The history of a very unsuccessful startup
Immediately make a reservation, this story is about my friend with whom I keep in touch. He does not need an invite. All names will be omitted. This story during the week he told me in fragments. About her truthfulness, I have no doubt.
I will not evaluate it as a right or wrong thing. I give HabraCommunity for reading, so that everyone may appreciate it himself and, perhaps, find experience for themselves.
The article is displayed with the permission of a friend.
To begin with about him:
He is a programmer. Too gullible, kind and reticent person who rarely shows his emotions and only to those whom he trusts. Three years in his city while studying at school, he occupied the first place in programming. After graduation, he received an invitation to MSTU. Bauman, at the then-evolving department of IU9, but by his own stupidity (because of 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, at the end of our communication, he programmed in C #. At the time of this writing, he was 22 years old. Yes, and he worked as a programmer from 16 years.
')
If it is interesting to you, welcome under kat.
After school, he was visited by constant thoughts about creating a project. At the age of 20 he got a job in a company, where a month later for his services he was appointed Head of the Programming Department. 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 on the project "Internet Operating System". At that time, only a couple could be called analogs, 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 such features as a payment system, social system, desktop, huge storage, player, default program assignment, several games, office software, and even VoIP. The most important advantage was that more than half of the code was executed on the client.
A week before the end of the development of the first version, he divided the team and began developing a second, more secure, but compatible version.
The company was notified that the project was ready, but not safe. In principle, in the company he was respected, to some extent even loved, because he was taken to all the attacks with him. His opinion was heeded, but asked quickly.
Even then, the company hit the crisis. From time to time the salary was delayed, programmers 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 he did not ask everyone to hold on, but he would be very sorry if they left. The project was dear to him, as was the team. Then, jointly with the deputy, it was decided: to set up his company, complete the project and release under his auspices. Since the company detained them a lot of money, it was customary to take the laptops purchased by it. It remains, as he believed, only to find an investor.
For some reason I have always believed that honest people are present in the world and will understand me, although I myself acted dishonestly and very meanly. It gnawed at me a lot and I was sorry to part with the company. I was loved and respected 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 quietly wait for the delayed money.
The investor was found within a month. By amusing circumstances, he goes to the hospital for almost half a month. At the exit, the new company was already ready, about 500 thousand rubles had already been invested in the project. He was the General Director, co-founder and chief accountant. He broke up with the company in a not very mild form, just by sending an application for dismissal and ceasing to get in touch.
I was not an accountant, I never knew anything about finance, so all financial matters were decided by a friend of the investor, who was also in the share. We had an office, appliances and furniture.
As it turned out later, salary was out of the question. All property purchased by the company was not registered on it, but I was responsible for everything that was in the office. Simply put, the value of the company was 12 thousand, which were invested in creating it.
This was my second mistake.
Simply put, the team was obliged to develop a project just like that, giving only space and equipping it. They returned to what was. Only now he was formally obliged to return 500 thousand rubles a shot of the project.
Previous employers didn’t leave it alone and, having written several applications, began to catch him. Soon they did it.
I was asked to repair the computer. By my stupidity, I agreed, initially asking, purely for interest, as always, how they knew about me. I always wanted to satisfy my ego, because more than once I saw my glory running ahead of me. I did not even realize that the phrase “Son of a friend of my brother” is nonsense!
I came to the meeting, but not alone, but with a friend. I was shoved into the car at the ATS itself and taken to the office. On the way, they tried to intimidate me even by taking me into the woods and burying me. Although with my constant calmness on the face, apparently they were not impressed by their actions. There I had an unpleasant conversation, where I had to otmazyvatsya long and lie. Then I had 2 phones. They searched us, but I simply shoved him into panties by trickery, turning on the record. Soon we were taken to the house, with the promise that the next day I would bring the project on my own, because my mom had my 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.
Even then I thought about how much he can. I was introduced to the deputy chief of the Municipal Department of Internal Affairs of our region. Personal communication. I learned that my former employers used to work in the homicide department (or as it is now called), I found out all their secrets. Even the fact that one of them wanted to commit suicide ...
