How much money would you be willing to spend from your own savings to start a business?
Are you the kind of person who believes in your dream enough to burn through most of your savings on it?
For millionaires, this might not be a big deal, but what about people with a typical 9–5 job? I see how much a solid marketing campaign costs on just one platform (often the monthly expense is equal to at least a full year’s salary).
The day before yesterday, a friend told me he and his wife are closing their restaurant, which they opened just six months ago. They had taken a loan for it, which makes it even worse.
How much of your own financial reserve would you be willing to spend before giving up?
[I think that I would go with $40,000.] 😅🙈
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minimalist phone: creating folders
@listgenius 200 pounds is bearable and totally okay :D but it depends on the way how to use it :D
Around 70,000/- . I boot strapped my podcast.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@harsh_rawal1 Uff, that's pretty much $. But did you have it from any other previous business?
Currently bootstrapping. MY co-founders and I are investing enough to give us 6-months of runway. After that business has to cashflow.
It's risky, but so is waiting for the "perfect moment." I like to think "what will I regret more?" and in this case, I would regret never going for it.
There is no reward without risk.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@harleyallaby You need to be the type of person who enjoys risks. Not many "sane" people undergo it :D (I mean this positively) :)
if you believe in the idea , i would suggest to go all in.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@munmun_desai1 yeah, but it should be done reasonably :D
I could only when I'm convinced that idea have a potential to become something great and also that business got validation from the market. But anyway I won't bet all my financial reserve on this 😅.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@ivan_apedo Only a fool would bet the whole financial reserve :D
I need to set aside some money for my living expenses and to manage risk—perhaps about a third of my savings.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@charlene_zh1 That's the reason why I want more money: allocate for living, allocate for fun, allocate for running the business, allocate for risks.
I'd say this depends on what you're spending that money on, when (what stage), and what your signals are. So, if you come out strong and start dropping cash (because right now you have it) and miscalculate the actual runway you need, you're in for a rough ride. Double your runway, triple it.
As example, I get asked for tips by people looking to start a services practice, since that's what I've spent most of my career doing. Almost every time, they start with proudly showing me their brand, logo, website, asking about an LLC, etc. That's where I drop the bomb (not really, lol), this is lovely, but none of it matters if you don't have your first client and haven't really thought through your ideal customer, what they need, your pricing ...and that stuff is basically free. Every dollar you spend, if you really need to spend it, should be directly tied to getting your first customer(s). If you're not getting bites, go back to the drawing board, repeat until you do. All the rest is next phase. I say that not from 'on high', but from having been there and not done that.
Obviously, this changes a bit with SaaS or other tangible product, but the principle is the same; you invest small, iteratively, and in direct proportion to revenue. I'm back building after many years, so I'm mostly drawing from what I know well, which is services. So, YMMV ...possible wildly. ...in my opinion ...allegedly. 😅
minimalist phone: creating folders
@dorothy_m_danforth What service do you want to bring to the market? 👀
@busmark_w_nika Hey! Thanks for asking. :) Love the minimalist phone concept. I deleted all my socials except LinkedIn when I started building.
Well, I've spent 18 years doing innovation strategy for corporations. I help them figure out the value of new products when the market shifts. Right now the job market isn't just down, it's restructuring. I've been hearing from colleagues with 10, 20+ years experience out of work, sending resumes into the void, and having no idea why they're struggling all of a sudden after years of success.
So, I built a platform that does for individuals what I do for billion-dollar companies, reveal their strategic value in an uncertain market. It offers clarity, a plan, and tools to help them better tell their professional story.
Early days, but I'm quite passionate about it. What stage are you at with minimalist phone?
minimalist phone: creating folders
@dorothy_m_danforth Thank you, Dorothy. What do you mean by "restructuring"? I suppose that it is because of AI, or?
When it comes to mp – we are expanding to iOS from Android, so more work is related to technical stuff and development. :)
@busmark_w_nika Yes, exactly, AI and it's ripple effects. So restructuring that impacts the number of jobs available in certain fields and also what skills will be needed in those jobs.
I think it depends on how validated the idea is. If I’ve seen real traction or paying users, I’d be okay investing maybe 30–40% of my savings. But if it’s still early and unproven, I’d rather test lean with minimal spend before going all in.