Time to be vulnerable, what are you hesitant to share but need help with in order to grow?

My previous startup struggled to find product/market fit. I spent so much time, effort, and resources to help push it along but in the end I had to call it quits. I went back to a 9-5 job and HATED it. It literally made me sick, I had constant stomach issues. Then an idea struck. I took the lessons learned and did as much as I could to do early validation without spending too much time and money. Eventually, it started to come together and feel like we had something. I left the 9-5 gig, went full time into this new business and haven't looked back (the stomach issues also completely went away 😊) Lesson learned: do as much as you can to validate in a low-fi way before spending money and time on a new business.

1. When did you feel like throwing in the towel? For me, I felt like throwing when I did hit the wall. That's something I did not expect at all, and couldn't find a solution to it. It wasn't due only to one particular issue, I would call it a "mental stack" of different problems that just take a toll on you. I had quite a strong tolerance for taking a lot on my shoulder, but when it finally went down, it was pretty brutal. You are actually able to feel those heavy boulders on your shoulders when you solve one of those, it just immediately feels better, almost like magic! Those issues are extremely hard to pinpoint because they seem invisible to the person and to the people around them. 2. How did you move forward? Take some distance, and be detached from it as much as possible. Having a global perceptive of the whole thing helped me to look at different alternatives. I was too stubborn, and well, too much pride in the process. I think, most of the challenges, were due to a lack of being ignorant and having the wrong approach. Some tools were also life-saving, but they were hidden within the thousand of pages Google has to offer. I just kept searching and in some ways, I believed I could find it until I did. So far, having a strong determination and patience helped me move forward. 3. What blockers are in front of you? I lack social and marketing skills, but I am working on them. There is also the MVP being in progress. I believe it will help me more since I got something to offer rather than asking someone to "believe" in the concept alone. 4. Where in your journey did it feel most heavy? I had to go through hundreds of websites to find a viable solution. Weeks of research with my mind going insane, trying to convince me that nothing can achieve the result I want. I have been trying different API, ending up not doing what it's intended to do or with false results...kind of depressing! And this, with multitasking between other things, family, random phone calls, appointments, paperwork, etc. 5. What were the biggest takeaways that can help others? You can afford to build a great vision of your ideas. People who say to not think big is wrong. Build as much as you are able to with concrete evidence in the industry you are on. This requires only time and effort with paper and a pen (or use Word)! There is a high chance you won't be able to afford it. It doesn't mean you should not work on each of them, at the best you can. As an artist, write your history, create mockups, make documents and keep on expanding your library of knowledge and save those preciously. Then, minimize the cost by focusing on only one, but do it great. Before an MVP, get a designer to create a "realistic" model of your future app/item, etc. You will find out that a lot doesn't make much sense until you can experiment with it. Iterate your product until satisfied. If you are stuck, ask for people around you, if lucky online works too! Rather than aiming big, aim small, simple, and cost-efficient. 50% of everything you do can be done just by time and effort alone. Think of your product as a puzzle, each piece is important to make the whole picture. Make your design in a manner you could add more and more with time without breaking the system. By following this, you will probably reduce the cost of production by then 10! Start with designing the concept first (through adobe illustrator, Figma, Balsamiq Wireframe...), then make a "mini-version" of the full-fletched concept. If you can make it work at that level, you know it's gonna be better when you get to build the whole concept. The smaller the pieces you put together, the less you gonna struggle with all the above issues I encountered. Lift small but lift well! Don't be pressured by time. Stay healthy. Hope it helps! ;D