My Second Year as a Solo Developer • Hacker News Board

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#131

Post by heipei » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 4:04 PM UTC

epicgiga wrote: post #116

Very illustrative warning to other devs. Just because you're coding and building things, doesn't mean you're doing work, or that you're going to make any money. Most devs are salarymen because that's the best role they can play in society. Their employer plugs them into what the market actually wants. 99% of them are inequipped to perform any that business aspect themselves. They just want to build stuff. Like this d…

Part of the problem that I have with some of these accounts is that they so often focus on tiny and mundane problems that individuals have. I don't know if this is a conscious decision or just an unintended consequence of the fact that B2C ideas are easy to find (you just watch your own daily routines) and are more shiny since everyone knows about customer-facing products but fewer people know all the gears that power corporations large and small.

The "Is it Keto" site is a nice hobby but if I seriously wanted to make money with a product/SaaS/platform I'd ring up everyone I knew from previous jobs and ask them which problem I should solve to save them hours of work every day. If you do that your product will become irreplaceable, while a site for helping you with your Keto diet is probably the first thing anyone would cut out if they wanted to save some money. That's the issue I have when founders focus so much on these lifestyle and purely optional products.

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#132

Post by TuringNYC » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 4:06 PM UTC

amelius wrote: post #129

cs02rm0 wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could probably talk to business owners with problems, launch an (appropriately priced; hundreds to thousands of dollars per year) product against those problems, build contingent on getting 10 commits to buy I don't doubt that you're absolutely right, but this bit strikes me as hard . I've struggled to find one business owner with a problem they perceive, let alone 10 with commitments to buying a solution for the…

> Ironically, it strikes me that there's a gap here for a business to solve; connecting entrepreneurial devs with business owners aware of problems. This. Why hasn't this gap been filled yet?

Because usually when I've tried this, the business owners dont-know-what-they-dont-know so it is difficult to even articulate the problem they face.

This is why I faced finding solve-able problems much easier as a consultant because once you're embedded in an organization you see their problems, and perhaps you can ask the right questions and tease out a possible sale-able solve-able solution.

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#133

Post by tempsy » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 4:14 PM UTC

aguyfromnb wrote: post #126

tempsy wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, I mean it doesn't sound like his plan was to live off his investment income, but it certainly has been possible. My point is that when you get to the point where your savings is high enough your money works for you at a level that makes it possible to live off of alone. If the S&P is looking flat then you could rollover some of it to a high dividend REIT that pays 10-15% too.

> If the S&P is looking flat then you could rollover some of it to a high dividend REIT that pays 10-15% too. You know the business cycle is peaking when people think you can easily throw their money into some investment paying 15%...no problem! Can you explain how a public investment - any public investment - can continuously generate those kinds of returns without taking on massive amounts of risk?

It’s called a REIT. The dividend is rental income for real estate developers.

Let me guess...you thought 2013 was the top?

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#134

Post by bananaeater » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 4:14 PM UTC

amelius wrote: post #129

cs02rm0 wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could probably talk to business owners with problems, launch an (appropriately priced; hundreds to thousands of dollars per year) product against those problems, build contingent on getting 10 commits to buy I don't doubt that you're absolutely right, but this bit strikes me as hard . I've struggled to find one business owner with a problem they perceive, let alone 10 with commitments to buying a solution for the…

> Ironically, it strikes me that there's a gap here for a business to solve; connecting entrepreneurial devs with business owners aware of problems. This. Why hasn't this gap been filled yet?

My theory is that there are actually a number of "filters" before this kind of relationship would happen. First, the business owner has to recognize the problem, care about it, allot time to understand it, have the proper motivation (financial and mental), and network with others to solve.

Then on the other side of the scenario, the dev has to be logistically available to working on the project, be capable in both the tech and soft skills needed, care about it, have the proper motivation (financial and mental), and network.

The hypothetical business would solve the networking issue, but not the rest. But I think these relationships are built in a more decentralized way, though chance encounters, mutual friends, and cold connections. Sort of like dating. (Kind of is because this relationship seems like one of cofounders.)

Or I could be completely wrong and there is a stealth startup out there ready to shake things up.

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#135

Post by dbancajas » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 4:15 PM UTC

theli0nheart wrote: post #78

daxaxelrod wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Thanks! TBH, I just got bored. All of the inefficient aspect of my work got slowly eliminated over the years due to process improvements, which meant that only the most unpleasant, manual aspects were left over (read: legal, negotiation, business development, etc.). 80% of my income was consulting related. I tried to branch off into making a SaaS and "failed" (which I'm still kind of excited about but have no time to…

> iled" (which I'm still kind of excited about but have no time to pursue), but I did succeed in making an App Store portfolio which brings in decent profit.

can you share what you did consult on? To me consulting is very mysterious as it's a very generic term but I'm always amazed by people earning 250K-500K due to "consulting". Is it easy to do or more like being in the right place/right time/right skillset?

