Diving Head First into the Startup Unknowns
Tags: blogging, startup
Published: 2024-05-04 10:23:57

---
title: Diving Head First into the Startup Unknowns
published: true
date: 2024-04-18 00:00:00 UTC
tags: blogging,startup
canonical_url: https://billyle.dev/posts/diving-head-first-into-the-startup-unknowns
---

After I'd been forced to quit my last employment, I've been idling by since I felt burnt out from that role.

I didn't have any drive to do anything for about a year but I have been keeping up-to-date on tech matters.

Watching the tech market plummet with massive layoffs and the rise of AI, I knew I had to do something or risk being left behind.

I started to pick up Golang as my backend language of choice for its simplicity and speed while also picking up PostgreSQL.

And then after a conversation with a friend, he recommended using Flutter for mobile development.

With this new stack, I rolled up my sleeves to work on some projects.

## Project #1: Furfil

Furfil has been spinning in my mind for quite a while.

It's about creating a platform where pet services can meet customers. It's like Rover but will offer plenty of more services.

It will be released as a web and mobile app.

## Project #2: Dotted

Dotted is a project that a friend and I are working on.

It's an AI mobile app that helps generate itineraries for traveling.

We're using Flutter to release on mobile, and potentially releasing a web app.

## Learning how to launch startups

I listened to hours of podcasts about startups but I'm constantly thinking about how I'm supposed to launch my own.

The majority of the content I've been consuming is very broad and high-level. It doesn't necessarily cover the nitty-gritty details I need to take.

Like should I start an LLC first or use a sole proprietorship?

Should I use the beginning of a tax year to form the LLC?

Where should I set one up? Wyoming? Delaware? Do I need a lawyer from that state?

Should I have a holding company and hold ownership in another LLC for Dotted since that will be a partnership?

Can my partner qualify for working on Dotted since they're on an H1-B visa?

I have so many questions and they are coming in slowly. It's been paralyzing to take action because there is so much to do.

## The struggles of app development

Development will be always slow on new languages and technologies being learned. As we push forward, there are always an area of unknowns and it takes time and research to figure out the best approach.

I get mentally exhausted from learning and hitting obstacles that I end up working on my website like this blog post as a way to reclaim my peace.

And every minute taken away from the projects means time to market is prolonged.

I'm thinking about starting Furfil from scratch using what I know to keep things simple and fast. But I know Furfil won't scale well with Node and MongoDB in the long run.

There's a tradeoff to everything.

## Next course of action

Until I do something to push the needle forward, I will be in this constant state.

So I'm starting my new LLC next month. I have a domain ready and I'll announce it when it's finalized.

I have to learn by doing and learn by failing. If this is not the right decision, I'll learn to live with it and adapt accordingly.

That's how anyone can find success and every success story is different from one another.

It's time to write my own story.

Thanks for reading my rant. I hope you have a good one.