If you feel the struggle is huge, perhaps my story could help
Hello fellow hackers,
I am Sumit and I lurk around a lot on IH. I have done that on HN, Reddit, PH and everywhere else. I am 34 years old, built my first business out of college in 2006. I have been through long episodes of mild depression which came into the picture when I had to go to counseling while living in Hamburg, Germany.
I have built and failed 3 of my own attempts. Worked in 9 startups over 12 years. I used to be active in the Indian startup ecosystem. Now I have been underground for few years. I moved to Germany to find some peace, people call it the quarter-life crisis.
Then in 2017, I moved back to India to attempt again, only to be totally misguided by my co-founders (whom I have known since 2013).
I am consulting/traveling (around Asia) and moonlighting on my product. I am divorced and have become more a loner these days. But I am focused now and like hearing from you guys who are on their own paths, some of you are truly inspiring.
So if you think this route is tough, well all I can say is "hang in there".
May the force be with us!
I failed 8 times until I found "the one". The trick is to never give up.
I didn't count my failures in the last 10 years as a "maker" and now there's no way I can remember them all.
Easily 30+ things I started and abandoned / didn't take off / stayed in the kinda-works-but-does-not-take-off state.
Not that now I'm out of that 😄
I've only realized that is the only secret to success: to never give up! The journey will include a shit ton of obstacles that will present itself. And each will be difficult in it's own way.
But by just committing to do a little every day and keep pushing through it consistently, I know that I'll eventually myself on the side (sooner or later).
Thanks for the reminder. Needed it today!
Wow, that is a great inspiration. Have you shared your product here on IH?
No, maybe in a few years when I'm much better established on the market.
Hi Sumit, if you feel lonely you should try joining meetups or IH discussion groups, maybe creating the 1st IH meetup in India ;)
Hello Carl, thank you for the help out. No I do not feel lonely at all. I have been through this cycle way too many times and finally come out the other end. Right now it is just traveling, consulting and my product.
Hi Sumit, Thanks for sharing the kind words. As someone who is going through the phase, this really helps a ton!
I'm in Jaipur, Rajasthan and building a SaaS app focused on indian markets only. The struggle is real but worth pushing through.
✌️
I am glad you are on the same path. I feel the pressure so many days, but it feels great to have travelers on the same path.
Hey Sumit, I think sometimes moving too fast can make us miss the details and that it is therefore useful to occasionally stop and think things over. You mentioned failing 3 of your own startup attempts: while I think the 'never give up' advice is certainly useful, it is important to stop for a moment when things are not going right and understand why they are not going right. If you identified your mistakes and understood them, then you are all the wiser for it. So best of luck with your next endeavours!
That is a very very important point. I agree with you. Personally I think my goals and timespan to achieve things have stretched now than before. So I have a lot more time for myself to reflect and that helps a lot.
Thanks for the inspiration. I'm still trying to build my startups too here in Sydney.
Its really hard to find like-minded people (even to collaborate with) since everyone just wants to work at a boring 9-5 job. I think the hardest parts are contending with the loneliness, and the difficulty of what you are trying to achieve.
The loneliness is honestly where IH, HN and similar places help a lot. You see others trying, so you know you are not alone, at least on a global journey.
Hope you succeed in your current endeavor. All the best.
Thanks for the post, it's good to see that there are people that have been at this much longer than myself but still have a positive outlook.
This definitely gave me perspective on my own journey and I will be re-reading this anytime I'm feeling sorry for myself because I can't think of anything to post on my twitter to keep my followers.
Well done to you and good luck.
Thank you for your kind words, we can only motivated each other here, that is what I like.
Hi Sumit, that was indeed a struggle. But best part is you are focused now and still moving forward. I live in Germany too and we should catch up when I visit Hamburg or you Cologne.
Cheers
Definitely we should catch up the next time I am in Hamburg/Cologne.