Ask HN: What can I build that would pay a dollar for?

#1

Post by hai2ashwin » Tue, May 05, 2020, 12:06 PM UTC

I want to build something of value within one month that a lot of people would want and will pay a dollar a month for. I am open to ideas where usually the market charges $10 or more. I am experimenting on a model that needs zero employees, zero evil, no hockey-stick growth ambitions, and yet delivers a great lifestyle by doing what people want and charging 10x lower.

What is your no-brainer idea?

PS: I am a 2-time entrepreneur with 1 small exit and a reasonably successful product startup.

Re: Ask HN: What can I build that would pay a dollar for?

#2

Post by marceloabsousa » Tue, May 05, 2020, 12:10 PM UTC

Based on your restrictions, this doesn't sound like a 'no-brainer' idea whatsoever... I think your best option would be to join a team which is building something of value to a lot of people for one month and charge them 30$ as your salary.

Re: Ask HN: What can I build that would pay a dollar for?

#3

Post by qubex » Tue, May 05, 2020, 12:13 PM UTC

I’d willingly pay a dollar a month for a service that credited two dollars a month to my PayPal account.

Re: Ask HN: What can I build that would pay a dollar for?

#4

Post by tabansi » Tue, May 05, 2020, 12:15 PM UTC

I'd pay a dollar for someone to shame me every week via text, to make sure I was achieving my goals

Re: Ask HN: What can I build that would pay a dollar for?

#5

Post by hai2ashwin » Tue, May 05, 2020, 12:15 PM UTC

marceloabsousa wrote: post #2

Based on your restrictions, this doesn't sound like a 'no-brainer' idea whatsoever... I think your best option would be to join a team which is building something of value to a lot of people for one month and charge them 30$ as your salary.

Thanks, Marcelo! One idea I have is to build an email open tracker that does not sell data to third party. Doesn't take time to build and can be priced at a dollar a month. I am looking for tools like these that are not that hard to build if your ambition is not to scale.

Re: Ask HN: What can I build that would pay a dollar for?

#6

Post by hai2ashwin » Tue, May 05, 2020, 12:15 PM UTC

qubex wrote: post #3

I’d willingly pay a dollar a month for a service that credited two dollars a month to my PayPal account.

I will be the genie who will grant that wish, the moment I have the F you money.

Re: Ask HN: What can I build that would pay a dollar for?

#7

Post by kensavage » Tue, May 05, 2020, 12:41 PM UTC

People find value when they pay for things not get them at a discount. If a product or service was truly valuable I would expect to pay a larger amount not one dollar. If this is just a trial to get started I understand. Just some feedback

Re: Ask HN: What can I build that would pay a dollar for?

#8

Post by brudgers » Tue, May 05, 2020, 1:15 PM UTC

Probably nothing. Transaction costs (including risk) swamp the value of a $1 online service. Among the risks is the low probability of a viable business of $1 transactions. Unsustainable business models make services unreliable in the long term.

To put it another way, you're competing with Dollar Tree's one dollar duct tape, tortillas, and spatulas.

Re: Ask HN: What can I build that would pay a dollar for?

#9

Post by troydavis » Tue, May 05, 2020, 7:15 PM UTC

I'd pay much more than that for an way to "read" (watch) media RSS feeds on Apple TV. Instapaper, Pocket, and other "read later" services expose RSS feeds of their folders - and they are accessible without the user giving their Instapaper/similar password to a third-party app.

Anyone who sends videos to a read-later service like that - rather than using the service-specific version, like YouTube's own "Watch Later" list - would then be able to watch those videos on Apple TV. Basically, a media-only RSS reader (player) for tvOS.

(This would also work for YouTube's own RSS feeds and any others, but I don't see use cases for those.)

Re: Ask HN: What can I build that would pay a dollar for?

#10

Post by hai2ashwin » Wed, May 06, 2020, 4:18 AM UTC

brudgers wrote: post #8

Probably nothing. Transaction costs (including risk) swamp the value of a $1 online service. Among the risks is the low probability of a viable business of $1 transactions. Unsustainable business models make services unreliable in the long term. To put it another way, you're competing with Dollar Tree's one dollar duct tape, tortillas, and spatulas.

Thank you!

I would not do any business that will not have a healthy gross profit margin when bootstrapped. I am looking at ideas where the volume will make up for the free cash that per-sale generates.

There are a lot of 'lifestyle' plugin makers that do this.

PS: I do value the input and the time you took to answer. Thanks!