SHELVED

Never picked an idea · SHELVED after 5 mo

Michael Rodriguez, 23 · 5 mo

“Never even started and still lost money”

Not starting is also an ending.

For 5 months you kept looking. The company was never founded. A few candidates sit in the notebook, none of them validated. Paydays kept coming, and now and then you still open that notebook. The statistics call this a common ending too.

How it went

1. 2026 · preparing to openMichael Rodriguez, 23. You have decided to try starting a company in Midwest. No idea, no product yet. Savings $10,908, no job.
2. Debt from day onePersonal debt: $753 a month for 43 months. It comes out regardless of the company.
3. 5/2026: what now?Take a startup course — You finished the course: one certificate, and you know how to write a business plan.
4. 2026 · year 1 beginsA Quiet Year
5. 5/16 · Down sickDay three of a cold that will not lift. No time to see a doctor.
6. 6/2026: what now?Keep going — Take a startup course — You finished the course: one certificate, and you know how to write a business plan.
7. 7/2026: what now?Keep going — Take a startup course — You finished the course: one certificate, and you know how to write a business plan.
8. 7/11 · FamilyYour family packed you lunch. The note said, “Eat properly.”
9. 8/2026: what now?Keep going — Take a startup course — You finished the course: one certificate, and you know how to write a business plan.
10. 8/4 · Your mentorLunch with an old mentor. “Forget the numbers. Are you sleeping?”
11. 9/2026: what now?Keep going — Take a startup course — You won a pitch competition: prize money, and a judge’s business card.

Start simulationFounder failure stories