WP Curve

I remember listening to her talk way back when there was sam altman's startup video series.

I thought it was very cool that she worked with her brother. You don't see sister/brother as business partners usually. She was also a hard worker from the impression, reading quarterly statements to find 'gems'. Lot of doing this and that. It really sounded like they were doing great, she and her brother knew what they were doing. $39.7M in 5 Rounds from 15 Investors seem like a pretty good winner.

And then suddenly this. A shift in the industry or inability to be profitable and sustainable ( I don't know why homejoy failed). Cleaning houses to find out what home services would be like (lean startup approach) and YC branding (quit your job and lets go) with 5 rounds of funding and still did not emerge as a winner. In hindsight it looked like they were doing everything out of the YC/lean textbook without really forming their own ideas. It's probably comfortable this way.

It appeared like they did everything right and they probably were but it did not produce success from the investors point of view. I think what we can learn from this is that just because somebody or something looks like they are doing everything right or talk like they know what they are doing it may not be the case.

I wonder had they bootstrapped and operated as a small business catering to a focused market instead of trying to expanding to different markets with easy capital flowing to SV, they could have ended…

That's why they call it work.

Start planning do you want to start your own business or just get a better day job.

Start listening to this . . .
http://www.startupsfortherestofus.com/
Rob has had an amazing journey.

http://wpcurve.com/bootstrapped-drip-into-a-7-figure-saas-business/

https://www.drip.co/blog/tips-and-tactics/drip-joining-forces-leadpages/

And I'll recommend my favorite talk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CDXJ6bMkMY

It's definitely hard and depending on your point in life it can be really hard to transition from day job to your own business.

single+young is easier than family+mortgage but either way you can do it.

I went from day job to consulting full time. I am working on products and a SaaS but it's definitely not easy. But it is enjoyable and the potential payoff is 10x your day job (most likely). Plus you control your own destiny for the most part, vs being an employee.

But work is work, if they pay you decently and it takes care of your needs plan your move carefully as you might not have it as bad as you think.

Maybe changing day jobs if a first step and start stair stepping with products/apps as another revenue stream.

Good luck.

Places we hang out:
- http://discuss.bootstrapped.fm
- Micropreneur Academy (http://www.micropreneur.com)

reading material:
- The 7 day startup (http://wpcurve.com/the-7-day-startup/)
- Start Small, Stay Small (a bit dated, but the concepts are worth the read - http://www.amazon.com/Start-Small-Stay-Developers-Launching/dp/0615373968)

podcasts:
- Startups for the Rest of Us (http://www.startupsfortherestofus.com)
- Bootstrapped with Kids (http://www.bootstrappedwithkids.com)