February 2, 2011 at 19:19The story of a very unsuccessful startup
I will make a reservation right away, this story is about my friend with whom I keep in touch. He does not need an invite. All names and titles will be omitted. He told me this story for a week in fits and starts. I do not doubt her veracity.
I will not evaluate it as a right or wrong act. I give the Habr to the Community for reading, so that everyone, perhaps, appreciates it for himself and, perhaps, finds experience for himself.
The article is displayed with the permission of a friend.
To start about him:
He is a programmer. Too gullible, kind and reserved person who rarely shows his emotions and only to those whom he trusts. For three years in his city while studying at school, he took first place in programming. After graduation, he received an invitation to MSTU. Bauman at the then-emerging faculty of IU9, but due to his own stupidity (because of the love for the girl who left a month later) refused.
He never received a higher education, but immediately went to work. He is a capable guy, versed in technology, programmed in C, C ++, Delphi, PHP, JS, Java, and at the end of our communication, he programmed in C #. At the time of writing, he was 22 years old. Yes, and he worked as a programmer since the age of 16.
If you are interested, welcome to cat.
After school, he was visited by constant thoughts about creating a project. At the age of 20, he got a job in a company in which a month later he was appointed Head of the Programming Department for his services. Also, the previous team of programmers was disbanded, and he was told to assemble a team. Within 2 months, the team was 12 people.
The whole team was put up for the project "Internet Operating System". At that time, only a couple could be called analogues, one of which was commercial and focused on many countries.
The first version of the system was developed in 3 months. The main rule was "as little Flash as possible, as much JavaScript as possible." Of the frameworks, only MooTools was used. Among the shortcomings was that it was poorly protected, but included features such as a payment system, a social system, a desktop, a huge storage, a player, the appointment of default programs, several games, office programs, and even VoIP. The main advantage was that more than half of the code was executed on the client.
A week before the end of development of the first version, he divided the team and began developing the second, more secure, but compatible version.
The company was notified that the project was ready, but not safe. In principle, the company respected him, to some extent even loved him, because for all sorties he was taken with him. He listened to his opinion, but asked quickly.
Even then, a crisis hit the company. From time to time, salaries were delayed, programmers were worried, but they worked. In 2010, after the new year, he was directly told that there would be no money until May.
Trying to keep the team, he calmly explained everything, said that he did not ask everyone to hold on, but he would be very sorry if they left. The project was dear to him, like the team. Then, together with the deputy, a decision was made: to establish his own company, complete the project and release under his auspices. Since the company delayed a lot of money for them, it was customary to take the laptops they bought with them. It remained, as he believed, only to find an investor.
For some reason, I always thought that honest people are present in the world and will understand me, although I myself acted dishonestly and very meanly. It gnawed at me and I was sorry to part with the company. They loved and respected me here ... more than ever. This was my first mistake. You just had to leave and leave the project. Forget about it. Erase from memory. Find a new job and calmly wait for the delayed money.
An investor was found within a month. For amusing circumstances, he ends up in the hospital for almost half a month. Upon exit, a new company was ready, ~ 500 thousand rubles had already been invested in the project. He was in her General Director, co-founder and chief accountant. He broke up with the company in a not-so-mild form, simply by sending a letter of resignation and ceasing to get in touch.
I was not an accountant, I never even knew about finances, so all financial issues were decided by the friend of the investor, who was also a share. We had an office, appliances and furniture.
As it turned out later, there was no question of salary. All the property bought in the company was not issued to her, but I was responsible for everything that was in the office. Simply put, the value of the company was 12 thousand, which were invested when creating it.
This was my second mistake.
Simply put, the team was obliged to develop the project just like that, giving only space and arranging it. They returned to what was. Only now he was formally obliged to return 500 thousand rubles with a shot of the project.
Previous employers did not just leave the case and, after writing a few statements, began to catch him. Soon they succeeded.
I was asked to repair a computer. By my stupidity, I agreed, asking initially, purely for interest, as always, how did they find out about me. I always wanted to satisfy my ego, because I had seen more than once when my fame ran ahead of me. I didn’t even realize that the phrase “Son of my brother’s friend” is nonsense!
I came to a meeting, but not alone, but with a friend. I was crammed into a car at the police station and taken to the office. On the way, they tried to intimidate me even by taking me to the forest and burying me. Although with my constant calmness on my face, apparently they were not impressed with their actions. There I had an unpleasant conversation, where I had to take my excuses and lie for a long time. Then I had 2 phones. They searched us, but by trick, I just stuffed him into his underpants, turning on the record. Soon we were taken home, with the promise that the next day I would bring the project on my own, because I had my mother’s laptop, and I didn’t live with her then.