A month later, his team began to realize that no one would last for so long. In principle, everyone knew the details, except that he is now obliged to pay 500,000 when the project is fired.
Within a month, the whole team was gone. Some returned the laptops to the former employer. He quarreled with many, although he did not want to.
I then remained alone in the team. I was supported by several people, but they were not programmers. I wrote everything myself. Long, but he wrote. I studied even more and more. I wrote an add-on for Apache. The project was ready only by August.
I'm exhausted.
Simply put, it was simply used, committing to work just like that. From time to time he was given money for food, road, life ... As he smokes, he bought cigarettes.
In September, it was clear that the project should 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 did not care. Last month I developed the project simply because it is necessary. I wanted them to even sell it, at least, the main thing is that they lagged behind me. I practically had 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 take another job. He finds a well-paid position and the place of an ordinary programmer.
I realized that if you go to an investor with your project, then you need to go either with a ready, or as much as possible to write down all the agreements on paper with signatures. Need money for a project? Ponder ten times, but will he shoot? Will he bring at least what was invested in it by an investor ...
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 to ruin his life if he does something wrong. That the company will be turned into a “dump” for money laundering, and he, as the chief accountant and CEO, will go to the bottom.
The next day, he writes a statement to the police, writes an application for dismissal and sends by mail, continuing to work in the new job.
I was caught in a week. Also out of stupidity. The girl asked to see the laptop, but now invited to the cafe. I came. As soon as she picked up the phone, I understood everything, but it is better to stay in a cafe than run into the street. Here I was not alone either, my friend and brother were sitting at the next table. The guys calmly went to the cafe, sat down next to each other and ordered tea. I was asked questions about whether I was selling a project, whether I wanted a tambourine, if I wanted a deadline, why I wrote a statement and what to do next. I was asked to sign a paper stating that the project belongs to my co-founders. I signed, because I did not care. I was no longer needed. I worked, but did not sell.
They told me to stay in touch, pick up the phone, and let me work calmly further at another job.
I supported them several sites, but I understood completely the project. Oddly enough, but if they read his Help, then they would not need me. Thank God that they, like most, do not like to read.
His statements to the police and the prosecutor's office were also muffled. After some time, they began to put pressure on him to pay the money invested in the project, promote it ...
I did not know what to do. Honestly, I was terribly confused. I did not have this money. In general, 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 the money out of me. If they don’t like something, they'll put me at best. All my projects that I carried out at that time could have been simply taken away from me by any fraud ... I decided to run.
Within a month he finds work abroad. Receives a passport and travels to the embassy to issue a visa.
These were the worst days. I was afraid that all this would affect my relatives, but I knew in some place that they had a sense of proportion. That my family is not touched ... I pasted ads to not get settled officially. I worked from 6 in the morning. I came home only at 12 o'clock in the evening. I had breakfast, lunch and dinner outside. It was winter, but I endured.
12 days before the new year, he was in the most IT developed country. An ordinary web programmer.
I constantly send 3,000 dollars a month to my friend to deposit money into the company's account. He receives them via WM from a simple account, in which the left is entered. My family gets 1000 dollars a month. In principle, I have enough of the rest of my life. I even bought a new laptop.
Before the county, I met with my former employer, who was before my firm. I explained everything to him and apologized. I am grateful to him that he forgave me and understood.
Will I return to the country? Never. I just have no one there except my relatives.
Honestly, I don't even know what I need now. This project was part of my life. Now I am finishing another project with a programmer from England and a designer in the Caribbean. All of them are former Russians, so it’s easy for us to communicate. We have ideas that should be implemented too.
As I understand it, I am not the only such loser who fled the country on such economic problems.
But from some side I am ashamed, from some not ...
I don't even know how to evaluate myself. And it seems that I am wrong, it seems I myself am guilty 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 the rest of your life ...
