When does a “project” become a “startup”?
So you have this idea and you start working on it. It’s just a tool, something people use once in a while. You know, one of those “projects”.
Then it gets bigger and bigger. People like it. People really start using it.
We see this all the time. People’s projects become bigger things. But when do you consider a pet project to be a startup? When you make money is one of the obvious answers but think again! Many startups DON’T make any money. When you’re profitable? Then again, lots of startups will never be profitable?
So my question to you is: do you have projects and how do you manage them especially when you know it won’t pay the rent?
I am sure people have many projects which don’t pay the rent but which they are passionate about or just enjoy doing. But they’re not startups until the day you intend to turn it into a company and bring on people to grow it.
The common association 1 product = 1 startup is misleading a lot of people. TimmyOnTime (by the way, check the new, still unfinished, design) is just a product we do and we hope to add more. I think that you should consider starting a company and then work on your products. One day, you’ll have to make money to pay the rent then you’ll be working hard and your project will make money in a way you maybe didn’t even consider.
In short, a project becomes a startup when you decide you want to live from it.
Why can’t someone be a one-man show? Plenty of Fish is a great example. Until very recently, that guy was working mostly all alone. Yet, he’s rakling money by the millions.
It probably started as a project. It’s definitively something bigger now.
My feeling is that we’ll see much fewer “startups” and more “projects”. What happened with Defensio is also a great example.
For me, it’s about time invested. If you have to quit your day job (or do the equivalent and work all night and weekend), then it’s a startup. Also, if your primary goal is to become profitable, it’s a startup.
For me, I have a project called http://www.MusiqueMusicMontreal.com where I keep you can preview a song from tons of bands playing in Montreal in the next 3 weeks (and I have pretty thorough concert listings of some 20 venues). I work on the site for an hour, or a few hours at most, per week, and I maintain it because it’s a service that I like to use and that I think others might too. It doesn’t need to become profitable for me to be satisfied with it; I am quite happy already :)
That’s how I see the distinction, but it’s all semantics anyways.
@JoshK: Great thoughts… Money can often be replaced with fun (like hobbies). BTW, you have a very interesting site. It’d be cool if you could expand it to a few other cities.
@Dan: Long time no talk :) Nice site and I hope Timmy is doing well!
for Mark’s comment above: a startup can be just one guy (plentyoffish, google, etc.)
this is especially true thanks to marketing software, sales software, customer service, or services like timesvr.com
a project becomes a startup when you open up excel (or openoffice calc), you put numbers there such as projected sales, and at the same time “what if” scenarios. what are sales if the project could have additional investment $$? if at one point, you see that that sales could skyrocket thanks a an initially small investment, then it’s a startup. otherwise, it’s a project.
I like Mark’s comment, I think it hits the nail right on the head. A project becomes a startup when the creator begins considering it a business and not a project.
I have my own projects, but I do them because it is an “itch to scratch”, like a hobby. If I put one online, lots of people like it and I make money from it that’s cool, but not my primary concern.
@Denis
We’ve been away from the scene for a while now. We’ve been busy creating a company (it’s more work than it seems, our documents were rejected three times), making money with contracts to bootstrap TimmyOnTime and find people who could help us move forward.
The answer of this question is very simple for me, it’s just one word : PRESSURE.
When suddenly you got the money to develop your project, comes with it an extreme pressure on your shoulders. Big expectations from new people around you. Then, you know that is a startup.