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

Thank HN: 7 months ago, I asked for help. Now I've got 5 employees.

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 118 posts

Re: Thank HN: 7 months ago, I asked for help. Now I've got 5 employees.

#41

Post by csomar »

illumin8 wrote: post #38
csomar wrote: post #37

My life has change (and also my little mind) thanks to Hacker News. I should say "I read enough, yet a lot", may be more than 500 pages (I already printed 200 or so). Not only my financial situation changed, but also the way I view the world. Just 400 days before now, $25 is my monthly money pocket that I get from my parents and it should cover all my expenses (except clothes, food and obviously housing). Now I have…

Don't spend all your money on toys... The few hundred dollars you've spent already, had you invested it in your business, or even put it into savings, could be worth tens of thousands or even millions a few decades from now.

That's something I learnt while working and it really helped me a lot (and will in my professional life). However, I don't have my own computer (shared one, except this netbook); so I need a better setup for my development.

I try to prioritize the items I need. An external hard-drive comes first, because I should have a backup strategy. The monitor is more important, because I need better display...

Certainly, I'll offer myself an Android as a gift and that also should serve and help me in business (read emails in the go, check statics, HN on mobile instead of computer...)

Re: Thank HN: 7 months ago, I asked for help. Now I've got 5 employees.

#42

Post by raheemm »

ynniv wrote: post #24
justlearning wrote: post #15

would you be willing to divulge details on your app/business and country you reside in? Does this income sustain your family? $300-400 usd seems very little to get by. At the time of your posting, it seemed like a "student" in need of the cash. It's pay back time - your experiences,lessons learnt will be appreciated.

$400 USD is quite prosperous in many parts of the world. Not in the US, or the wealthier nations.

Really? Like where? Not being sarcastic but even in a cheap place like Bangladesh, you need atleast $700/month to have a decent hacker life (constant electricity, decent internet, own apt, a hacker-friendly environment - coffee, music, hobby, junk food, etc).

Re: Thank HN: 7 months ago, I asked for help. Now I've got 5 employees.

#43

Post by needmoney »

ww520 wrote: post #11

That's awesome. Congratulation. Can you talk about your marketing and sales effort? It's always difficult for technical folks.

It really varies depending on your industry.

Generally, being a social person (which does not come easily to me at all) is very helpful. If you have a lot of friends, it's very likely one of them will be able to help you market or sell in some way or another. I relied heavily on friends and friends of friends. I still do.

More specifically, figuring out who are major journalists or trend-influencers (potential customers who can convince their friends to become customers) within your target market and then befriending them is very useful.

Re: Thank HN: 7 months ago, I asked for help. Now I've got 5 employees.

#44

Post by bhjodokast »

ahizzle wrote: post #40
eof wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

7 points 18 minutes later. People really want to know! I imagine it will stop when/if it is answered.

Absolutely. Also seems a little strange to not give back to the community such basic information, after it's done so much for him. Maybe there's a competitive reason he's not divulging, or he's just too darn busy? ;) (I'd love to know, too)

All your numberz are belong to us.

Re: Thank HN: 7 months ago, I asked for help. Now I've got 5 employees.

#45

Post by messel »

illumin8 wrote: post #38
csomar wrote: post #37

My life has change (and also my little mind) thanks to Hacker News. I should say "I read enough, yet a lot", may be more than 500 pages (I already printed 200 or so). Not only my financial situation changed, but also the way I view the world. Just 400 days before now, $25 is my monthly money pocket that I get from my parents and it should cover all my expenses (except clothes, food and obviously housing). Now I have…

Don't spend all your money on toys... The few hundred dollars you've spent already, had you invested it in your business, or even put it into savings, could be worth tens of thousands or even millions a few decades from now.

By buying some technical toys and net access now, he can invest in himself and potentially make much more than interest from secure investments or real estate. Either way he's learning faster.

Re: Thank HN: 7 months ago, I asked for help. Now I've got 5 employees.

#48

Post by ritonlajoie »

What a very refreshing story ! Thanks for sharing. I wan't on HN when this happened but I read all the 1171520 thread and spent almost 2 hours on different discussions that your thread is spawning, related to ebook sales, wordpress theming, etc..

I think the majority of HN readers are just like you : interested in what _we_, as 'hackers', can do. Related to 'change the world', or 'make money'. The thing is to combine both. You seem to be pretty well. Bravo and keep up the good work !

Re: Thank HN: 7 months ago, I asked for help. Now I've got 5 employees.

#50

Post by messel »

jseliger wrote: post #28

A quick question: do you have a site for your work? I ask because I've been using a pretty bogus, standard theme for my hosted Wordpress blog ( http://blog.seliger.com ) and could probably swing $400 for a real theme.

Business number 2 for needmoney, building the Theme Factory.

I can't decide if I want to customize themes or hire a designer. I've tweaked my own theme a dozen times this year.

Post reply on HN