Immediately they informed the new investor who stood up for them. And within a month, the former employer stopped pulling them. All applications to the police filed by the former employer, slowly stalled and sunk into oblivion.
I was still thinking about how much he can. I was introduced to the deputy chief of the Central Internal Affairs Directorate of our region. Personal communication. I found out that my former employers used to work in the murder department (or what it's called now), I found out all their ins and outs. Even the fact that one of them wanted to commit suicide ...
A month later, his team began to realize that no one would last so long. In principle, everyone knew the details, except that now he is obliged to pay 500 thousand when shooting the project.
Within a month, the whole team left. Some returned the laptops to their former employer. He quarreled with many, although he did not want this.
I was then left alone in the team. Several people supported me, but they were not programmers. I wrote everything myself. Long, but wrote. I studied more and more. I wrote add-ons for Apache. The project was ready only by the month of August.
I am exhausted.
Simply put, they just used it, obliging it to work just like that. From time to time they gave him money for food, road, life ... Since he is a smoker, they bought him cigarettes.
In September, it was clear that the project needed to be promoted. At first they also wanted to hang it on me, but they themselves began to twitch - no one wanted to lose money. I already didn’t care. Last month I was developing a project simply because it was necessary. I wanted them to at least sell it, at least that the main thing is that they lag behind me. I had practically no friends, there was no girl, I had no one to talk to. They threw people in front of me. I felt that this would happen to me ...
Soon, he decides to get another job. He finds a fairly well-paid position and place as an ordinary programmer.
I realized that if you go to the investor with your project, you must either go with the finished one, or write down all agreements on paper with signatures as much as possible. Need money for a project? Think ten times, but will he shoot? Will he bring at least what was invested in him ...
Soon, after 3 days of work in a new place, he is asked to come to the office. There he was told that he either stayed in the place of the general director, or paid them money. They take a receipt for 500 thousand rubles from him and threaten that they will ruin his life if he does something wrong. That the company will be turned into a “garbage can” for money laundering, and he, as chief accountant and CEO, will sink.
The next day, he writes a statement to the police, writes a letter of resignation and sends it by mail while continuing to work at a new job.
I was caught in a week. Also by stupidity. The girl asked to see a laptop, but now invited to a cafe. I came. As soon as she picked up the phone, I understood everything, but it’s better to stay in the cafe than to run outside. Here I was not alone either, my friend and brother were sitting at the next table. The guys calmly went into the cafe, sat down next to us and ordered tea. I was asked questions about whether I was selling a project, if I wanted a tambourine, if I wanted a deadline, why I wrote a statement and what to do next. I was asked to sign papers that the project belongs to my co-founders. I signed because I did not care. I didn't need him anymore. I created, not sold.
I was told to stay in touch, pick up the phone and allowed to work calmly on in another job.
I supported them with several sites, only I was fully versed in the project. Oddly enough, but if they read his Help, they would not need me. Thank God that they, like most, do not like to read.
His statements to the police and prosecutors were also drowned. After some time, they began to put pressure on him to pay the money invested in the project, to promote it ...
I did not know what to do. Honestly, I was terribly confused. I did not have this money. I honestly did not know what to do. I understood that they would not let me go, that until the end of my life they would milk money from me. If they don’t like something, they’ll put me in the best case. All my projects that I carried out at that time could be simply taken away from me by any fraud ... I decided to run away.
Within a month, he finds work abroad. He receives a passport and goes to the embassy to apply for a visa.
These were the worst days. I was afraid that all this would not affect my family, but somehow I knew that they had a sense of proportion. That my relatives will not be touched ... I pasted announcements so as not to get officially registered. I worked from 6 in the morning. He came home only at 12 pm. I had breakfast, lunch and dinner on the street. It was winter, but I suffered.
12 days before the new year, he was in the IT most developed country. An ordinary web programmer.
I constantly send 3 thousand dollars a month to my friend so that he puts money into the company's account. He receives them via WM from a simple account, the data in which is entered on the left. My family gets $ 1,000 a month. In principle, I have enough rest for life. I even bought a new laptop.
Before the county, I met with my former employer, who was before my company. I explained everything to him and apologized. I am grateful to him that he forgave me and understood.
Will I be back in the country? Never. It’s just that I don’t have anyone there except my relatives.
Honestly, I don’t even know what I need now. This project has been a part of my life. Now I am finishing another project with a programmer from England and a designer in the Caribbean. They are all former Russians, so it’s easy for us to communicate. We have ideas that are also worth implementing.
As I understand it, I am not the only such loser who fled the country for such economic problems.
But for some I am ashamed, for some not ...
I don’t even know how to evaluate myself. And it’s like I’m wrong, it’s like I’m to blame myself and made mistakes for which I have to pay. It seems that I threw people, but I do not want to ruin my life. It is better to live or die than to be a slave for life ...