UDP : I apologize for the disappearance of the article: because of a slight misunderstanding, it was removed, and my account is temporarily banned.
I will not evaluate it as a right or wrong thing. I give HabraCommunity for reading, so that everyone may appreciate it himself and, perhaps, find experience for themselves.
The article is displayed with the permission of a friend.
To begin with about him:
He is a programmer. Too gullible, kind and reticent person who rarely shows his emotions and only to those whom he trusts. Three years in his city while studying at school, he occupied the first place in programming. After graduation, he received an invitation to MSTU. Bauman, at the then-evolving department of IU9, but by his own stupidity (because of 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, at the end of our communication, he programmed in C #. At the time of this writing, he was 22 years old. Yes, and he worked as a programmer from 16 years.
')
If it is interesting to you, welcome under kat.
Prehistory
After school, he was visited by constant thoughts about creating a project. At the age of 20 he got a job in a company, where a month later for his services he was appointed Head of the Programming Department. 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 on the project "Internet Operating System". At that time, only a couple could be called analogs, 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 such features as a payment system, social system, desktop, huge storage, player, default program assignment, several games, office software, and even VoIP. The most important advantage was that more than half of the code was executed on the client.
A week before the end of the development of the first version, he divided the team and began developing a second, more secure, but compatible version.
The company was notified that the project was ready, but not safe. In principle, in the company he was respected, to some extent even loved, because he was taken to all the attacks with him. His opinion was heeded, but asked quickly.
Even then, the company hit the crisis. From time to time the salary was delayed, programmers 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 he did not ask everyone to hold on, but he would be very sorry if they left. The project was dear to him, as was the team. Then, jointly with the deputy, it was decided: to set up his company, complete the project and release under his auspices. Since the company detained them a lot of money, it was customary to take the laptops purchased by it. It remains, as he believed, only to find an investor.
For some reason I have always believed that honest people are present in the world and will understand me, although I myself acted dishonestly and very meanly. It gnawed at me a lot and I was sorry to part with the company. I was loved and respected 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 quietly wait for the delayed money.
The investor was found within a month. By amusing circumstances, he goes to the hospital for almost half a month. At the exit, the new company was already ready, about 500 thousand rubles had already been invested in the project. He was the General Director, co-founder and chief accountant. He broke up with the company in a not very mild form, just by sending an application for dismissal and ceasing to get in touch.
I was not an accountant, I never knew anything about finance, so all financial matters were decided by a friend of the investor, who was also in the share. We had an office, appliances and furniture.
As it turned out later, salary was out of the question. All property purchased by the company was not registered on it, but I was responsible for everything that was in the office. Simply put, the value of the company was 12 thousand, which were invested in creating it.
This was my second mistake.
Simply put, the team was obliged to develop a project just like that, giving only space and equipping it. They returned to what was. Only now he was formally obliged to return 500 thousand rubles a shot of the project.
Previous employers didn’t leave it alone and, having written several applications, began to catch him. Soon they did it.
I was asked to repair the computer. By my stupidity, I agreed, initially asking, purely for interest, as always, how they knew about me. I always wanted to satisfy my ego, because more than once I saw my glory running ahead of me. I did not even realize that the phrase “Son of a friend of my brother” is nonsense!
I came to the meeting, but not alone, but with a friend. I was shoved into the car at the ATS itself and taken to the office. On the way, they tried to intimidate me even by taking me into the woods and burying me. Although with my constant calmness on the face, apparently they were not impressed by their actions. There I had an unpleasant conversation, where I had to otmazyvatsya long and lie. Then I had 2 phones. They searched us, but I simply shoved him into panties by trickery, turning on the record. Soon we were taken to the house, with the promise that the next day I would bring the project on my own, because my mom had my 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.
Even then I thought about how much he can. I was introduced to the deputy chief of the Municipal Department of Internal Affairs of our region. Personal communication. I learned that my former employers used to work in the homicide department (or as it is now called), I found out all their secrets. Even the fact that one of them wanted to commit suicide ...
