The most experienced, least successful founder.
Since I moved to China at age 19 (2006), I’ve started over 40 projects, 10 startups and of those incorporated 5 companies. I’ve had 2 tiny exits (middle & high 5 figures).
This all took place across 3 continents, spanning ~5 industries, working in 4 languages. Some were co-founded, but most were solo. It’s been an amazing adventure working around the world building projects and learning multiple spaces -- but at 36, I’m hungry for a f*cking win. Ngl.
I’m a product, design and sales guy that’s good at 0 to 1 who definitely had to overcome shiny object syndrome. (Part of the reason I started a HoldCo with https://ColdFire.ventures, was to have an excuse to add new projects!)
I’ve had to learn distribution the hard way since marketing and general management have never been my strength. And even though I now have more experience and value to bring to the table, it is WAY harder to build deep connections that could blossom into a co-founder relationship.
It’s especially hard to find someone who’s still that hungry mid-late 30s as they were in their early 20s - FWIW: if this is you and you know marketing I’d love to meet you!
Anyway, I know everyone’s journey is different and realise this is a bit of a rant, but it would be great to know where I sit on the bell curve of ‘indie hacking success’ at this stage. How hungry are you for that win?! 🦁
I would recommend you to read 100M leads by alex hormozi. Most of the time you did not win is because you are not in the right market in the right time. You have a lot of experience and you know what to do but I believe you just did not get luck.
Luck is mostly placing your self in the right place at the right time.
And with your experience if you dont downplay it you can try something bigger than "solopreneurs" start something big and get investors involve. You have the credibility that investor will trust. Of course this is if you want a win and not looking for "balance".
Any way here an article about great market determine success : Building on Top of a Great Market: Unlocking Success in Business
You might like to hear that the majority of successful founders find that success in their mid 40s. Don't let the Silicon Valley echo chamber fool you.
See this article from Harvard Business Review:
https://hbr.org/2018/07/research-the-average-age-of-a-successful-startup-founder-is-45
how can I email you ? I resonate with your story.
Interesting. Thanks for sharing and open this kind of discussion
We appreciate your candidness. We're curious to know, what types of projects ignite your passion the most? Have there been any previous endeavors that, despite not yielding the expected outcomes, left you with a lasting sense of curiosity and intrigue?
Regards
Naturally Love Hue
Thank you for your openness - What kind of projects excite you the most? Have any of the previous areas you worked in sparked a deeper curiosity (even if they didn't end up getting the payoff you were hoping for)?
Oh, I am hungry for that win too, and I'm in my late 30s.
Our stories have a bit of similarities. I co-founded a food tech start up for 10+ years ago. We raised over £2M and it got acquired a few years later. Now I've moved back to my home country and decided to start building from scratch again.
Interestingly enough, my passion in my 30s is much stronger than in my early 20s. When I built the first restaurant, I thought my energy would never run out. But I later realised that I wasn't building what I love. I lost my way when we had investors and ultimately I paid the price.
But, I've gained so much from the experience. From raising funds, scaling, integrating new tech, learnings I couldn't have gained if it wasn't my own business.
Love to connect with you to see how I can help. I'm a Psychology/MBA graduate with background in Marketing and HR.
Most importantly, you've learnt valuable skills. Have you thought of joining someone else's project as a co-founder? I know that I'm definitely open to that personally!