Much prefer the "productocracy" ... its easier to sell.

 

[Beijing]

I still don't get why many peeople go to the startup events while they can focus on taking action and working instead of attending events..

I went to one such startup event (a dinner and poorly planned "group discussion") and that was enough for me.

The people were friendly and it wasn't a terrible option for some casual socializing, but as far as business goes, there wasn't any value that I could see myself extracting from attending the group's weekly meet-ups.

I have a plan, I spend well over a dozen hours each week making forward progress on a product that is almost complete and I don't need funding or advice at present from people who aren't experts in my industry. I showed around some product samples and all they had to tell me was "wow, good job." If they'd been capable of critiquing my product and pointing out flaws that could be improved upon, I probably would have returned to the next event.

For me, the most valuable thing right now (aside from putting the work in) is showing my prototypes to my target customers and getting feedback that I can act on. Entrepreneur meet-up groups don't offer me or my business any value.

 

[ZF Lee]

I went to one such startup event (a dinner and poorly planned "group discussion") and that was enough for me.

The people were friendly and it wasn't a terrible option for some casual socializing, but as far as business goes, there wasn't any value that I could see myself extracting from attending the group's weekly meet-ups.

I have a plan, I spend well over a dozen hours each week making forward progress on a product that is almost complete and I don't need funding or advice at present from people who aren't experts in my industry. I showed around some product samples and all they had to tell me was "wow, good job." If they'd been capable of critiquing my product and pointing out flaws that could be improved upon, I probably would have returned to the next event.

For me, the most valuable thing right now (aside from putting the work in) is showing my prototypes to my target customers and getting feedback that I can act on. Entrepreneur meet-up groups don't offer me or my business any value.

Well, I am sure there must be some legitimate meetups around with people who are doing the actual stuff.

Or you might not need a group...you find some individuals here and there who have some good insights, and eventually you put the pieces together. I do that! I do not depend solely on one group or person for intel or feedback.

Good entrepreneurial meetups are most likely to have higher entry barriers. Look for them.

Now to think of it, there's a business association meeting up in my hometown every morning at 6am. In suits. (Damn, I hate suits, but well, biz is biz)
But at least they seem to talk shop....you are required to do referrals and presentations on your biz offers....I got a hint from a saleswoman friend. But he entry barrier is like a few thousand a month lol....

Yup, you get what you pay for.

And I was looking through for some online meetups last month, one vehemently declared 'no MLMs'. That is another entry barrier put up. I think I should be able to join it next week after my college exams are done.

Ah, the beauty of entry barriers and gatekeepers!

 

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[Beijing]

Well, I am sure there must be some legitimate meetups around with people who are doing the actual stuff.

Or you might not need a group...you find some individuals here and there who have some good insights, and eventually you put the pieces together. I do that! I do not depend solely on one group or person for intel or feedback.

There's obviously nothing wrong with someone being involved in something that they draw value from. But one must also learn to separate business value from entertainment value.

The problem with a lot of "entrepreneurial" events is that they are entertainment disguised as value.

At one point, I thought it might be nice to have some people to meet up with a couple times a week to do a work session in a coffee shop together. This might be valuable (I've yet to test it myself), but it also runs the risk of becoming a social activity that actually distracts the participants from doing work. You'd have to be smart (for example, perhaps schedule a four hour session, with 30 minutes at the beginning and end for conversation and then a no conversations rule for the work time) about it if you wanted to ensure that it provided more value than it detracted.

If you're working on a business product and need some advice on how to get past some challenges, the right group might bring you in touch with some people who could help you solve those problems and move forward faster.

With the group I referenced in my story, it was mostly full of wantrepreneurs and not people that would serve a useful purpose if I needed help. That being said, there were a few people that might be worth knowing if I had a certain type of business. However, in my case, although I live in China, my business strategy is to avoid registering a China business (an activity that requires a lot of money and knowledge). If my plan was to open a business it China, this would have been a group that would have been worth investing in because it would probably put me into contact with a few people along the way that would be of value.

My business direction doesn't require that, so there's not much to gain from hanging out with people who are mainly talking about what they "might" do or searching for an idea. At this point in my journey that would only serve as a fairly useless use of my time and I don't have time to spare.

 

[Xeon]

Here's a list of words that I hate:

hack: What does this even mean?

team: Why do I need a team? Is it because I'm not good enough at what I do or my ideas aren't good enough to simply have employees who trade their time for money turning my ideas into reality so that I don't have to sacrifice my own time in exchange for being able to sell great products to grateful consumers? Why do I want my employees to be a part of a team? So that they can disguise their lack of contribution in the confusion that comes with team efforts?

When I see the word hack, I think of growth hacking. Like increasing your sales by 1400%, just like how they always advertise on Facebook lol
And when I think of growth hacking, one name comes to mind. NEIL PATEL (I refuse to fund his supercars, btw) LOL

I hate the word "team". It's one of those overused words in startup culture. Always talk about forming teams to do things.
Some might not agree, but I find teamwork to be causing more issues and poor results than individual effort.

"Teams" are great. In theory. They're great when everyone is on the same page, everyone's skill level matches each other well and collaboration is in perfect-sync.
Problem is, in reality, it just doesn't work that way. Usually in teams, the biggest talker dictates the direction though the idea / execution might be poor, and the rest just follows. Great ideas get buried while the alpha leader's ideas becomes the accepted one. In all the "teams" I've been in, the resulting work is subpar.

