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My Second Year as a Solo Developer

mtlynch.io

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Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#51

Post by liveoneggs »

theli0nheart wrote: post #37
xchaotic wrote: post #20

Sorry to say but this proves that for someone who actually has to work for a living ie earn money, corporate life is absolutely the correct choice. Even for Mr Lynch these experiments in charity wouldn’t be possible without the nest egg from google (which he acknowledged). To go from net 100k+ to below zero and still be unprofitable after two years is a financial disaster.

> Sorry to say but this proves that for someone who actually has to work for a living ie earn money, corporate life is absolutely the correct choice. Not really. This just proves that corporate life isn't the most profitable option for the OP. You just can't make sweeping statements like this based on a single anecdote. I'll offer this to other "corporate" folk out there. I was self-employed since late 2010 until I r…

how did you get early stage stock being self employed?

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#52

Post by gk1 »

aty268 wrote: post #34

These businesses all seem like something that very well could make you money, but would never scale into a growth startup. And it seems the time it takes to build one of these or a growth startup isn't going to be too different. I might even say that you similar chances of making a similar amount of money from either. So why not shoot for the larger moon?

I think you’re underestimating the effort and luck involved in building a successful growth startup.

> Why not shoot for the moon?

Some times it’s better to throw a few things at the wall and see what sticks, before going all-in on one idea.

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#53

Post by daxaxelrod »

theli0nheart wrote: post #37
xchaotic wrote: post #20

Sorry to say but this proves that for someone who actually has to work for a living ie earn money, corporate life is absolutely the correct choice. Even for Mr Lynch these experiments in charity wouldn’t be possible without the nest egg from google (which he acknowledged). To go from net 100k+ to below zero and still be unprofitable after two years is a financial disaster.

> Sorry to say but this proves that for someone who actually has to work for a living ie earn money, corporate life is absolutely the correct choice. Not really. This just proves that corporate life isn't the most profitable option for the OP. You just can't make sweeping statements like this based on a single anecdote. I'll offer this to other "corporate" folk out there. I was self-employed since late 2010 until I r…

That's pretty incredible. What made you want to join the mid stage startup? Also did most of your income come from consulting type work or product revenue?

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#55

Post by tudelo »

JacKTrocinskI wrote: post #4
mtlynch wrote: post #2

Author here. Happy to answer any questions or hear any feedback about this post. Discussion from my first annual update last year: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19054150

So 2 years and you earned $18,000? Seems rather bad, you think you can exponentially grow that in the next year or two?

You know, I think there might be something to any publicity is good publicity in this case. It's controversial to do something 99.999 percent of the workforce would not. So, by posting even when there is no great success, he is growing his exposure and making it easier in the future.

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#56

Post by chasd00 »

daxaxelrod wrote: post #49
chasd00 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

" I'd pick poverty over the lack of autonomy, petit politics and meaningless work any day." Would you also put your kids in poverty? It's not a simple when you think beyond yourself.

He said he has no kids. It's not the right path for everyone.

my mistake, what's the proper etiquette here? edit my original comment?

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#57

Post by bognition »

tempsy wrote: post #50
xchaotic wrote: post #20

Sorry to say but this proves that for someone who actually has to work for a living ie earn money, corporate life is absolutely the correct choice. Even for Mr Lynch these experiments in charity wouldn’t be possible without the nest egg from google (which he acknowledged). To go from net 100k+ to below zero and still be unprofitable after two years is a financial disaster.

If you have the savings then why not? There is probably not a better time in history than to check out from being a corporate drone, assuming you have the savings. The stock index returned 30% last year...a $1M nest egg returned $300K in a year. I don't know what his savings looks like but I assume most of it is invested and wasn't included in these numbers.

The returns in 2019 were exceptionally good. There’s little reason to assume 2020 will be as good.

With everything going on this year: Brexit, US elections, impeachment, corona virus, etc... it’s entirely possible this years returns could be negative.

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#58

Post by tudelo »

LeoNatan25 wrote: post #29
mtlynch wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Haha, I moved here from Manhattan, where I lived in a 1 BR that was luxurious by Manhattan standards but tiny by real world standards. I'm very happy with my house, but I think it's probably smaller than what most software developers in the US would choose if they lived in an area this inexpensive.

If you don't have children, a larger space would be more burden than necessity. Be happy that you moved away from the jail cell. I'd move if I could too. ;-)

At least the jail cell comes with an amazing variety of food and unrivaled convenience

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#59

Post by m_ke »

aty268 wrote: post #34

These businesses all seem like something that very well could make you money, but would never scale into a growth startup. And it seems the time it takes to build one of these or a growth startup isn't going to be too different. I might even say that you similar chances of making a similar amount of money from either. So why not shoot for the larger moon?

Ingredient line parsing is a really small market and something that sounds like a fun project to work on but is probably not a business venture that has room to grow. The number of companies that have enough recipes to justify automation, profits to justify paying for it and nobody inhouse who can implement it is really small. There's no viable price point for a product like this when you factor in the cost of customer acquisition.

Content based consumer sites are also really hard to get off the ground and it's not something that I'd recommend any bootstrapper to try unless you can charge for it.

I'm sure it's all a great learning experience though and if Michael keeps iterating the way he is now he'll definitely end up finding a worthwhile business venture.

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#60

Post by untog »

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #31
xchaotic wrote: post #20

Sorry to say but this proves that for someone who actually has to work for a living ie earn money, corporate life is absolutely the correct choice. Even for Mr Lynch these experiments in charity wouldn’t be possible without the nest egg from google (which he acknowledged). To go from net 100k+ to below zero and still be unprofitable after two years is a financial disaster.

It's hard starting a business and most people (90%) don't earn anymore than an employee. None the less some of us just aren't cut out for the corporate life. I'd pick poverty over the lack of autonomy, petit politics and meaningless work any day.

> lack of autonomy, petit politics and meaningless work

This isn't a given. Plenty of (particularly large) companies will inflict this on you, but it's also very possible to work at a company and have autonomy and do meaningful work.

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