I was lucky and found a small little gem on 1kprojects.com that turned itself into a nice little profitable side-project in 5 weeks (not linking to it because i don't want to seem like I'm advertising). Making half my monthly salary at my day job from it. Sometimes it's just the simplest, least technical and gimmicky things that make money.
To the extent you're willing to comment, I'd be interested in knowing about your criteria for selecting such a project. - was the domain related to your expertise, or in a niche that was new to you? - what made this project stand out from others / appear to have potential? - was codebase quality a factor in purchase? - do you inherit things other than software from the seller? EG customers, marketing channels, analyt…
Ask HN: How to find profitable side project idea?
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Re: Ask HN: How to find profitable side project idea?
#72I was lucky and found a small little gem on 1kprojects.com that turned itself into a nice little profitable side-project in 5 weeks (not linking to it because i don't want to seem like I'm advertising). Making half my monthly salary at my day job from it. Sometimes it's just the simplest, least technical and gimmicky things that make money.
Bah, go ahead and link! you've demonstrated good will already by withholding the link ... but now I (and I'm sure we) are curious about it, if you're willing to share :)
Re: Ask HN: How to find profitable side project idea?
#73I was lucky and found a small little gem on 1kprojects.com that turned itself into a nice little profitable side-project in 5 weeks (not linking to it because i don't want to seem like I'm advertising). Making half my monthly salary at my day job from it. Sometimes it's just the simplest, least technical and gimmicky things that make money.
What did you do in that 5 weeks to make it profitable?
Re: Ask HN: How to find profitable side project idea?
#74I send out a daily newsletter with short snippets of pain points in different industries - http://www.oppsdaily.com Here is archive of sorts - http://www.oppslist.com The ideas are of a mediocre quality, but I find they help stimulate thought. Another idea is to go to a place like Fiverr and look at which services are most widely bought. Then build a saas solving one of those problems.
this is a great idea. thank you for making this. -- i just tried to subscribe but your subscription link(s) are hanging. can you add me (email in profile) ?
Re: Ask HN: How to find profitable side project idea?
#75http://www.paulgraham.com/ideas.html
+1
Follow up reading: Peter Thiel’s “Zero to One”
https://www.amazon.com/Zero-One-Notes-Startups-Future/dp/080...
Re: Ask HN: How to find profitable side project idea?
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
100%. Google wasn't the first search engine. But they were effectively the last. First to market is only important insofar as it's correlated with making sticky products, building a moat, and not dying. That's what you actually want.
Hmm. I switched successfully to duckduckgo...
Fair enough, but Google has made their mission about making the world's information accessible, moreso than being the best search engine; I assume you still use YouTube, perhaps you use Google Maps (although there are plenty of good navigation alternatives), perhaps you use Google Translate, etc.
Re: Ask HN: How to find profitable side project idea?
#77The world is full of people in your situation who's main area of interest and experience is primarily in software development or start-ups. Because of this, almost every good idea that touches your entire realm of experience been attempted 10 times. There's tons of competition even for really bad ideas - just look at how many start-ups in SF tried to offer "laundry as a service"! The secret is to go out and make frie…
I’ve thought about doing this sort of thing, but co-opt a friend/colleague/someone your husband knows as the SME in the different industry.
You need the insight in to that industry — by definition, you don’t have it. So find that person, and don’t just take their idea and leave. Work with them. Have them be the champion in the industry for this thing you make. Who knows best where the thing can be sold? They do!
Re: Ask HN: How to find profitable side project idea?
#78> I would like to work on a side project that eventually would lead to some revenues this summer. My question is, how did you find problem(s) to solve ?
Maybe you should work on a project that has no chance to produce revenue but is fun or interesting. Then when the idea comes for something that is profitable, run with it.
You could try to sit down and come up with an idea but I bet most of them will feel forced. You could spark a blunt and come up with tons ideas only to find out later that the dots don't connect.
I think most, if not all, ideas are derivatives of experiences. So just build something and once the right thing comes along I think you'll notice.
Re: Ask HN: How to find profitable side project idea?
#79You might want to consider applying for Pioneer—you can get a grant for your project: https://pioneer.app/
Re: Ask HN: How to find profitable side project idea?
#80Projects evolve. It's pretty hard to just come up with a world changing idea and it just works.
Typically you start with something small (or even silly), then it may evolve into something else (potentially big). Prepare to work on it for many months (oftentimes many years) without seeing any traction.