DISQUS

VentureBeat: Founders should live on Ramen noodles, and $2,000 a month

  • aishwarya · 3 years ago
    Excellent point. Frugality is the expression of sincerity. Sincerity wins !! . Usually :)
  • NateW · 3 years ago
    There is a lot of empirical evidence that scarcity of resources increases the likelihood of success of startups. Eating ramen noodles for weeks on end (which I have done) is pretty motivating for a founder....
  • somaking · 3 years ago
    Raw talent is all you really need. Too bad VCs couldn't spot talent if it fell in their lap.
  • Todd Allen · 3 years ago
    Hmmm... maybe it's the sodium! That's it, I'm putting a salt lick in the cubicles.
  • Startups.in/India · 3 years ago
    Did Sherpa Ram really endorse "Ram"en noodles or did he just say noodles? ;-)
  • Krish · 3 years ago
    Well, well, well...Next time when your VC comes calling, you know what to offer for lunch...You are sure to get your series A - Y through...!
  • Anil · 3 years ago
    Ram is so right in saying that internet startups need to be frugal. With LAMP technologies its so much cheaper to make a web startup, however companies still need to invest in people and marketing. Extravagant expenditures can be postponed till after getting a cushy exit or VC funding.
  • Marshall Kirkpatrick · 3 years ago
    Uh, am I the only person here who knows single moms making $9 an hour, or about $1200 per month after taxes plus a couple hundred in food stamps - and not feeding their kids ramen noodles? The discussion around that number seems really strange to me.
  • Jonny Diode · 3 years ago
    Frugal is back in style. This is nothing new. The best run companies are frugal by nature. The "great wealth" misteps of the late 90's were an anomoly. When you start seeing out of control spending this is the first sign of declining earnings and management misfocus on customer.
  • Mike · 3 years ago
    Unless founders have all the necessary skills they need, by far the biggest expense of any startup is their employees. You cannot outsource original stuff on odesk or elance, you need someone talented nearby. But unless they are willing to risk with you, talented folks don't come cheap nowadays.

    So I really don't know what all this talk about frugality relates to. Cool, eat ramen instead of paying 5 bucks for pizza, you can then afford extra 10 programmer-minutes... Great!
  • Startups.in/India · 3 years ago
    @Mike - "...talented folks don’t come cheap nowadays."

    and what better proof than VentureBeat’s high-end jobs :)
  • joe M · 3 years ago
    That is easy for Ram to say, sitting on billions of dollars and profiting from cheap labor. I certainly believe you have to do what ever it takes in the early days, but once professional investors become involved in your venture, employees are entitled to upgrade from the Ramen.