Hi Everyone,
Today I want to talk about failures and setbacks while running a startup, something many of us have gone through, and so did I. When I launched my current startup around March 2024, it was just a simple WordPress website with a collection of interview questions - a website built over a weekend as a hobby. After posting it online, I got 600 signed-up users overnight, and that gave me enough motivation to build something out of it.
At first I was filled with optimism, grinding 10-12 hours per day, 7 days a week, and soon enough my website started looking more professional. I plugged in Stripe and got my first paying customers. I was over the roof. I never knew someone from the internet, a completely unknown person, could buy something I sell. It seems logical, but for me that felt like some sort of magic.
After the first excitement wore off, I continued working long hours. Soon I realized that it was way harder than I thought, revenue was not at the level I expected, and I started to get depressed. I didn’t go out and stayed home for weeks. My life became Wake up, Work, Sleep, and after a few months I crashed. At that point I had a few employees. I told them that I couldn’t do this anymore, that I was shutting down the company, and let them go. It was the lowest moment of this journey.
It took me 3-4 months to get better. In the meantime, I saw people still buying my product, subscribing, and asking questions. We never did ads, so this was mostly organic, and at this point the startup was on life support without any maintenance, bringing around $5-6k/mo.
After some time I hired new guys, a better and stronger team, and somehow managed to get back in. We got an office and approached this like a real job. Fast forward 12 months, and now we are much leaner, working more systematically, and not doing 12 hours/7 days a week anymore.
I think running a startup is one of the most challenging things I have ever done, and it is far harder than most people expect. But then I ask myself: do I want to go through life without ever knowing how it feels to be on top, forever wondering what could have happened if I pushed more? If it is difficult for me, it is difficult for everyone else too. So now you know, folks - even people with paying customers and organic traffic struggle, doubt themselves, and go through brutal periods. That is part of the game. You survive it, learn from it, and keep going.
