🕴🏼 Startups

For many years I tried to start a tech startup. I wanted to solve a problem in the world, provide value and hopefully make my fortune in the process. I was prepared to work hard for this.

I had the idea for my first startup in high school. It pushed my programming skills. I was proud of what I built but it never really took off. Startups did however come to make up a significant part of my identity.

Since then I've worked on over 20 other projects. None of them have really taken off. Apart from a Facebook game that got 20k users and made a few hundred pounds. All of these projects were 'good experience' and taught me a lot. But I never solved a real problem in the world, provided much value... or made my fortune.

More recently my startup projects have been side projects. This has been hard work. Startups are supposed to compress years of hard work into a few years - and with the rewards to match. There was nothing 'compressed' about my hard work - it has been almost 20 years of effort with no big win.

There's also the prospect of what startup success looks like: managing a large team and carrying a large responsibility. I've seen very capable, successful friends struggle with this.

So in 2020 - despite working on possibly my most promising project yet - I paused all my side projects. And what a relief!

When I was little I wanted to be an inventor. And from the perspective of an inventor, or an artist perhaps, I have created dozens of cool concepts that I'm proud to have worked done. I'm now reframing my side project efforts as inventing, tinkering and art.

And of course I've learnt a lot along the way which I hope can still be useful to me and to others.

I'm also trying to relax my somewhat desperate focus on capitalism. We live in a world governed by capitalism. It's a powerful model that I understand to some extent. I'm keen to use that understanding to help advance humanity and make the world a better place if I can.

With my projects I'm now trying to exercise my creativity and curiosity - not trying to build a business. My projects don't have to scale or monetise. It feels much better like this.

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I'm gradually trying to write up my past startup projects. I've written some elsewhere. I hope to bring more write-ups here in due course.