A month later, his team began to realize that no one would last for so long. In principle, everyone knew the details, except that he is now obliged to pay 500,000 when the project is fired.
Within a month, the whole team was gone. Some returned the laptops to the former employer. He quarreled with many, although he did not want to.
I then remained alone in the team. I was supported by several people, but they were not programmers. I wrote everything myself. Long, but he wrote. I studied even more and more. I wrote an add-on for Apache. The project was ready only by August.
I'm exhausted.
Simply put, it was simply used, committing to work just like that. From time to time he was given money for food, road, life ... As he smokes, he bought cigarettes.
In September, it was clear that the project should 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 did not care. Last month I developed the project simply because it is necessary. I wanted them to even sell it, at least, the main thing is that they lagged behind me. I practically had 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 take another job. He finds a well-paid position and the place of an ordinary programmer.
I realized that if you go to an investor with your project, then you need to go either with a ready, or as much as possible to write down all the agreements on paper with signatures. Need money for a project? Ponder ten times, but will he shoot? Will he bring at least what was invested in it by an investor ...
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 to ruin his life if he does something wrong. That the company will be turned into a “dump” for money laundering, and he, as the chief accountant and CEO, will go to the bottom.
The next day, he writes a statement to the police, writes an application for dismissal and sends by mail, continuing to work in the new job.
I was caught in a week. Also out of stupidity. The girl asked to see the laptop, but now invited to the cafe. I came. As soon as she picked up the phone, I understood everything, but it is better to stay in a cafe than run into the street. Here I was not alone either, my friend and brother were sitting at the next table. The guys calmly went to the cafe, sat down next to each other and ordered tea. I was asked questions about whether I was selling a project, whether I wanted a tambourine, if I wanted a deadline, why I wrote a statement and what to do next. I was asked to sign a paper stating that the project belongs to my co-founders. I signed, because I did not care. I was no longer needed. I worked, but did not sell.
They told me to stay in touch, pick up the phone, and let me work calmly further at another job.
I supported them several sites, but I understood completely the project. Oddly enough, but if they read his Help, then they would not need me. Thank God that they, like most, do not like to read.
the end
His statements to the police and the prosecutor's office were also muffled. After some time, they began to put pressure on him to pay the money invested in the project, promote it ...
I did not know what to do. Honestly, I was terribly confused. I did not have this money. In general, 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 the money out of me. If they don’t like something, they'll put me at best. All my projects that I carried out at that time could have been simply taken away from me by any fraud ... I decided to run.
Within a month he finds work abroad. Receives a passport and travels to the embassy to issue a visa.
These were the worst days. I was afraid that all this would affect my relatives, but I knew in some place that they had a sense of proportion. That my family is not touched ... I pasted ads to not get settled officially. I worked from 6 in the morning. I came home only at 12 o'clock in the evening. I had breakfast, lunch and dinner outside. It was winter, but I endured.
12 days before the new year, he was in the most IT developed country. An ordinary web programmer.
I constantly send 3,000 dollars a month to my friend to deposit money into the company's account. He receives them via WM from a simple account, in which the left is entered. My family gets 1000 dollars a month. In principle, I have enough of the rest of my life. I even bought a new laptop.
Before the county, I met with my former employer, who was before my firm. I explained everything to him and apologized. I am grateful to him that he forgave me and understood.
Will I return to the country? Never. I just have no one there except my relatives.
Honestly, I don't even know what I need now. This project was part of my life. Now I am finishing another project with a programmer from England and a designer in the Caribbean. All of them are former Russians, so it’s easy for us to communicate. We have ideas that should be implemented too.
As I understand it, I am not the only such loser who fled the country on such economic problems.
But from some side I am ashamed, from some not ...
I don't even know how to evaluate myself. And it seems that I am wrong, it seems I myself am guilty 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 the rest of your life ...
UDP : I apologize for the disappearance of the article: because of a slight misunderstanding, it was removed, and my account is temporarily banned.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/113046/
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