 

[TheodoreA]

I dislike the 'startup identity'. Someone coming up with a mediocre idea, taking investors money, executing badly, losing it all and then justifying it because there were "just a startup".

 

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[MoreVolume]

I dislike the 'startup identity'. Someone coming up with a mediocre idea, taking investors money, executing badly, losing it all and then justifying it because there were "just a startup".

from what ive seen (and read) most people think that any business is a startup
there are people with dropshipping and tshirt sites talking about how they run a startup

 

[Beijing]

I dislike the 'startup identity'. Someone coming up with a mediocre idea, taking investors money, executing badly, losing it all and then justifying it because there were "just a startup".

"Fail fast!"

 

[ZF Lee]

from what ive seen (and read) most people think that any business is a startup
there are people with dropshipping and tshirt sites talking about how they run a startup

"Fail fast!"

And that they do....a lot!
Hmm...tell me again why 90% of businesses fail in their first years?

 

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[Andy Black]

Not all newly started businesses are startups:

• Startup = Growth

 

[Dan_Fastlane]

it is sad, the start up folks get milked by the shovel sellers!! isn't it.....

 

[Carol Jones]

A lot of people are in love with the start-up life: sitting around on beanbags, playing fussball or table tennis, paid lunches/snacks/beverages but not a lot of people actually love the grind.

A lot of well-funded startups are just burning through VC cash: bad customer retention, self-organising teams with people that are not capable of self-organising, weekly check-ins to justify your existince/job, and updates filled with vanity metrics such as cumulative account regs.

Good morning @maverick from Oz,

Of course they're in love with the lifestyle. Because endless days travelling. Indulging in a hedonistic lifestyle. Is perpetuated by both those who have made it. And by the media.

Richard Branson kitesurfing with Barack O'Bama. Or at his Necker Island. Or his African safari estates. Or ballooning.

Elon Musk wing walking on a bi-plane.

And how about those lazy days in the Carribean? Before Irma.

The myth is alive and well.

If these 'upstarts' don't read books, they'll never know the truth. That 100 hour weeks is the price. And sacrifice. For 'making it'. And once there, you still can't take your eyes off the ball. Disasters happen in the blink of an eye.

I've no doubt Richard Branson and Elon Musk had their phone in their back pockets when kitesurfing and wing walking. They are never disconnected from their enterprises.

These startups have probably never heard that the only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.

Perhaps the venture capitalists who fund them don't know that either.

I've just finished reading 'The Power Of Broke' by Daymond John. And was dismayed at how much of his own money he has lost backing startups that go nowhere. Having a VC is no guarantee of success.

Hard work. Self-discipline. Consistency. Vision. Will get us all to where we want to be. ~Carol❤

 

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[ZF Lee]

I've just finished reading 'The Power Of Broke' by Daymond John. And was dismayed at how much of his own money he has lost backing startups that go nowhere

Damn....
No wonder Daymond isn't the one to invest frivolously on Shark Tank too! Especially when the offers were Internet based.
Maybe that's why....

 

[Kruiser]

A couple of years ago, I went to a panel discussion hosted by my local startup networking organization. This was before I came across MJ's books. Anyway, one of the speakers was from a local company that is absolutely taking off. He basically started his talk by saying something like "Sorry I haven't been too involved in the 'community.' We've just been too busy growing . . ."

 

[Iammelissamoore]

from what ive seen (and read) most people think that any business is a startup
there are people with dropshipping and tshirt sites talking about how they run a startup

...that's an excellent point there, initially, a start up was indeed a company which started, whether with angel investments OR with money saved to initiate investment capital so it could start on the right foundation and eventually grow throughout the major stages of business until an exit strategy is applied and the individual(s) move on to other ventures. The thing is, the word 'startup' now, is just so much more of a "thing" or a trend, that it feels as if it doesn't have any stickability anymore when used. Indeed, EVERY company, more or less 'started' 'up' in some form or the other - as we got to start somewhere, but, now, the term is just thrown around as if there's no genuine meaning to it.

One of the many terms being thrown around is the whole B.Y.O.B - Be Your Own Boss - all of us on the forum know that, in being our own boss, in the beginning, sure, we'll be the boss, but we're also the janitor, accountant, marketing manager, door man/woman, and we know the moment our eyes are opened until our eyes are closed, we eat and breathe ALL aspects of running the business until we can bring in additional staff to share the workload for continuous and smooth operation.

 

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[valuegiver]

I also dislike the startup events in the country I am living in (Singapore). Mostly the attendance are wantapreneurs. The only successful ones are the speakers ("successful" startup founders, never mind whether they have turned profit or not). It is huge time sink and there's almost no value for anyone who is executing.

 

[Xeon]

I also dislike the startup events in the country I am living in (Singapore). Mostly the attendance are wantapreneurs. The only successful ones are the speakers ("successful" startup founders, never mind whether they have turned profit or not). It is huge time sink and there's almost no value for anyone who is executing.

Blk 71?

 

[RogueInnovation]

My opinion is simple
I don't use rhetoric or fake excitement
Because you either are foundationally solid or you are not
And people lose trust in you when you fidget and jump around

When you sell things, you don't jump around and start juggling
You look at what the person needs an talk with authority in it
And discover what they can do for themselves with you helping out

The startup craze isn't bad, they are just trying to make something fresh that they felt seemed really stale
But after a while people should come back to fundamentals

 

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