Coming from someone else it sounds even more ridiculous.. so funny.
Well, yes of course I've learned from this. But it's still scary because like I said, I never knew I could be like that. Who knows what other things I still don't know about me.
January 2009 was the month in which I had my eureka moment too. Unlike you I still dont know whether it's going to work, but I can see my idea failing as well now. This time last year however, I was almost convinced I would be winning a Nobel Prize.
Seriously, I remember having sleepless nights back then, so full of excitement. I remember not wanting to take a plane for vacation, for fear of an accident and not being able to see my idea through. And I remember accidently copy-pasting my idea into Google, and being so mad at myself for having spilled the idea to a possible competitor.
I've always considered myself a very sceptical person, always questioning things and very down to earth... and yet for a long time I was so crazy and obsessed about this idea that I almost dropped out of uni (I have lost a year).
You said that many have probably gone through something similar, I don't know about that but if so, I would love to hear from them too. I enjoyed your post very much! Thanks!
Thanks for the story, I read it with great interest because I can really relate (like many around these parts I'm sure).
I'm glad to see that you found the energy to see your project through until the end, even if it didn't work out eventually. It probably cost you quite a bit, but that's the name of the game. You can't know until you try (well that's what I keep telling myself these days).
You're right that the combination of friends and work especially is a delicate one, something that I did not foresee either (working on my first big project).
Also I agree with your advice, about needing co-founders that are as engaged as you are. However this is a very hard thing to achieve. Not everyone is as crazy as we are. And communicating a vision is a very hard thing to do as well.
Although it might not seem so for someone with not much prior experience with coding, the simplest thing to do is still to have a go at it alone, at least in a first stage. It's probably easier and less risky than managing a team to execute your crazy idea for you.
Anyway, don't leave us hanging! What is the url of your website?
I consider myself very introverted, but I think that most of the items on the list you can learn to deal with whether you are extra- or introverted. Most essential though :
-Respect their need for privacy (yeah)
-Let them observe first in new situations (would make me more comfortable)
-Teach them new skills privately rather than in public (i would learn faster)
-Respect their introversion, don't remake them into extraverts (can get annoying sometimes)
-Give them time to think. Don't demand instant answers (OMG YESS!!)
As long as you're the least bit creative, after a while (days, weeks,...) your brain will come up with something.
Try deforming an existing word à la Google, try combining two words into one (techcrunch), try using numbers or you can even try and invent a new word.
Squatters can't buy up everything, there are still options.
I don't agree with "5. Charge early, charge often." as being one of the things a startup SHOULD copy from 37Signals. Sure, it has many benefits, but it's just not feasible for websites that heavily rely on 'network effects' or user capital to provide value.
The chicken and egg problem is hard to overcome already, and charging for access early obviously doesn't make sense for these types of websites.
"Finally, friends don’t count as respondents. By some quirk in the human psyche we would rather see our friends waste their time and money, rather than to tell them the truth!"
Lots of people have gone before you, but maybe you've got a fresh take on this? I've done quite a lot of research on this subject, hit me up if you want to talk about it!
direct link to the tour: http://www.translapolis.org/tour