Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Is the concept of a one-person software shop still viable?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 165 posts

Re: Ask HN: Is the concept of a one-person software shop still viable?

#111

Post by jv22222 »

jasonswett wrote: post #24

I'll add something I wish I had realized several years ago: build a SaaS is not the only path to a product business, and for a solo founder, it's (in my opinion) probably not a very good path. I spent 5 years trying to get a micro ISV off the ground which made scheduling software for hair salons. It was a terrible idea for a large number of reasons (described in detail here: https://www.jasonswett.net/im-shutting-dow…

Hey Jason,

Amy Hoy says the best way for solo founders to start off is with in info product. Just to cut their teeth at marketing and such.

One thing, now that you have got that ball rolling I think you might consider another saas product in the future because you have so much learning about that.

The one good thing about a saas product with good market fit is that you will get years of recurring revenue from the same customers.

With pluggio I had some customers hitting $3.5k over time (and higher).

That is the real power of saas and why it's worth considering in the long run.

Edit: I guess it may be useful to note we have a bunch of articles here - https://blog.nugget.one/ - about how to avoid the kind of issues you spoke about in your blog.

Re: Ask HN: Is the concept of a one-person software shop still viable?

#112

Post by jimnotgym »

jetti wrote: post #13
AIMunchkin wrote: post #12

I'm going to post a contrarian viewpoint that unless your product is self-contained and it can continue on without you if you are hit by a truck or even acqui-hired for top $, I will avoid you. Too many pay apps and even games with DLC have gone poof in recent years because of the latter situation or because the cost of maintaining the DLC no longer justified itself.

What about with desktop software? Once you buy it you are able to use that version and don't have to rely on the vendor sticking around. Also, how do you go about finding such information about a company if a micro ISV doesn't publicly say they are just a solo venture?

When I purchase enterprise software I call them up and ask how many people work for them. In UK (and sure it translates) I normally pull their accounts from companies house. If not incorporated I'm suspicious. If they are it will help me gauge size

Re: Ask HN: Is the concept of a one-person software shop still viable?

#113

Post by jv22222 »

desktopapp wrote: post #60
Berone wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you can point me to one of these niches, I'd give you 15% of revenue generated on it

People pay money for productivity software/tools. Look at how many tiny ISVs are making fairly large amounts of money selling Git clients. I think 1Password has like 60 employees now. There are companies much larger than 1 person doing screen capture software and large companies selling remote desktop solutions.

Nice.

Some people might be put off by how competitive those spaces are. Don't be!

https://blog.nugget.one/2016/10/04/competition-does-not-matt...

Re: Ask HN: Is the concept of a one-person software shop still viable?

#114

Post by jimnotgym »

cookiecaper wrote: post #48

I had such a project that was making about $15k/mo at its peak -- it was me and my wife, barring a couple of spot contributions from contractors. It depended on data from a sole data source, a Fortune 100 company, which eventually cut us off by sending a C&D threatening to sue under the CFAA, Copyright Act, and various other statutes. They claimed we breached the contract entered automatically by using their site, as…

Was there any possibility of agreeing a license for the data from the Fortune 100?

Re: Ask HN: Is the concept of a one-person software shop still viable?

#115

Post by jasonswett »

tmaly wrote: post #98
jasonswett wrote: post #24

I'll add something I wish I had realized several years ago: build a SaaS is not the only path to a product business, and for a solo founder, it's (in my opinion) probably not a very good path. I spent 5 years trying to get a micro ISV off the ground which made scheduling software for hair salons. It was a terrible idea for a large number of reasons (described in detail here: https://www.jasonswett.net/im-shutting-dow…

If you are not creating your own info product, what is the viability of a decent monthly income stream from selling an info product that someone else created?

I understand that some people do do this. Affiliate marketing/joint ventures.

Re: Ask HN: Is the concept of a one-person software shop still viable?

#116

Post by imarg »

jasonswett wrote: post #24

I'll add something I wish I had realized several years ago: build a SaaS is not the only path to a product business, and for a solo founder, it's (in my opinion) probably not a very good path. I spent 5 years trying to get a micro ISV off the ground which made scheduling software for hair salons. It was a terrible idea for a large number of reasons (described in detail here: https://www.jasonswett.net/im-shutting-dow…

Starting with an info product is a common suggestion (Amy Hoy is one advocate as a sibling comment noted). But in order to be able to offer an info product don't you need to be really knowledgeable about something? If you hadn't your experience with your SaaS would you be in the same position to write (and sell!) your tutorial?

Re: Ask HN: Is the concept of a one-person software shop still viable?

#117

Post by mywittyname »

cookiecaper wrote: post #48

I had such a project that was making about $15k/mo at its peak -- it was me and my wife, barring a couple of spot contributions from contractors. It depended on data from a sole data source, a Fortune 100 company, which eventually cut us off by sending a C&D threatening to sue under the CFAA, Copyright Act, and various other statutes. They claimed we breached the contract entered automatically by using their site, as…

I usually don't do this, but couldn't you have the customers set up some sort of proxy to acquire the data from the F100? So give them a piece of software that they run on their local network to grab the data and configure your SaaS to point to the customer's site to get it.

Perhaps you've considered this and it wouldn't work for some reason or another. But I thought I'd offer some unsolicited advice.

Re: Ask HN: Is the concept of a one-person software shop still viable?

#118

Post by ivm »

nthState wrote: post #93
ovidiup wrote: post #91

I built Jollyturns ( https://jollyturns.com ), a ski and snowboarding oriented business. I currently have a fairly extensive web site, and two mobile apps, on iOS and Android. I started with the iOS mobile app, I wanted something to show me on a ski resort's map where my friends are, and keep track of my skiing statistics. I tried finding a partner to work with, but that's pretty much impossible in Silicon Valley whe…

"Writing the code is the easy part. I found marketing to be the hardest" - This part is the hardest, absolute hardest :-/

It also eats time like crazy and I find switching between development and marketing mindsets frustrating.

Re: Ask HN: Is the concept of a one-person software shop still viable?

#120

Post by unsquare »

joshontheweb wrote: post #54
jasonswett wrote: post #24

I'll add something I wish I had realized several years ago: build a SaaS is not the only path to a product business, and for a solo founder, it's (in my opinion) probably not a very good path. I spent 5 years trying to get a micro ISV off the ground which made scheduling software for hair salons. It was a terrible idea for a large number of reasons (described in detail here: https://www.jasonswett.net/im-shutting-dow…

Word. I started my current SaaS with the goal of working 10hrs a week and making 15k a month. I'm getting close to my monthly revenue goal but if I'm not sleeping, I'm working. I don't regret it. I'm enjoying the challenge now but it wasn't what I had thought I was getting myself into. I truly underestimated the gravity of emails and support requests. As a one man shop, it can grind entire days to a halt. Passive inf…

> I truly underestimated the gravity of emails and support requests. As a one man shop, it can grind entire days to a halt.

Same boat - You can make the most detailed image based walk through FAQ tutorial documentation what have you and you'll still have days filled with customer support.

You'll wake up one morning with multiple emails from billing to product support. The more you grow, the more they come.

PS: You're product hit the nail on the head. I've recommended it to a few podcast clients in the past.

Post reply on HN