drstarcat - Latest Comments in Putting your life on the line for a 50% chance to fail

Re: Putting your life on the line for a 50% chance to fail

RW — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:30:09 -0000

Fantastic post, thanks for sharing your story. I wish you much success in making SetJam a big hit

Re: Putting your life on the line for a 50% chance to fail

twakefield — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:09:27 -0000

Great post Ryan...inspirational, really.

Re: Putting your life on the line for a 50% chance to fail

davidsrose — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:59:26 -0000

It's passion like this, second only to integrity (which you also have) as the #1 thing investors look for in funding a company. And it doesn't hurt that the demo actually turned out to be a great hit. Congratulations!

Re: Putting your life on the line for a 50% chance to fail

P. Moehring — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:06:15 -0000

Amazing post. I wish you a lot of success with Setjam, not just luck!

Re: Putting your life on the line for a 50% chance to fail

laurenporat — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:13:26 -0000

Wow. I was in the audience at the meetup, and never would have guessed the drama that led up to it. You're so smart for sharing this story, because now I feel like I have that much more desire to see you succeed, not just as a fellow entrepreneur and boot-strapper, but as a member of the audience. Best of luck to you, Ryan!
Lauren Porat
Co-founder
Urban Interns

Re: Putting your life on the line for a 50% chance to fail

MikeDuda — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 06:39:54 -0000

Great post, great story.

Re: Putting your life on the line for a 50% chance to fail

TheIndianStartup.com — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:35:34 -0000

Thanks for this fantastic post

Re: Putting your life on the line for a 50% chance to fail

Nate Westheimer — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:06:18 -0000

Congrats, Ryan. I can honestly say it was one of NY Tech Meetup's best presentations in my tenure.

Re: Putting your life on the line for a 50% chance to fail

Shakir Razak — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:58:54 -0000

Dear Ryan,

Just wanted to say Congratulations on launching Setjam.

Your re-counting of the events just before launch is both inspiring and cautionary to all potential entrepreneurs.

It wouldn't be meaningful if our journey didn't matter. At least in the tech industry things can be quicker and cheaper, when you think of the failure-rate of other (often more manual) businesses.

"I know you can succeed, You have to make sure you do!"

Best wishes,

Shakir Razak

Re: Putting your life on the line for a 50% chance to fail

Uri L. — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:05:48 -0000

Thanks for sharing this amazing story. One of the most dramatic and moving posts I've read in a long time. Looking forward to check Setjam, as I guess I'm also an online tv guy (no TV at home :). Good luck anyway!

Re: Putting your life on the line for a 50% chance to fail

drstarcat — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:07:58 -0000

Yeah... we're religiously TDD. It's the only thing that saved our asses.
The data issue was just one of those things that slipped through the cracks,
and obviously the FB and Netflix stuff isn't something that ANY methodology
can save you from if you're relying on partners.

Re: Putting your life on the line for a 50% chance to fail

Geo — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:03:18 -0000

Just out of curiosity, are you using test-driven development techniques? Your story reminds me of the days before I got religion on agile development and TDD. TDD especially has significantly lowered the stress level of the teams I've worked in, especially as we get close to a major release.

Re: Putting your life on the line for a 50% chance to fail

mrnegative — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:23:45 -0000

i found this story very interesting

Re: Putting your life on the line for a 50% chance to fail

Shawn — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:24:46 -0000

Great post. As a fellow NY entrepreneur as well I am grateful for the candid insights you are sharing. Best of luck on your startup.

Re: Putting your life on the line for a 50% chance to fail

khanan grauer — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:53:55 -0000

sorry i missed the presentation - but i'm rooting for you guys and thanks for sharing your experience.

Re: Putting your life on the line for a 50% chance to fail

Eric Friedman — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:46:19 -0000

Thanks for sharing the backstory - presentation went smooth last night! Looking forward to trying out the service.

Re: Putting your life on the line for a 50% chance to fail

brianprothro — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:35:25 -0000

Amazing story. I too am an entrepreneur, so I understand. Especially when you put your family on the line too. Good luck, I will be there to see what happens...

Re: Putting your life on the line for a 50% chance to fail

zackmansfield — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:27:52 -0000

Ryan, was in the crowd last night at the NYTM and was really impressed with how smooth the presentation was.

To get the backstory makes it phenomenal.

Love the passion and the excitement of the new venture. It's my favorite part of working with entrepreneurs. Best of luck and I'm looking forward to trying out the private beta.

Re: Putting your life on the line for a 50% chance to fail

Will Schwalbe — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:26:57 -0000

Wow. This is an amazing post. I felt my heart racing when I read it. I launched a startup last year in front of NY Tech Meetup and it was crazy, anxiety-producing, exciting, terrifying, nerve-jangling, and surreal. It also introduced me to lots of awesome people.

When my friends want to know what my last year has been like, I'm going to send them to this blogpost. I'm also super-excited about setjam.com and can't wait to check it out. Sounds awesome. I think you are going to knock it out of the park.