Paul Mestemaker
Published on

1 Month into Bootstrapping a Startup

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One month ago, I left my high-paying job at a big software company. After just one month, I've relocated, sought a lawyer, abandoned an entire design, learned a new programming language, and submitted our first app to the Apple App Store. So now I am going to take a moment to reflect on all that has happened in the last month.

In the last month, I've learned quite a bit.

Productivity Reigns Supreme

All sorts of things destroy your productivity. I noticed at some point the amount of code I was checking in on a daily basis was a joke.

Not having the appropriate furniture. Legal issues. Schedule conflicts. Using new tools. Not having discipline (staying away from Hacker News/Reddit/Facebook). Doubting yourself.

Consistency Adds Up

Playing tennis, perfect push-ups, learning every day.

Prepare to be Humbled

Stumbling at basic tasks ... learning objective-C, using Git/Github

Somehow I have no mental problem not eating out to save money. A lot of people said that I need to prepare myself to be the one to do everything... even unsexy things like "empty the trash".

What would I have done differently?

Used a different moving company.

Learned the basics of Objective-C before leaving my high-paying job.

Spent more time in San Francisco on my way to L.A.

Traveled more