Your startup will be more successful if you have fun & forget about getting rich

If you're only interested in having fun, you run the risk of building something really cool that nobody needs.

This is actually a problem with most startups. They don't concentrate on something that's a viable business and fail within a year or two. I don't necessarily want to become rich. I just want to have a business where I have enough money for me (and anyone else involved in the company) to live comfortably and most importantly, not have to go back to a day job.

Sean is absolutely right on. Too many people think a "fun" culture means Xboxes, free drinks and fooze-ball or a really "fun" cool market space. That's a mistake. I don't think that's the fun Sean is talking about. I think that for creative people - esp. developers and product people - it is intrinsically fun to simply build something awesome, even in a less than "fun" space. The main reward is real people loving your awesome creation because you've solved their problem. I've found that even talking about the money can be de-motivating because it makes the problem solving feel less pure, more instrumental, less meaningful. Nothing is more fun or sustaining in the tough times than a simple email from a user saying "I love your product, thanks!". When the team lives for that, you've got a great team.

The article says:<p>"When breakthrough thinking is needed, a fun, collaborative and supportive environment will generally yield better/faster results than the pressure of sticks and carrots. This is especially important in the early days of a startup while the team is still figuring out a viable formula for the business."<p>But it's assuming there is already a startup company that you've founded.<p>I'm currently going through the agonizing process of filing for an S-Corp and setting up all the other legal structure to found a startup. Are there really people who would get a couple friends together and file all that paper work and pay all those fees then sit down and think "Hmm.. okay. Now what should we sell?"<p>Even if you just have an idea for a fun product, if you aren't monetarily focused, I have no idea how you would get yourself through the whole process without considering a "viable business formula."

By coincidence (though I don't think it is coincidence) Jeff Atwood's latest blog post at Coding Horror, "The Vast and Endless Sea" (<a href="http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2010/06/the-vast-and-endless-sea.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2010/06/the-vast-and-endles...</a>) is about the same thing: how offering lots of money is detrimental for creativity and motivation.<p>I agree with his recommendation at the end: watch the 10 minute video "RSA Animate - Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us".

Yeah, is not about making money at all, it's about have fun and then sell all that fun for millions :)

My thought on any startup to be successful, they must be stay relevant to its users. Sure it won't hurt to have a bit of fun along the way. I'm sure if it help users in its course of work, there will be users who are willingly to pay a bit of $$$.