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#136

Post by dbancajas » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 4:17 PM UTC

theli0nheart wrote: post #64

liveoneggs wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

how did you get early stage stock being self employed?

Most of my consulting work was with early-stage startups. I would ofter offer a fixed cash cap (say, $50k) at an hourly rate, and any work beyond that would accrue towards a SAFE. Less risk for the founder, gave me incentive to finish the bulk of the work within the cap, but also didn't punish me if I didn't.

what was your hourly rate on consulting?

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#137

Post by epicgiga » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 4:17 PM UTC

heipei wrote: post #131

epicgiga wrote: post #116

Very illustrative warning to other devs. Just because you're coding and building things, doesn't mean you're doing work, or that you're going to make any money. Most devs are salarymen because that's the best role they can play in society. Their employer plugs them into what the market actually wants. 99% of them are inequipped to perform any that business aspect themselves. They just want to build stuff. Like this d…

Part of the problem that I have with some of these accounts is that they so often focus on tiny and mundane problems that individuals have. I don't know if this is a conscious decision or just an unintended consequence of the fact that B2C ideas are easy to find (you just watch your own daily routines) and are more shiny since everyone knows about customer-facing products but fewer people know all the gears that powe…

It's worth noting quite how vigorously you have to apply this concept.

My first business attempt _did_ factor in market demand, but didn't consider the depth or capacity to pay ("nice to have" vs "take my money"). So I burned out doing 70 hr weeks for something that was never going to make real money vs what I could get as a salaryman or contractor.

If you're starting out, you really really shouldn't be aiming for a new unique solution to something, unless you're planning on the VC route.

It is far wiser to copycat. Aim for a massive crowded market (e.g. weight loss), because your chance of missing is hundreds of times lower.

Indeed an even more effective tactic is to buy an existing business in a space, and develop it. It rips out all the market risk. This is how freelancer.com started for instance.

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#138

Post by agwa » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 4:19 PM UTC

cs02rm0 wrote: post #120

patio11 wrote: post #79

Two cents offered because this post really strikes a chord with me, and I also spent some time chasing down rabbit holes early in my software business: These products do not appear obviously commercializable and multiple years invested into them without materially improving the businesses does not decrease my confidence in that snap judgment. You could probably talk to business owners with problems, launch an (approp…

You could probably talk to business owners with problems, launch an (appropriately priced; hundreds to thousands of dollars per year) product against those problems, build contingent on getting 10 commits to buy I don't doubt that you're absolutely right, but this bit strikes me as hard . I've struggled to find one business owner with a problem they perceive, let alone 10 with commitments to buying a solution for the…

Michael published an interesting post about his attempt to talk with owners of sheet metal shops: https://mtlynch.io/retrospectives/2020/01/#sheet-metal-resea...

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#139

Post by dbancajas » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 4:20 PM UTC

NKCSS wrote: post #102

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.

Nah, but it's hard to launch a successfull product; if it wasn't, everyone would be doing it. I'm doing contracting work for multiple different customers, long-term project, and I generate 100-200k of revenue on a yearly basis from that. That leaves me with slightly higher salary than if I'd work for a boss, but I have tonnes, and tonnes more freedom and time for my kids. It's just not possible to scale that past 300…

how many customers per year? and how do you deal with insurance?

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#140

Post by patio11 » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 4:21 PM UTC

cs02rm0 wrote: post #120

patio11 wrote: post #79

Two cents offered because this post really strikes a chord with me, and I also spent some time chasing down rabbit holes early in my software business: These products do not appear obviously commercializable and multiple years invested into them without materially improving the businesses does not decrease my confidence in that snap judgment. You could probably talk to business owners with problems, launch an (approp…

You could probably talk to business owners with problems, launch an (appropriately priced; hundreds to thousands of dollars per year) product against those problems, build contingent on getting 10 commits to buy I don't doubt that you're absolutely right, but this bit strikes me as hard . I've struggled to find one business owner with a problem they perceive, let alone 10 with commitments to buying a solution for the…

Is the problem that you can’t identify owners, that you can’t successfully get in touch with business owners, that you can’t convince them to talk to you, that you can’t get signal from those conversations, or that you are accurately getting the signal “Actually literally nothing could be better about my life.”

Draw the funnel diagram, with numbers if necessary. Having talked to many devs who believe similar, I think the most actionable advice is likely “Organize your next N weeks to talk to many, many more business owners than your last N weeks.”