My thoughts

I’ve thought about this for a while since I was trying to find people for my last legaltech startup that I started in july 2024 (technically joined but I’ll keep it simple). I shut it down 7mo later in mid feb.

Some people enjoy the journey and are fine with delayed gratification because they know that no business makes a ton of money from day 1. It takes time like everything else, and at least a few months before any money comes in.

Other people are mercenaries; they only work for the short term. They want money now or else they aren’t interested. 99.9% of people are like this. Even people who live with their parents and on paper should have a high risk appetite. They don’t have any bills to pay and all they risk is their time, which they have plenty of. And if things work out, they will get future revenue. But they can’t stomach that risk. Risk is scary, who likes risk?

I remember from Oct 2024 - Jan 2025, I had reached out to 21 competent developers that I had come across online. I could tell based on their projects, and a few I had worked with in the past. I have a list of them and why each rejected my offer of future revenue share + equity if they join.

I wrote an essay explaining the traction we got, with quotes from lawyers, and how big the opportunity is. If past me saw this, I would froth at how good the idea is. 40 different lawyers were given a demo, and 10 were on the waitlist. 10 more were interested once certain integrations were made.

But 80% of those 21 rejected my offer because no money from day 1. Because there was risk. The few with kids always declined.

The other 20% were interested, but realized they didn’t have the bandwidth, or were doing their own thing (respect).

My risk appetite was high when I started, and still is to this day. I was a 2024 apr new grad, I considered myself a skilled programmer, but got screwed by the current job market from even before graduating. Since graduating I live with my parents who have stable jobs. I started Keepsake 2 months after graduating in july 2024, trying to find something interesting to do.

I tried inviting some people who were in the same boat, but all declined except for 1. That 1 guy was solid. Most would rather try to find water in a desert (jobs) than take a chance on a startup. It boggled my mind that young people wanted to play it safe. Very few had ambition.

Those 7 months of my life were the most rewarding and intense periods of my life. And that was just the beginning of my startup lore.

The world needs more ambitious & delusional people. There is simply not enough, hence all the problems around us.