Solo Entrepreneur Questions


88 Votes
15 Answers
21.5K Views
Is hiring average programmers worse than staying solo?

I have a reasonably successful SaaS, which is pretty much a one-man show; I always wanted a co-founder but never found the right person. It's been running for a number of years now, growing...

asked May 26 '11 at 20:54
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J22
543 points

4 Votes
2 Answers
4.31K Views
How can a single-founder (and no employees) provide fast customer support?

I'm a solo founder without any employees (revenues don't yet justify hiring someone).How would you manage providing timely support to customers? What are some tools and strategies to use?I run a...

asked Apr 15 '14 at 21:41
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Sandra Baldwin
22 points

2 Votes
2 Answers
4.25K Views
Can you raise money from VCs if you're a solo founder and all your employees are ODesk contractors?

I have a solo founder (technical) who has hired 8 full time contractors on ODesk for my startup. We have launched an MVP and starting to get some initial traction.Would VCs reject such a startup...

asked Jun 13 '14 at 14:13
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Mark Ballard
14 points

2 Votes
1 Answers
3.11K Views
Startups and anxiety: how do solo founders motivate themselves when things don't go according to plan?

Almost no one gets to realize their metrics of success when they launch their startup. It's a long, arduous journey which no one anticipates until they launch their product, only to find that...

asked Jul 9 '14 at 15:58
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Robert Pankratz
11 points

1 Votes
2 Answers
2.9K Views
Well known one-man startups that have revenues / profit over $1M?

Are there any startups that are run by a single person (bootstrapped by solo founder with no employees) that generate revenues over $1M?

asked Jul 24 '14 at 17:55
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Melanie Dodson
6 points

1 Votes
1 Answers
3.25K Views
What are the skills that a solo co-founder must learn and balance between?

I'm currently a purely technical founder who is working on a SaaS application.What kind of skills should I also be learning on the side to become a better solo founder and make my startup a...

asked Jul 25 '14 at 20:27
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Lois Cooper
7 points

3 Votes
3 Answers
4.03K Views
Can a single person design, build, and scale a website on their own without any employees?

I have been looking for a co-founder for several months and haven't found anyone I click with. Rather than going to meetups and networking events to try and find one, I've decided to just learn how...

asked May 14 '15 at 12:59
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Paul Rodriguez
19 points

14 Votes
10 Answers
9.33K Views
Is it really that hard for "solo" entrepreneurs to succeed?

I've seen and heard in many websites, magazines and talking to people the same thing over and over again... A lot of people seem to agree that "solo" entrepreneurs don't have a chance to succeed....

asked Oct 10 '09 at 11:28
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Ricardo
4,815 points

4 Votes
1 Answers
3.52K Views
How to avoid procrastination if you have no co-founder?

When you are a solo founder with no employees, what do you do to avoid procrastination and always be executing? I have tried blocking access to all time-wasting sites in my router. But how do you...

asked May 5 '14 at 13:20
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Latonya Schindler
21 points

2 Votes
1 Answers
2.93K Views
How hard is to be a solo founder building a startup vs having 1-2 co-founders?

What are the top reasons to have co-founders that puts solo founders at a serious disadvantage?Should someone who already has an idea and close to finishing a basic prototype spend time looking for...

asked Apr 7 '14 at 15:40
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Wayne Waring
14 points

0 Votes
2 Answers
4.03K Views
Solo founders: What title do you give yourself?

What title should you represent yourself with when you're a one-man show?

asked Mar 30 '14 at 16:41
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Marc Adrian
1 point

1 Votes
1 Answers
2.91K Views
Solo founder starting to hire for the first time. What should I know?

I'm a solo founder who wants to hire the first three employees. I decided to wait until my revenues would support hiring three people because just hiring one person would have felt a little awkward...

asked Mar 29 '14 at 02:25
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Abe Tang
6 points

0 Votes
2 Answers
2.72K Views
How to tackle an overwhelming task that you can't wrap your head around?

What are some ways to execute on a massive, overwhelming task (like marketing, for example) when you are a solo founder with no employees and no resources?

asked Mar 28 '14 at 18:41
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Michael Milne
4 points

1 Votes
1 Answers
3.23K Views
Solo founders, how do you keep from procrastinating?

I am building my startup from home by myself with a remote virtual assistant on ODesk. It's hard sometimes not to procrastinate and end up on Reddit or Hacker news. How do you keep your focus when...

asked Feb 6 '14 at 14:32
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Vilhelm Vida
16 points

1 Votes
2 Answers
3.33K Views
Why is silicon valley, and YCombinator / Paul Graham in particular, opposed to funding solo founders?

I have been a solo founder my whole life and have managed to start several businesses without the need for outside funding. Yet, when I decided to explore my options and try to join an incubator...

asked Feb 13 '14 at 17:16
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User30118
6 points

0 Votes
3 Answers
2.47K Views
Venues in which to promote a product as a teenager

I'm fifteen, and I just created a product. I've got the code done, but I have no experience with the actually marketing a product. So, how can I, as a teenager with no money, promote my project....

asked Dec 4 '13 at 13:32
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Dylan Katz
10 points

0 Votes
2 Answers
2.22K Views
how to declare a solopreneurship

Let's say I want to start consulting. I have a name in mind for my one-person business. Can I just.... call it that? Do I have to jump through any hoops to make it official?

asked Sep 27 '13 at 00:11
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Walrus The Cat
106 points

0 Votes
1 Answers
2.26K Views
What is a realistic amount of time given to a pre-seed,pre-product startup by advisor?

As many of you may know advisors can be key to a new startup, esp. with first time entrepreneurs.I wondered, how much time have your advisors say over the last month talked to you? My advisor (as...

asked Jan 30 '13 at 11:55
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Code Talk
253 points

4 Votes
2 Answers
2.76K Views
Earning money while starting a business

I am deciding on leaving university to carry on with a business idea if it is as successful as I believe. However, as I am currently in uni, and also need to concentrate on studies for the time...

asked Jan 9 '13 at 09:37
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Adam Carter
123 points

2 Votes
6 Answers
2.87K Views
Is it that way too early to start a business?

I have been sharing my thoughts for getting into some business, with some of my friends & colleagues, but all I get from them is 'Disappointment' & advice like "It's too early for you to do...

asked Nov 16 '12 at 21:50
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Venkatesh
14 points