who is the crazy one ?

[someguy87]

I have been in a technology startup, trying to start my company. I have been working on a software prototype for past 2 years. last year, the prototype was finished, but investors were not happy with it's performance.

 

I took some time off, mainly being hooked on marijuana for a while.

 

That stopped a few months ago, I am sober and focused.

 

The new software prototype is working good, it's halfway finished, I am feeling good.

 

However, I get home, and my mom just starts yelling at me. Her and my sister tells me I'm a failure and that my business will probably fail.

 

I ask them how the hell would they know, they have no idea the amount of dedication I have put into this project. I am quite hurt.

 

Then they accuse me that I am just killing time, making excuses with this startup, to stay at home and not get a job.

 

After I graduated from university, I did not have success landing a job. I focused on my business, and software development. It's not something easy that has a clear deadline, as there's pitfalls and problems that arise during development.

 

Anyways, they are saying that I will probably do this until I am 30 and die without children. They just scream at me, not even listening or understanding what I try to tell them that I have my own goals, and my goal is to start this company with the product I have been working on my own for the past 2 years.

 

But they won't have it. They tell me to immediately work at some * * * * job like walmart or mcdonalds. I ask why ??? they tell me I am not socializing. Once this company is set up, I will have plenty of people to meet and socialize I assure them, but they keep saying that I am a failure and that probably won't happen.

 

They say I am wasting time on wild dreams. For me, it's not really a crazy thing I am doing. There's a market for it, there's few established firms already at infant stage, which is why I am jumping with both feet as this is an untapped market.

 

I am not afraid of failure, even if I do fail, it doesn't bother me since it can lead to new opportunities from the experience and skills I have gained.

 

but seriously, am I this crazy ? It's not like I have dumped my life savings into this project, I have just spent an insane amount of time coding and working. However, my family does not think so, they think I am doing nothing, which is absolutely false.

 

What should I do ? I make about 1k a month from odd freelance jobs, but don't think it's enough to move out.

 

We argue quite often.....they are just not yielding, and I feel like the stress from this project and stress from home is too much to handle. I feel that I might kill myself before I even see the light from my endeavours if I don't do something to fix it soon.

[aireyc]

I'm not in *exactly* the same situation, but I'm in a similar boat. I'm just out of college and while I have a "job" that I work on from home, I'm simultaneously working on my own software development business. The only real thing I have to ask is: Have you ever completed a finished product before? Programming is one of those things that you can work on for years and years and you're NEVER done. Here are some things I've done to help avoid the problems you're having:

 

1) I make an effort to socialize. Be it contacting old friends from high school or just going out yourself, make an effort to go out. Now that school is behind you, you should have some time to just go out and have fun. It's healthy. I do it as much as possible.

 

2) Set a deadline. I'm giving myself one year to see what I can do. If I don't have success then I may have to get something more permanent. I just don't feel like doing the typical 9-5 and being limited by the time I spend on that work, so this year I've been extremely motivated to get things rolling.

 

3) Find other temporary sources of income. You say you're doing $1k a month on freelance. That's good, but I'd look for something that may be a little more permanent. A part-time job may even be necessary, even if it's only a day or two a week. This will help with finances, give you some cash to go out and have fun and meet new people, and it won't consume a whole lot of your time.

 

- Chris

[Crazyaboutdogs]

I took some time off, mainly being hooked on marijuana for a while.

 

This might be the part that really made your family fed up and that is why they are on your case.Can you at least get a part time job and work on your software prototype the other half of the time? You don't have to give up your dream....just compromise so that your family sees you are serious and not putting all your eggs into one basket. Have you shown your family what you are working on? Maybe if they see it they will understand why it is taking so long.

[RedDress]

Coming from someone who works in the software development industry... a prototype should not take 2 years to complete.

 

A prototype is a model. A shell. Basically something that gives people the idea of how something will work without all the functionality. Then you sell it. Then you build it.

 

If you are spending 2 years doing it, you aren't building a prototype... you are buiding an application. But you are building an application without a customer (who will likely have their own ideas and requirements of how this thing should work). Further... if you are taking 2 years to build the 'prototype' - how long will it take you to build the full version?? By that time, the platform that you are building on will be outdated.

 

Also, you mentionned that there are a few established firms at the infant stage. So - if they throw 2 people at the project, they can complete it in half the time. Three people? A third of the time.

 

Further complicating things is that - as another poster said - software development is never complete. There's always a bug. There's always a new function you want to add. There's always some tweak that needs to be done. Without an established scope and timeline... you will be at it forever.

 

I'm not saying all this to discourage you. You might have a million-dollar idea! But your approach is faulty. You are basically trying to build a business without a clear business plan. You are going down the hole - and you'll never get out. By that time, YOU and your skills will be less marketable and you will have 'wasted' your education. Then you will be back at square one.

 

Personally, I think you either need to add structure, timeline and scope to your venture OR use your investors as references and find a REAL job in the industry.