I have been down a similar path as you, and I too have given up on several products. One thing I have learned is that in many cases you do not have to work 100% on your product for it to become a success. First and foremost you have to generate income for your life. Without it you will never succeed. There is, in my opinion, a misconception that this has to come from an investor. From the years I have been doing this, most kinds of investment is only complicating the process. Now there are stakeholders requiring stuff, and you lose some degree of control.
Disclaimer; The next section is my personal opinion with statements I cannot back up with anything other than my own experience.
What most startups need is cash flow. The most reliable way to achieve this us to sell hours. It does require you to spend time building someone else’s stuff, but the team will gain experience and you can build up a cash reserve. Then spend your own money buildings your own product. This approach will drastically increase yours chances for success, but possibly reduce the probability of creating “the next Facebook” or whatever. From my experience, you go from 1/20 to 3/4 probably of being able to live off of the company. It’s a grind, but it is much more reliable.
With all this said, you do not need to “give up”, but to change mode. If you are able, let the product live. The more time it gets to exist the more chances it has to meet new customers. Of course, there are costs involved, and it might not be possible to do this.
Disclaimer; The next section is my personal opinion with statements I cannot back up with anything other than my own experience.
What most startups need is cash flow. The most reliable way to achieve this us to sell hours. It does require you to spend time building someone else’s stuff, but the team will gain experience and you can build up a cash reserve. Then spend your own money buildings your own product. This approach will drastically increase yours chances for success, but possibly reduce the probability of creating “the next Facebook” or whatever. From my experience, you go from 1/20 to 3/4 probably of being able to live off of the company. It’s a grind, but it is much more reliable.
With all this said, you do not need to “give up”, but to change mode. If you are able, let the product live. The more time it gets to exist the more chances it has to meet new customers. Of course, there are costs involved, and it might not be possible to do this.