The End of Dextron

[Owen]

Well it's official ladies and gentlemen. Dextron has been shut down...

http://i.imgur.com/gMoiLht.gif

I know, I know it's sad. But save the tears. I'll tell you all about it, and don't worry, I'm gonna need some advice so please sit down and grab the popcorn.

WHAT THE BILL COSBY HAPPENED?!
I'm not going to point any fingers, it was both our faults. We really couldn't stick with and create a solid (not patented) concept. That always put some weight on our shoulders. On top of that, the motivation was...pathetic to say the least. Me on the other hand, I'm so ambitious my goal is to be Elon Musk, but my partner didn't have anywhere near the same spark. For the past month or so it's been him talking about this new job he has and college. He's going to be at this job only for the summer, then he's going to leave for another larger company called Pratt and Whitney (http://www.pw.utc.com/Home). Basically, we started to argue because he underestimates how challenging starting a company is, and he wants to work on the company after work and on the weekends while I dedicate day in and day out. Of course, I'm not going to do that, I want a partner just as dedicated as me. I asked what was more important, he said college and his job, so I told him that this partnership probably won't work out. We decide it's time to split up and do our own thing, Kulin (good friend, I'll explain him in a minute) finds out, and next thing I know I'm strongly considering completely abandoning Dextron and its name, and starting a different company, this time with Kulin.

Kulin, who I mentioned before, is just as ambitious. He didn't start Dextron, and is waiting to be apart of it when my house is done being built (he's been texting me constantly). As I mentioned in previous posts, Kulin is a former colleague of mine who comes from a long bloodline of businesspersons. His great grandfather started a bakery, his grandfather took over that bakery until it was bought in the mid-1980s, and his dad started a computer company in his early 30s. Kulin is going to be going to school to get a business degree like me, so of course, this works out great. Plus we're closer in age (9 months apart), so the age isn't as crazy as before.

So basically, Dextron is done. It's not longer a sole proprietorship or whatever we were before. So, R.I.P. Dextron.
http://i.imgur.com/WyKf04w.jpg

For now, I shall begin a new journey. I shall start this company properly. No more dicking around! No more waiting and relying on one person! I shall start what I originally wanted to do (but Ryan thought it was stupid, yet in reality it was pretty badass. He just wanted to do 3D stuff), and I shall ben referred to as Owen Musk from now on. Stay tuned, I'm sure I'll need some more advice.

Now comes the whole reason I just wrote that entire post. Where do you think I should start after the business plan? I know that always comes first lol. What should I do differently?

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR THE WONDERFUL ADVICE FOR DEXTRON!

[Freelancier]

What I found works well is to FIND YOUR FIRST PAYING CUSTOMER first. You need to be good enough about your pitch to get them to commit to paying for what you're going to build before you even start building it. You need to have a vision of something they can't just buy off the shelf for less. They need to believe in you, in your vision, in your execution... before you ever execute anything.

This customer isn't an investor, although they'll invest some time and a little effort by giving you feedback along the way. They're better than an investor, because they'll have a real use for what you're building, so you'll have a clear target to hit.

Do that and you'll be much further along the road to success. If you can't do that, the odds are that the road to success will seem much longer.

[Harold Mansfield]

Actually I think getting a failure out of the way is a good thing. Almost every successful business owner has at least one. You have to. The odds of hitting it out of the park on the first pitch are really slim. Now you can move forward with what you've learned. I know from experience, it's a completely different attitude when you regroup and start again.

I also know from experience that although a partner with needed skills may be preferable, there's nothing like making all the decisions. That way you never have to worry about the level of someone elses commitment because odds are no matter who it is it will never be as resolute as yours.

Of course you can't do everything alone, but you can find ways to get it off the ground and bringing in money before bringing in more people. Having employees and hiring sub contractors is way better than spitting profits with someone. At least it is to me.

I think everyone here who's been around for a while will agree that this is a good thing. The lessons are invaluable.

[M.Ehrmantraut]

Sounds like a lot of positives, actually - you can learn from the past experience and it sounds like you have a new partner that is on the same page with you and just as hungry to succeed. Best wishes with everything!

[Fulcrum]

Sorry to hear that you've decided to shut things down. I don't think any of us here enjoy seeing that happen.

Out of curiosity, how close were you to having a working prototype of the printer?

[Owen]

Sorry to hear that you've decided to shut things down. I don't think any of us here enjoy seeing that happen.

Out of curiosity, how close were you to having a working prototype of the printer?

Not very close. Would've been closer if we had more time dedicated! :)