UDP : I apologize for the disappearance of the article: due to a small misunderstanding, it was removed, and my account was temporarily banned.
I will not evaluate it as a right or wrong act. I give the Habr to the Community for reading, so that everyone, perhaps, appreciates it for himself and, perhaps, finds experience for himself.
The article is displayed with the permission of a friend.
To start about him:
He is a programmer. Too gullible, kind and reserved person who rarely shows his emotions and only to those whom he trusts. For three years in his city while studying at school, he took first place in programming. After graduation, he received an invitation to MSTU. Bauman at the then-emerging faculty of IU9, but due to his own stupidity (because of the love for the girl who left a month later) refused.
He never received a higher education, but immediately went to work. He is a capable guy, versed in technology, programmed in C, C ++, Delphi, PHP, JS, Java, and at the end of our communication, he programmed in C #. At the time of writing, he was 22 years old. Yes, and he worked as a programmer since the age of 16.
If you are interested, welcome to cat.
Background
After school, he was visited by constant thoughts about creating a project. At the age of 20, he got a job in a company in which a month later he was appointed Head of the Programming Department for his services. Also, the previous team of programmers was disbanded, and he was told to assemble a team. Within 2 months, the team was 12 people.
The whole team was put up for the project "Internet Operating System". At that time, only a couple could be called analogues, one of which was commercial and focused on many countries.
The first version of the system was developed in 3 months. The main rule was "as little Flash as possible, as much JavaScript as possible." Of the frameworks, only MooTools was used. Among the shortcomings was that it was poorly protected, but included features such as a payment system, a social system, a desktop, a huge storage, a player, the appointment of default programs, several games, office programs, and even VoIP. The main advantage was that more than half of the code was executed on the client.
A week before the end of development of the first version, he divided the team and began developing the second, more secure, but compatible version.
The company was notified that the project was ready, but not safe. In principle, the company respected him, to some extent even loved him, because for all sorties he was taken with him. He listened to his opinion, but asked quickly.
Even then, a crisis hit the company. From time to time, salaries were delayed, programmers were worried, but they worked. In 2010, after the new year, he was directly told that there would be no money until May.
Start
Trying to keep the team, he calmly explained everything, said that he did not ask everyone to hold on, but he would be very sorry if they left. The project was dear to him, like the team. Then, together with the deputy, a decision was made: to establish his own company, complete the project and release under his auspices. Since the company delayed a lot of money for them, it was customary to take the laptops they bought with them. It remained, as he believed, only to find an investor.
For some reason, I always thought that honest people are present in the world and will understand me, although I myself acted dishonestly and very meanly. It gnawed at me and I was sorry to part with the company. They loved and respected me here ... more than ever. This was my first mistake. You just had to leave and leave the project. Forget about it. Erase from memory. Find a new job and calmly wait for the delayed money.
An investor was found within a month. For amusing circumstances, he ends up in the hospital for almost half a month. Upon exit, a new company was ready, ~ 500 thousand rubles had already been invested in the project. He was in her General Director, co-founder and chief accountant. He broke up with the company in a not-so-mild form, simply by sending a letter of resignation and ceasing to get in touch.
I was not an accountant, I never even knew about finances, so all financial issues were decided by the friend of the investor, who was also a share. We had an office, appliances and furniture.
As it turned out later, there was no question of salary. All the property bought in the company was not issued to her, but I was responsible for everything that was in the office. Simply put, the value of the company was 12 thousand, which were invested when creating it.
This was my second mistake.
Simply put, the team was obliged to develop the project just like that, giving only space and arranging it. They returned to what was. Only now he was formally obliged to return 500 thousand rubles with a shot of the project.
Previous employers did not just leave the case and, after writing a few statements, began to catch him. Soon they succeeded.
I was asked to repair a computer. By my stupidity, I agreed, asking initially, purely for interest, as always, how did they find out about me. I always wanted to satisfy my ego, because I had seen more than once when my fame ran ahead of me. I didn’t even realize that the phrase “Son of my brother’s friend” is nonsense!
I came to a meeting, but not alone, but with a friend. I was crammed into a car at the police station and taken to the office. On the way, they tried to intimidate me even by taking me to the forest and burying me. Although with my constant calmness on my face, apparently they were not impressed with their actions. There I had an unpleasant conversation, where I had to take my excuses and lie for a long time. Then I had 2 phones. They searched us, but by trick, I just stuffed him into his underpants, turning on the record. Soon we were taken home, with the promise that the next day I would bring the project on my own, because I had my mother’s laptop, and I didn’t live with her then.
Immediately they informed the new investor who stood up for them. And within a month, the former employer stopped pulling them. All applications to the police filed by the former employer, slowly stalled and sunk into oblivion.
