Back to a job

Paid business newsletter opened · Back to a job after 2 yr 10 mo

Chen Chi-wen, 39 · 2 yr 10 mo

“Spent my whole job interview talking about my failed startup”

Payday came back. My own decisions did not.

After 2 years and 10 months you wound down your Paid business newsletter and rewrote your CV. The interviewer found your “founder experience” interesting; the salary was lower than you hoped. Cash NT$60,018, debt NT$341,737, 0 employees, 75 customers. On the first payday, money simply arriving in the account felt strange. You still stop scrolling whenever a product like yours launches.

How it went

1. 2026 · preparing to openChen Chi-wen, 37. You have decided to try starting a company in Hsinchu and other regions. No idea, no product yet. Savings NT$513,516, employed (NT$44,440 a month).
2. 8/2026: what now?Start a business: «Document automation for tax offices» — You are going with «Document automation for tax offices». Still no company, no product. Now find out whether the idea is real.
3. 2026 · year 1 beginsChinese Demand Cooled
4. 8/14 · HeatwaveA heat warning. The air conditioning ran all day. The electricity bill is on your mind.
5. 9/2026: what now?Interview 20 people — 2 of 20 said they would pay. 10 only said it would be "nice to have".
6. 9/28 · Down sickYou came down with something. You took medicine and pushed through, but could not concentrate.
7. 10/2026: what now?Decide to build it — You decided to build. Validation ends here.
8. 11/2026: what now?Build it with no-code tools — You picked a template. By lunch there was a login screen.
9. 11/22 · Funding costs rose againThe US 10-year yield rose to 5.23%. Investors recalculated valuations, and the bank asked for more collateral.
10. 12/2026: what now?Keep building — Another month the same way. Progress crept up.
11. 12/23 · FamilyYou talked with your family for a long time. Someone said, “You come before the money.”
12. 1/2027: what now?Keep building — What you built today, you fixed tomorrow. Progress still went up.
13. 1/11 · A competitor movedA big company bolted a similar feature onto its product, free. More customers now ask, “How are you different?”
14. 2/2027: what now?Keep building — You crossed three lines off the list. Two new ones appeared.
15. 2/5 · Your mentorYour mentor sent a link to an article. “This sounded like you.”
16. 3/2027: what now?Quit your job — You quit. The next morning, not having to go to work felt strange.
17. 4/2027: what now?Keep building — What you built today, you fixed tomorrow. Progress still went up.
18. 5/2027: what now?Keep building — You crossed three lines off the list. Two new ones appeared.
19. 5/16 · Funding costs rose againThe US 10-year yield rose to 5.23%. Investors recalculated valuations, and the bank asked for more collateral.
20. 6/2027: what now?Launch — You pressed launch. 0 sign-ups on day one. You refreshed ten times.
21. 6/26 · Server bill spikeThe free cloud credits ran out. From this month the bill is the real number.
22. 7/2027: what now?Spread the word through communities and content — No new customers this month. The channel has to change.
23. 7/8 · HeatwaveA heat warning. The air conditioning ran all day. The electricity bill is on your mind.
24. You are short of moneyHold on — Instead of a loan you opened the household budget. No more eating out; repairs that could wait, waited. Holding on needed a plan too.
25. Chinese Demand CooledA prolonged slump in Chinese domestic demand and real estate lowered Asia's export outlook. Clients who bought raw materials cut orders, and domestic consumption turned cautious as well.
26. Year 1 closeRevenue NT$0, loss NT$151,165. Cash NT$216,485.
27. 2027 · year 2 beginsGlobal Energy Prices Surged
28. 8/5 · Covered in an articleAn industry outlet wrote about the product. Sign-up inquiries rose a little.
29. Financing approvedPersonal credit loan NT$500,000 · 6.0%/yr · 60 months
30. 9/2027: what now?Apply: Personal credit loan — You waited for the Personal credit loan decision. Personal credit loan NT$500,000 approved.
31. 9/14 · Your mentorAn old mentor called. “What scares you most right now?” they asked.
32. 9/24 · Global growth forecasts fellWith the IMF and World Bank forecasts diverging, global growth came down to 1.9%. Replies to overseas inquiries got slower.
33. The numbers are inChange direction — You pivoted to «Paid business newsletter» and apologised to the customers who stayed.
34. 10/12 · Loan payment dayLoan payment day. NT$9,666 in principal and interest left the account. The balance is NT$492,834.
35. 10/22 · Down sickDay three of a cold that will not lift. No time to see a doctor.
36. 11/2027: what now?Keep building — What you built today, you fixed tomorrow. Progress still went up.
37. 11/20 · An investor showed interestAn investor asked for a meeting next week. “I want a closer look at who is building this,” they said.
38. 12/2027: what now?Launch — You pressed launch. 44 sign-ups on day one. You refreshed ten times.
39. 12/30 · Patent warning letterA certified letter arrived claiming possible patent infringement. A lawyer needs to review it.
40. 1/2028: what now?Spread the word through communities and content — 10 new customers this month. While the number climbs, it looks like a company.
41. 1/19 · Server bill spikeA test server you forgot to switch off had been running all month.
42. Time to hire?Not this time — You never posted the job ad.
43. 2/13 · Security vulnerabilityAn outside researcher reported a vulnerability. You have to check whether personal data leaked.
44. 2/26 · Service outageRight after the deploy, login broke. Restored in forty minutes, but customer messages flooded in.
