Building Startups: A few big ones, or many smaller ones?
inerte: How much time it took you to think about this question? 1 hour? A day if we count an event that happened today? A year, since you've decided to follow a certain path? A whole life maybe, if you think everything you did and everything you are lead to this question?The same questions can be applied to your startup(s). Doesn't matter if you already put, or is planning to put, 5, 50, 500 or 5000 hours.A 5 hour project can become a lifetime of adventure. It isn't about how much time you give, but how. An hour of a plumber is cheaper than an hour of a lawyer.Don't get me wrong, hard work does pay off. But your output (the result of your work), is NOT measured by your clients perception of how much time you spent on it.I've tried to search for a joke that would explain my point but couldn't find it to copy and paste. It goes like this:A company is having problem with a machine. They call someone who asks for 100 dollars and spend one hour trying to solve its problem, but is doesn't go well. Then they call someone who asks for 200 and spend three hours trying to fix the machine, but is also doesn't work. Then they call someone who asks for 50000 dollars and spend five minutes, just to flip four switches, but who got the machine working.Angry, the company demands an explanation for the expensive bill, and receives this reply:Time on the machine: $10Knowing what switch to flip: 49990And that's what you want to work on. Not on something that gives return on the time you spent on (altough it doesn't matter, it'll probably be high) but on what your knowledge is most valued at.