Startup Mindset

Harrison Lo
Aug 26, 2017 · 4 min read
Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash

In four years of university I had started from scratch a project I persistently and stubbornly wanted to make for 5 times. Four times I failed, the fifth time I made it.

Let alone the idea, I only wanted to actually make a product. I tried hiring a CTO, I tried managing developers, I designed, I tried partnering up, I tried to code every part of the application.

I wrote a thesis on that project on my last semester, applying every knowledge I’ve read throughout college on business and startups. I concluded that there was not enough demand and it wasn’t a business.

I had to start from scratch.

Now, it’s different giving up a project versus giving up your baby. I’ve worked on over 20 projects throughout college via internship, hackathons, code schools, etc. Those are practices, sometimes fun, but never serious.

A project becomes my baby when I believe in its idea. I would give everything to make it happen. I would dream about its possibilities and think about it during showers. The work becomes my source of happiness.

People say entrepreneurship is an emotional rollercoaster and it’s true.

Towards the end of college I was searching for my next idea. Time spent without a baby was an emotional local minimum. Aimless, unfulfilling and frustrating. I didn’t want any idea. I wanted a product idea people want.

“What if there’s a debit card that loads only your monthly budget?”

I wanted this. This idea stuck with people. I felt excited. Of all 20 plus ideas I’ve had throughout college, never had an idea been so well received. I felt that I’ve finally made progress.

I applied the lean startup methodologies that I’ve learned through the years and did testing with strangers. It seemed to work. I had a positive ROI on marketing and pre-orders. It’s what we call traction in the startup world.

Searching for a demand is hard, and the results proved that I’ve finally made it to the milestone. Now, onto the next.

Uh oh. This isn’t a web app. I needed to get into mobile development to prototype this idea.

I had to start from scratch.

I learned iOS development from the ground up and prototyped the banking app out within a month. My design was pretty looking. People like it. I felt great. I felt happy because of progress.

In the meantime, I was reaching out to people from companies that would help me make a debit card. Emails were ignored. I studied a company’s API only to be told later they wouldn’t do my case. Emotional local minimum.

Fortunately a guy from a company in Utah followed up. Progress happens. I’ve learned so much about an industry in a few phone calls compared to some classes in a semester. I got excited about the industry’s business model.

I started preparing pitch decks and business plans. At this point, I’m back to Taiwan preparing to get into compulsory military service. I wanted to get seed investment before I go into army. I was confident with my numbers.

The first meeting I had was with a connector. He knows all the investors in town. He’s impressed with my pre-launch numbers. BUT, he said,

This is pre-launch so you won’t get investors interested. This is not America.

I can’t have money without a product. I can’t have a product without money. Chicken and egg problem.

Meanwhile, I have gotten to know more about the industry. The deeper I go, the more hidden costs I would discover. Despite high revenue figures, the costs become high enough to make it a really low margin and risky business.

I realized this is a high cost, high risk and low margin startup. Emotionally local minimum. I had to change my model.

I had to start from scratch.

Throwing away 80% of past three months’ work gave me another blow. Concept video, website, prototype and codes are all gone. I told myself it’s not about the amount the work done, it’s about doing the right work.


You might think, like most stories you were told, there is a happy ending. But there is no ending. I came up with an enhanced version from the previous idea, what we call a pivot. There’s no guarantee it’s going to work.

I just spent a week coding and polishing up that new concept. I’ve changed my business model, my target user, my design, my website. I felt exhausted. Yet, my initial feedback tells me that I still have work to do.

If the nature of entrepreneurship is a rollercoaster, then I must have fun riding it. Having a starting from scratch mindset is the requirement.

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Harrison Lo

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Creator of things, thinker of thoughts.

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