45. 3/2028: what now?Keep going — Spread the word through communities and content — 28 new customers this month. A post drew questions, and the questions turned into sign-ups.
46. 3/20 · Churn roseCancellations this week were double the usual. Many customers abandoned the payment page.
47. 3/24 · Covered in an articleAn industry outlet wrote about the product. Sign-up inquiries rose a little.
48. 4/2028: what now?Keep going — Spread the word through communities and content — 29 new customers this month. Among the new names were people last month’s customers had sent.
49. 4/5 · Loan payment dayLoan payment day. NT$9,666 in principal and interest left the account. The balance is NT$449,076.
50. 4/18 · Your mentorAn old mentor called. “What scares you most right now?” they asked.
51. You are short of moneyHold on — Instead of the bank you called suppliers and asked for a month’s grace. Two said yes, one said no.
52. 5/18 · HeatwaveA heat warning. The air conditioning ran all day. The electricity bill is on your mind.
53. 5/21 · The exchange rate pushed up import billsThe TWD/USD rate rose to 33.24. Servers and subscriptions billed in dollars cost more.
54. 6/2028: what now?Take a job and run it on the side — You rewrote your CV. The interviewer found the startup story interesting.
55. 7/2028: what now?Incorporate — The company is registered. Your business card now says CEO.
56. 7/18 · A competitor movedA competitor shipped the feature you were preparing, first. Their price is lower.
57. 7/29 · Demo dayYou presented at demo day. The questions were sharp, but the applause sounded genuine.
58. AI redrew the marketIgnore it — You did not buy the tools. Six months later, a competitor offered the same service at half the price.
59. Global Energy Prices SurgedTension in the Middle East pushed international crude prices up. Ships loaded with oil could not pass, and freight and packaging costs rose with them. A war in the news became a number on next month's cost sheet.
60. Year 2 closeRevenue NT$50,695, loss NT$183,444. Cash NT$40,621.
61. 2028 · year 3 beginsSelected for a Government Program · Enterprise Contract
62. 8/12 · FamilyYour family packed you lunch. The note said, “Eat properly.”
63. AI redrew the marketAI tools changed the industry’s cost and speed. Companies that adopted them move cheap and fast; the rest pay twice for the same customer.
64. 9/2028: what now?Spread the word through communities and content — 13 new customers this month. Among the new names were people last month’s customers had sent.
65. 9/28 · Service outageAn alert at 3 a.m.: the disk was full. Fixed before morning; nobody noticed.
66. 10/2028: what now?Keep going — Spread the word through communities and content — 15 new customers this month. While the number climbs, it looks like a company.
67. 10/22 · Selected for a grant programSelected for a government support program. The grant arrives next month; the reporting starts this week.
68. 10/23 · The bank asked for documentsYour bank contact changed. The new one asked for the past year’s statements again.
69. The “NT$320,000 a month or your money back” courseBlock the ad — You block it and another account posts the same ad. The money is still in your account.
70. 11/13 · An investor showed interestAn investor asked for a meeting next week. “I want a closer look at who is building this,” they said.
71. 12/2028: what now?Keep going — Spread the word through communities and content — 25 new customers this month. A post drew questions, and the questions turned into sign-ups.
72. 12/4 · Patent warning letterA certified letter arrived claiming possible patent infringement. A lawyer needs to review it.
73. 1/2029: what now?Keep going — Spread the word through communities and content — 24 new customers this month. Among the new names were people last month’s customers had sent.
74. 1/11 · Global growth forecasts fellWith the IMF and World Bank forecasts diverging, global growth came down to 1.7%. Replies to overseas inquiries got slower.
75. 1/22 · Personal data requestA customer asked for disclosure and deletion of their personal data. You checked the procedure again.
76. Do you pivot?Full pivot — Half the existing customers left. The new customers have not arrived. The only thing left in the meeting room was the question of whether this was right.
77. 2/19 · Loan payment dayLoan payment day. NT$9,666 in principal and interest left the account. The balance is NT$373,174.
78. 3/2029: what now?Keep going — Spread the word through communities and content — 21 new customers this month. While the number climbs, it looks like a company.
79. 3/3 · Demo dayYou presented at demo day. The questions were sharp, but the applause sounded genuine.
80. 4/2029: what now?Keep going — Spread the word through communities and content — 21 new customers this month. A post drew questions, and the questions turned into sign-ups.
81. 4/3 · Service outageThe payment processor went down for two hours. Not your fault, but you wrote the apology.
82. 4/15 · Server bill spikeTraffic grew, and the server bill came in far above what you expected.
83. This time you sell the courseWalk away — The agency probably sent the same pitch to another owner the next day. You opened the books again.
84. 5/25 · FamilyYou talked with your family for a long time. Someone said, “You come before the money.”
85. 5/30 · The exchange rate pushed up import billsThe TWD/USD rate rose to 34.39. Servers and subscriptions billed in dollars cost more.
86. A year back at workWind it down and focus on the job — You sent the shutdown notice. One customer replied, “Thanks for everything.”

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