The only software worth writing is tools for agents that contain something hard for them to vibe code in a couple of sessions.
Making someone’s agents 20% better, cheaper or faster will be a measurable and easy sales goal.
Ask HN: Is it still worth pursuing a software startup?
61–70 of 239 posts
Re: Ask HN: Is it still worth pursuing a software startup?
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
> All startups are created to solve a problem And most of the time that problem is “the founders don’t have as much money as they want”. > Apps are simply tools to solve human problems. Because humans will always have challenges to address, software will remain a vital tool. You make it sound like it’s something noble, but let’s not pretend most software companies these days don’t have “make me rich” as the top goal.…
That's a cynical take, but a more positive interpretation is that pivots are needed if your company isn't actually solving a problem. Otherwise people would pay for it, and the founders would be getting rich. So you need to pivot until you actually create a solution to a problem that people will pay for.
> That's a cynical take
One that you apparently agree with, given the rest of your comment.
> you need to pivot until you actually create a solution to a problem that people will pay for.
In other words: You don’t care about the problem, you care about the profit from selling a solution.
If a startup is “created to solve a problem” and then pivots to solve a different problem because the first one wasn’t profitable, that means profit was the priority, not solving the problem.
Re: Ask HN: Is it still worth pursuing a software startup?
#63> Considering there is very little moat left in software and big companies can copy your product in no time? Having worked in the corporate world all my working life I can safely say with confidence that big companies absolutely DO NOT move fast. Do not underestimate the power of middle-management to destroy momentum! Solve a problem for someone and if it was a painful one, they'll pay you for it.
An interesting paper in this context is "Structural Inertia and Organizational Change" by Hannan and Freeman, 1984 [1]. A quote from the introduction: "...selection processes tend to favor organizations whose structures are difficult to change.".
In other words, it's typically a good thing that larger companies are slow to adapt. That's something that startups can make use of.
Re: Ask HN: Is it still worth pursuing a software startup?
#64It’s still hard to create something successful.
Remember that Mark Zuckerberg has had “AGI” for over a decade in the form of tens of thousands of human software engineers and Facebook still has barely been able to create a new successful product on their own without acquiring it from a smaller company.
Re: Ask HN: Is it still worth pursuing a software startup?
#65It’s still hard to create something successful. Remember that Mark Zuckerberg has had “AGI” for over a decade in the form of tens of thousands of human software engineers and Facebook still has barely been able to create a new successful product on their own without acquiring it from a smaller company.
Facebook cannot make products, its that simple.
Re: Ask HN: Is it still worth pursuing a software startup?
#66It’s still hard to create something successful. Remember that Mark Zuckerberg has had “AGI” for over a decade in the form of tens of thousands of human software engineers and Facebook still has barely been able to create a new successful product on their own without acquiring it from a smaller company.
Facebook cannot make products, its that simple.
Oculus?
Re: Ask HN: Is it still worth pursuing a software startup?
#67There was never a statistical “advantage”, you just never heard about the 9/10 outright failures or even the parts of the 1/10 where people are toiling in obscurity and would have been better off financially “grinding leetcode and working for a FAANG” ((c) r/cscareerquestions) or even being an enterprise dev in a tier 2 city.
Re: Ask HN: Is it still worth pursuing a software startup?
#68> Big companies can copy your product in no time Your advantage in this case, now or 10 years ago, is that this is simply not true. If your business is "a flashlight app", yeah, eventually they'll copy it (as it happened). However they'll take an unusual long time to do that simple thing (as it also happened). Why? Because everything at big companies is a political game, full of internal conflicts, multiple prioritie…
What about other smart guys looking for ideas for their startup?
Re: Ask HN: Is it still worth pursuing a software startup?
#69Re: Ask HN: Is it still worth pursuing a software startup?
#70The only software worth writing is tools for agents that contain something hard for them to vibe code in a couple of sessions. Making someone’s agents 20% better, cheaper or faster will be a measurable and easy sales goal.
I hope this is sarcasm…