Why being broke is the best startup strategy

Great write-up, thanks! Although I disagree on one point:<p>&#62; <i>“you’ll never make it as an artist, because you don’t have to make it as an artist”. Basically, feed yourself with your craft, and you’ll soon learn whether you’ve got the stones for it.</i><p>If you only do art and live off it, you then need to sell it. Which means you need to adapt to your customers' taste, if you want to eat. This all makes you more of a businessman than an artist.<p>(Update: slightly off-topic: I think this also probably is the root of today's copyright controversy. If you don't make money from your art, you don't need to go to great lengths just to make sure no one steals it.)<p>Related, a quote from Francis Ford Coppola on the matter of art and money: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3491678" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3491678</a>.

I agree, but only with the it-depends disclaimer. The dependency: the person.<p>I personally agree with the sentiment as it applies to me. I'm the kind of person who responds (at least, has historically responded) in a similar, no-bullshit, hyper-focused mentality. But the back-against-the-wall, fight-or-flight type of situation doesn't always yield a similar response in others. I've seen others where the weight of the situation deviated from their ability to focus.<p>The thing is, even when most of us in this industry (devs &#38; engineers) are faced with "no other options", that's really a creation of our own mind. Last I checked, if you're competent, you still have options at your disposal (other startup opportunities, consulting/contracting, etc.) While they may not be your life's dream, they do keep you fed -- and often beyond meager means. When one is in that situation, even the risk of going broke is lowered.

Website: <a href="https://nickler.biz/" rel="nofollow">https://nickler.biz/</a><p>I really relate with being all in. I like that term better than 'fully committed' because to many mnba's use it and don't know it means actually working, not sitting around and watching someone else work and because you can see them working, then you too are somehow 'fully committed'. Sorry I digress. Looks like I have some issues to sort out.

Being broke focuses your mind, yes. And I can certainly say that if you hire a 20 person team to do what a 4 person team can do you may find your ability to get work done increases by 10% but your ability to create bugs goes up 10 times.<p>On the other hand I can say that I hear from some startup every week that wants my services and I have to qualify these "opportunities" very quickly because most of these people can't pay a market rate for my services, and often can't pay at all.<p>People in a situation like that generally aren't going to get good talent -- and in my speciality, I commonly succeed at projects where 75% or so of people who (i) get paid and (ii) have some specialized training fail.

The actual reason: <i>you never want to get there again</i> (i.e. being broke)<p>Now that's a real motivator in life! (especially if you've been "rich" before)

A state of feeling "unsafe" is an incredibly powerful motivator that can drown out almost everything else. It can link work directly to your survival instinct-"I have to move or my life is in danger."<p>While the fear of going broke can certainly instill the feeling of unsafety, other factors can too. Near death experiences and losing a parent at a young age are both examples that are frequently present in people with high levels of success (moreso than in the average population)[1]. Even a run-down living environment can help.<p>[1]: <i>The Talent Code</i>, Daniel Coyle

"There isn’t any question of motivation, because the luxury of choice is removed. There is no think, only do."<p>Love this. Been through it, and I agree that the focus leads to doing your best work. It naturally makes you strive to <i>make sure of</i> success .. not leaving anything to 'chance' - because you can't afford to.

This is really true. If you have money stashed away then you need to lose quite a bit for that fire to get lit undr your ass.<p>It's primarily got to do with getting comfortable in asking for money. And also doing whatever it takes to get that money.<p>This is probably the most effective startup requirement there is.

I disagree. Perhaps having been broke at one point is sufficient, but even then, if you are an entrepreneur motivated by passion, then money has nothing to do with it.<p>Maybe we're talking about two different types of entrepreneurs here, those who are in it for the money and/or fame, or those who are in it because they can't help themselves.

I launched my first successful startup within a month after we went broke failing with two previous startups. The need to get stuff going helps A LOT!

I really like the Nickler website, by the way- it's good looking and memorably different.

This is this first time I've seen Ayoudo mentioned--looks like cool stuff!