I was still thinking about how much he can. I was introduced to the deputy chief of the Central Internal Affairs Directorate of our region. Personal communication. I found out that my former employers used to work in the murder department (or what it's called now), I found out all their ins and outs. Even the fact that one of them wanted to commit suicide ...
A month later, his team began to realize that no one would last so long. In principle, everyone knew the details, except that now he is obliged to pay 500 thousand when shooting the project.
Within a month, the whole team left. Some returned the laptops to their former employer. He quarreled with many, although he did not want this.
I was then left alone in the team. Several people supported me, but they were not programmers. I wrote everything myself. Long, but wrote. I studied more and more. I wrote add-ons for Apache. The project was ready only by the month of August.
I am exhausted.
Simply put, they just used it, obliging it to work just like that. From time to time they gave him money for food, road, life ... Since he is a smoker, they bought him cigarettes.
In September, it was clear that the project needed to be promoted. At first they also wanted to hang it on me, but they themselves began to twitch - no one wanted to lose money. I already didn’t care. Last month I was developing a project simply because it was necessary. I wanted them to at least sell it, at least that the main thing is that they lag behind me. I had practically no friends, there was no girl, I had no one to talk to. They threw people in front of me. I felt that this would happen to me ...
Soon, he decides to get another job. He finds a fairly well-paid position and place as an ordinary programmer.
I realized that if you go to the investor with your project, you must either go with the finished one, or write down all agreements on paper with signatures as much as possible. Need money for a project? Think ten times, but will he shoot? Will he bring at least what was invested in him ...
Soon, after 3 days of work in a new place, he is asked to come to the office. There he was told that he either stayed in the place of the general director, or paid them money. They take a receipt for 500 thousand rubles from him and threaten that they will ruin his life if he does something wrong. That the company will be turned into a “garbage can” for money laundering, and he, as chief accountant and CEO, will sink.
The next day, he writes a statement to the police, writes a letter of resignation and sends it by mail while continuing to work at a new job.
I was caught in a week. Also by stupidity. The girl asked to see a laptop, but now invited to a cafe. I came. As soon as she picked up the phone, I understood everything, but it’s better to stay in the cafe than to run outside. Here I was not alone either, my friend and brother were sitting at the next table. The guys calmly went into the cafe, sat down next to us and ordered tea. I was asked questions about whether I was selling a project, if I wanted a tambourine, if I wanted a deadline, why I wrote a statement and what to do next. I was asked to sign papers that the project belongs to my co-founders. I signed because I did not care. I didn't need him anymore. I created, not sold.
I was told to stay in touch, pick up the phone and allowed to work calmly on in another job.
I supported them with several sites, only I was fully versed in the project. Oddly enough, but if they read his Help, they would not need me. Thank God that they, like most, do not like to read.
the end
His statements to the police and prosecutors were also drowned. After some time, they began to put pressure on him to pay the money invested in the project, to promote it ...
I did not know what to do. Honestly, I was terribly confused. I did not have this money. I honestly did not know what to do. I understood that they would not let me go, that until the end of my life they would milk money from me. If they don’t like something, they’ll put me in the best case. All my projects that I carried out at that time could be simply taken away from me by any fraud ... I decided to run away.
Within a month, he finds work abroad. He receives a passport and goes to the embassy to apply for a visa.
These were the worst days. I was afraid that all this would not affect my family, but somehow I knew that they had a sense of proportion. That my relatives will not be touched ... I pasted announcements so as not to get officially registered. I worked from 6 in the morning. He came home only at 12 pm. I had breakfast, lunch and dinner on the street. It was winter, but I suffered.
12 days before the new year, he was in the IT most developed country. An ordinary web programmer.
I constantly send 3 thousand dollars a month to my friend so that he puts money into the company's account. He receives them via WM from a simple account, the data in which is entered on the left. My family gets $ 1,000 a month. In principle, I have enough rest for life. I even bought a new laptop.
Before the county, I met with my former employer, who was before my company. I explained everything to him and apologized. I am grateful to him that he forgave me and understood.
Will I be back in the country? Never. It’s just that I don’t have anyone there except my relatives.
Honestly, I don’t even know what I need now. This project has been a part of my life. Now I am finishing another project with a programmer from England and a designer in the Caribbean. They are all former Russians, so it’s easy for us to communicate. We have ideas that are also worth implementing.
As I understand it, I am not the only such loser who fled the country for such economic problems.
But for some I am ashamed, for some not ...
I don’t even know how to evaluate myself. And it’s like I’m wrong, it’s like I’m to blame myself and made mistakes for which I have to pay. It seems that I threw people, but I do not want to ruin my life. It is better to live or die than to be a slave for life ...
UDP : I apologize for the disappearance of the article: due to a small misunderstanding, it was removed, and my account was temporarily banned.