I Lived Out of My Car to Fund My Startup


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Austen Allred, the co-founder of social news-sharing app Grasswire, was like any other budding entrepreneur when he set out earlier this year for the West Coast in hopes of funding his startup.

He was broke.

Trouble was, the 23-year-old Utah resident knew he needed to spend a few months in Silicon Valley pitching his idea to potential investors, but he didn?t have enough in his savings account to support a long residency in pricey northern California.

So he did the next best thing: He lived out of his car for three months while making the rounds of Silicon Valley?s venture capitalists.

?I look at it as, really, an apartment is a place to sleep, and a place to shower, and a place to eat,? he explains. ?So I slept in my car, and then I would shower and get ready at the local YMCA ... After a while I?d tell people that I was living in my car and they?d go, ?Oh, that?s crazy.? And for me it was like, ?Oh yeah, people don?t do that.? [but, by then] it was just part of life.?

Allred says his routine didn't vary too much from day to day. He slumbered in a sleeping bag spread across the front and rear seats of his 2002 Honda Civic EX Coupe, got up with the sun, went for a run, then used the bathroom and showers at the YMCA. He spent the rest of his time working at the Hacker Dojo, a nearby coworking space, and traveling to meetings all over town. The coworking facility had a small kitchen where Allred was able to prepare his meals, along with power and Wi-Fi for his laptop.

As for logistics, Allred says he preferred parking in empty church lots for privacy, though he didn't tint his windows, put up curtains or otherwise make any modifications to make the car more comfortable. Overall, the weather was pretty nice while he was in California, though he says it would get hot in the car during the day.

"I had to go to sleep when the sun went down and get up when the sun came up," he says. "That sort of disciplined me to make sure that I?m going to sleep at a good hour and getting up at a good hour, so it actually worked out great."

It also forced him into a more minimalist lifestyle.

The gamble paid off, and Allred returned home from California in early August with several investment offers lined up and plans to launch Grasswire publicly by the end of the month.

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That sounds like an adventure and a half! And boy does he deserve it. I really admire the guy for sticking with it, And not letting the sheep influence him. I would be also good to know which friends stuck buy him when he was doing such thing!

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he's not out of the woods yet.. he actually needs to make the startup work (and it doesn't end with raising money - it only gets worse) or he might go back to sleeping in the car again :)

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I have been sleeping in my car (1996 Plymouth Neon) with my wife since March, she is working full time now, I am working part time, and its gonna be atleast another month before we have enough saved up to get a place, We park at Wal-mart every night, we get up with the sun as well, we shower at friends or family's houses, we use social services for food and whatnot.

 

It is a rough way to live, but the ultimate goal is within our grasp, and hopefully this guy can get business done as well.

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he's not out of the woods yet.. he actually needs to make the startup work (and it doesn't end with raising money - it only gets worse) or he might go back to sleeping in the car again :)

Yes but at least he is giving it a real try before draining the government for money. Most people just head straight for the welfare office. That is how my grandparents did it. Never went off welfare after they paid for their house.

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