Ask HN: I have a startup idea! What do I do next?
I'm sort of in a pickle, and I'd like your advice. My mind is bubbling and overflowing with this great idea for a startup, but I don't know how to proceed. Here's a list of some things I have to sort out:
a) I started working less than a year ago. This is my first job out of college, so I'm hesitant to just up and leave. Not to mention I have very little business and corporate experience.
b) I have a CS background, but I only took one web design course in college and found it very difficult in a completely different way from CS.
c) I don't have friends who are software engineers and interested in doing a startup. My closest friends, with whom I actually want to work on this, are all liberal arts majors and on the other side of the country. I could find some random people, but I doubt I have enough experience to lead a team. (Also I'm an extremely indecisive person, which is terrible for that sort of role).
d) I am like the opposite of what VC's look for in a startup founder. I don't sacrifice my well-being (sleep, meals) for anything. I've never pulled an all-nighter (on the other hand, I've never had to because I don't procrastinate). I cycle through my projects and interests every few weeks or months as I get bored with one or really obsessed with another. In short, I like to dabble. But I'd really like to be the other kind of person. :D Help?
e) I could work on this project on the side in addition to my job (what I'm sort of doing right now), but if it turns into anything, it would technically belong to my company. Does anyone have legal advice on that front? Like at what point should I definitely leave or risk getting sued, etc.
f) I could present this idea to the relevant departments at my company (it's pretty related to what they do), but they move...so...slowly and have their own priorities. I might get really frustrated seeing the whole idea get mangled by bureaucracy and company-focused priorities (e.g. emphasis on company reputation rather than user experience, etc). I accept that, if I'm going to work on this with anyone else, I will have to compromise and negotiate some of the original ideas; but change for the good of the product is acceptable, whereas change for the good of the company could be detrimental to the product. (Btw, I'm totally painting a bad picture of my company, but overall it's really awesome. In fact I don't know of a better place to work... except maybe a startup).
So that's my situation, more or less. I feel justified posting it here because I think it's pretty typical of aspiring startup founders or people who visit this site because it's awesome. Thanks in advance for your input.