Start a side project. Not a startup.
NotesbyHugh
19 replies
Side projects - easy to get started, can generally be built over a weekend, low upfront risks and cost, low impact of a failure, high impact of success, a medium to learn new skills, a way to grow a community, can be achieved by an individual.
Startups - harder to get started, generally require large capital, enormous payoff if successful, at times large impact if a failure, generally requires a team.
I'm definitely sitting in team Side Project at the moment. For new creators entering the creator economy, I think side projects are the optimal allocation of resources. You can achieve so much with so little!
Keen to hear your thoughts. Am I oversimplifying this? What do you prefer?
Share your arguments for both sides of the equation below👇🏾
Replies
Sergio Zaciu@szaciu
I think it's Ryan Breslow who believes in the 4-day work week and says Fridays should be dedicated to your side project. I kinda like that train of thought. What do you think?
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I agree with the sentiment but:
> can generally be built over a weekend
I'm clearly a very slow developer 🤣
@simon_barker1 potential exaggeration! I've also rarely built in a weekend - maybe i'm slow too 😂.
The argument could be rephrased to - can be built in a short period of time.
what if you start a side project while you already have a startup? 🤔
@mounir_nejjai hadn't thought of that! Although I have seen a lot of 'startups' launch side projects that are somewhat related to their 'startup' as a marketing tactic to gain more users. I think it's pretty innovative and drives strong results.
Sounds natural what your're saying. The transition from side project to startup can be quite subtle I guess:) By the way, what is Side Project OS you're working on?
@yuryfication I agree! Especially if it's a successful side project it can very quickly take off and become a much bigger beast.
I'm working on a Notion space to serve as an operating system for Side Projects. Planning to launch on PH tomorrow :)
If you have the means and the market validation, go for a startup. If you just want to explore your entrepreneurial side and want o build something with a colleague, side projects are definitely the way to go. I'd be interested in hearing what side projects you've been working on!
@paul_vanzandt Great way to put it! My side projects are mainly products revolved around Notion. Are you primarily working on Fresco?
Absolutely agree. I really have no idea what technically makes up the difference between a side project or a startup. However, I can see myself working on a side project and do not at all identify as someone with a startup.
@mobilemediamania me too! It's more an identity statement perhaps. I tend to agree with you that I see myself (at least for now) working on side projects
I agree with the general idea.
However, I think it is important to distinguish startups with fundraising vs bootstraped. If managed well, bootstrap doesn't require much capital and doesn't have high impact on failure.
Sell what you know, I am sure you are an expert in a certain field - it deserves to be heard: eBook, Workbook etc :-) Good luck, you can do it!
