About Me & Startizer

The Founderitis Is Strong With This One

Is what I am proposing the only way, the one true way? BS is it. It’s an MVP. And I do have issues with it, beyond the things to do with it being an MVP, but on a more fundamental level. Furthermore, I think there are many ways. The way I propose is for a certain type of personality.
If you think it’s all down to luck, then this ain’t for you.
If you are wanting something so complicated, with plans within “riddles, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma” then this isn’t for you either.
If you are the wing it kind, then you might as well drink your Red Bull, get your Hermes on, and make like Nike’s less persistent sibling, and just do one.
If you think this is going to be easy, it’s not. Quite the opposite.
Hopefully, the people (or person) left are the questioning kind, the ones who like their risks-calculated, and if all else fails, take a leap of faith, of self-belief.
Take nothing at face value, we all have our biases, foibles, blind-spots, etc. Question s**t. Question me, question what I say. I have done enough screw-ups, boneheaded, numb-skull brain dead things, that I question me, frequently. Few heated arguments. Maybe even some fisticuffs. No, not that type of fisticuff.
The answers I have, work for me at the moment. When they stop working, I’ll update them or get some new ones. But they are my answers.
For you, what I have are questions, and that is what Startizer is about. Asking the questions to get the appropriate answers with a greater degree of credibility.

Some Background

Hello.

I started Startizer just over 7 years ago, so borderline maniacal obsession.
I threw Lean pretty much out of the window. There was a lot to learn, a lot to experience, and much more to come. I approached it from both sides, working with founders and investors, as well as taking in the usual suspects: articles, books, videos, etc, etc..
It started by accident really, it wasn’t meant to be a startup, it was meant for my education and to use when working with startups. It was a collection of notes and templates, based on what I read, experienced and got told.
The thing evolved from those small seeds to a private blueprint to guide founders including me, for when the time came. And it did come, and go.
That startup I stopped at MVP production (18 months ago), as Startizer had taken me over. Or I became Startizer, hard to say. I will be getting Stewart Copeland to sort me out with a theme tune.
I made MVP v1, which covered all the steps in Excel, and released a part of it to rapturous acclaim. Tumbleweed rolling all over the place. It was not unexpected, I didn’t follow any of the guidelines nor recommendations. I needed to hit that milestone of having done it and released it. That was at the start of 2019.
So, 10 months later I finish MVP v2, which this time was not the whole thing. From Excel to Access; I am all about the tech-stack.
Since then, I've been working on the web-app version.

Personal FAQ

So, you’ve spent around 6 years working on the Startizer System? Yep. I have dependents, responsibilities, and commitments.

Could you not find a developer to work with you? I didn’t want one, it would have been too early for me, and Startizer. Furthermore, I dislike how people start running towards developers with any 2-bit idea: drop your paying projects, the ideas in the bag, hard parts over, here let me bestow 2% of equity upon thee, chop-chop. Your idea, you run with it, de-risk it how you can. However, Startizer does have a co-founder and has done for a while.
You must have a lot of passion for it? No. I have seen the passion in the jilted lovers, the divorced couples and the broken homes. So, I leave passion for the Don Juans, the Lotharios, and the Casanovas.
Are you saying this is the one and only true path to launch and success? Certainly not.
Have you had any success? Define success. In terms of how I define it, no I haven’t, I am nowhere near my goals
Then why should I use Startizer? Persuade me. No, I will not attempt to persuade you. That’s bullshit marketing / sales, and not how I work. Persuasion is not the starting point.
So Startizer is not for everybody? Certainly not. I am not attempting to feed the masses, rather I am looking to nourish the few. I can’t start a fire within anybody, but I can fan a flame within those who have it.
Are you using Startizer on itself, on yourself? Yes, MVP v1 and v2, it was used as some sort of Ouroboros tribute. Parts of MVP v3 are being used.
I can’t find much about you online, how come? I don’t have the time, inclination nor interest in things I consider not relevant. I’d rather learn, think, and work. However, I do think this stance has made things more difficult.
What if you fail? It depends on what your definition of fail is, but yes, it is a possibility. One that I do not believe will happen.
I don’t believe you. This isn’t a question. It’s your right to believe what you do, and I don’t have a problem with it. Instead of languishing in doubt, I embrace doubt, look for the seeds, then work on those things.
For argument’s sake, what if you fail, 5 years is a long time. You fail when you stop, I’m not stopping, doesn’t mean I won’t take detours if I have to. I don’t have the cranial capacity, nor the time, nor the inclination to figure out if something was down to luck. It does appear that some had a set of fortunate events. But what does it matter, that’s their road, this is mine. At times I have made the road, but at times, the road has made the man. I don’t know and don’t care if someone got what they did or didn’t deserve in this arena. Maybe opportunity knocks on your door. When I am ready, I will knock on opportunities door. Ok, I am still arguing, so win some, lose some.
But I won’t.