The startup community has a particular appreciation for reflective posts from founders, particularly those that recap failings and difficult experiences, as we’ve been reminded recently by an excellent post from Chris Poole, who founded 4chan, about the closure of his newest venture. Along that line, Startups Anonymous is a new site that aims to help foster more communication and provide a ‘safe’ place for founders to blog about their experiences.
The two-week-old site currently has 10 stories, covering both success and failures from the point of view of anonymous founders, investors and employees who have worked with startups.
Startups Anonymous was started by Dana Severson, founder of Chasm.io (formerly Wahooly), who says the mission is “to inject more honesty and realism into startups” by giving folks involved in startup companies a space to share their experiences. The site also curates good reads from across the Web and includes a Q&A section.
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“As a founder, I have lots of questions and curiosity. Often times, it’s hard to find honest answers and advice, which leaves you to wonder if you’re alone in your struggles. I wanted to create a safe haven for founders (and investors) to voice their opinions without fear of retribution,” Severson explains.
Severson is planning to introduce a ‘confessional booth,’ which will house short submissions of 200-300 characters to “allow contributors to get something off their chest” and tap into the community for feedback and ideas. He is also considering allowing video submissions — with images and voices blurred — and is looking into arranging StartupsAnonymous meetings in the US over the next few months.
It’s early days but the site could grow into a valuable resource if it can gain enough attention and continue to publish regular and compelling stories.
Image via JJDIGITAL / Shutterstock
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