My Second Year as a Solo Developer • Hacker News Board

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#291

Post by exolymph » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 9:45 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…

Frankly, if you can't do this part on your own, you're gonna fail anyway.

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#292

Post by scarface74 » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 9:45 PM UTC

disiplus wrote: post #167

enraged_camel wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is usually at the start of the funnel. Most solo developers, especially those who have just quit their cushy FAANG jobs, are not positioned to personally know a lot of business owners (especially not outside of tech, where all the low-hanging fruit exist). So simply saying "go meet many business owners" doesn't help, unless you can also explain the how . To give a counter-example, I did consulting for a d…

but how many of those are interesting to work on, i too have been freelancimg and know some of problems, but when i think about them i dont reality want to work on them more them i have to.

This is the problem I see with a lot of developers - not just those looking to be entrepreneurs.

They want “interesting problems” instead of just trying to create products that someone is willing to pay for.

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#293

Post by war1025 » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 9:46 PM UTC

kohanz wrote: post #152

nautilus12 wrote: post #25

Bye bye any hopes of raising a family.

A lot of the "expense" of children is entirely discretionary. Yes, they do cost extra money to raise, but depending on where you live and your lifestyle, it doesn't have to be nearly the financial burden that some create an illusion of being a necessity. As a father of 3, when I look at most of the expenses related to my kids, the biggest ones are absolutely discretionary. Children are not born with expectations of a…

As also a father of three, the only significant kid-related expense we have currently (wife stays home with them) is the extra food they eat.

Basically that just means we don't go out to eat that often. Kids eating grocery store food is pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things (though I hear this changes once they get to their teenage years).

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#294

Post by exolymph » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 9:46 PM UTC

enraged_camel wrote: post #151

patio11 wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 problem is usually at the start of the funnel. Most solo developers, especially those who have just quit their cushy FAANG jobs, are not positioned to personally know a lot of business owners (especially not outside of tech, where all the low-hanging fruit exist). So simply saying "go meet many business owners" doesn't help, unless you can also explain the how . To give a counter-example, I did consulting for a d…

> So simply saying "go meet many business owners" doesn't help, unless you can also explain the how.

There are like eight zillion guides to doing this online, and unless you're willing to spam people, it always boils down to: Grind it out. Start making cold pitches, and hustle for as many warm intros as possible.

Learn sales y'all.

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#295

Post by drawkbox » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 9:48 PM UTC

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

Great read with the logical analysis and openness lends well to success and navigating this adventure.

Doing your own products is definitely the way to go for sustainability. Just one big one or a few have to work. Focusing on products is nice as you don't have to work for clients but instead customers more which can be more rewarding and freeing. Having only a big client or a few end up dictating direction and freedom to pursue ideas.

Overall the experience on the business, marketing and promotions side is very helpful in all aspects of life.

I have been freelancing/contracting/product developing for 8 years full-time off of trying it for a year or two and have had to take clients/contracts here and there. This helps while you are building up products where needed. Though it isn't all bad doing contracts it can take time away but also help you, sometimes you learn about new problems and thus solutions that can become products when dealing with clients and unique industry problems. These problems can be hard to find if you aren't going through some of the pain points related to them.

I will say most products do take multiple years to make it so fail quickly and press the gas on momentum and projects that you lean towards or are more interesting. Pay attention mostly to external product user experience and presentation at this stage.

Good luck on your adventure and may your travels be rewarding personally and financially fruitful.

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#296

Post by qmmmur » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 9:52 PM UTC

rickitan wrote: post #224

I see a lot of comments criticizing your path and progress. Making remarks like "why didn't you stay at Google". I applaud your decision, effort, and perseverance. I admire your risk taking and having skin in the game. Trying to make it out on your own. People forget the journey is not just about the money. It's about learning, growing and bringing your ideas to life. Being an artist, and expressing yourself through…

I don't think I've cringed more than 'expressing yourself through products'.

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#297

Post by jldugger » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 9:54 PM UTC

TAForObvReasons wrote: post #168

rs23296008n1 wrote: post #69

Good stuff. I've seen a bit of negativity about this being a waste of time since you're not making equivalent money to old job. For those people: This isn’t any different from spending time earning a degree by returning to full-time study. And your attempts are growing. The compound interest from these investments in time and effort will help you regardless. Even if you fail on every business at first you'll still ge…

There's a simpler explanation, and the post actually touches on the point when discussing Is It Keto: > I abandoned the site in April but came back four months later after realizing that it had grown by itself without me. As a salaried employee, you aren't actually building anything that accretes value to yourself in that way. You don't show up for work for 4 months and you'll likely be fired. Obviously it never work…

I just don't understand how you can set up a business and not noticed the increased revenue.

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#298

Post by quickthrower2 » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 9:55 PM UTC

poulsbohemian wrote: post #155

amelius wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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?

>> 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? It's called Upwork. No seriously, hear me out. When a business owner has a problem they perceive could be solved with technology, they create a job or they go on job posting sites seeking either an employee or a contractor to…

Yeah I’ve tried another similar site and people’s expectations are a bit loony, usually they want to pay the price you would charge a single customer for 1 year as a SaaS for you to develop the entire solution! Maybe non software folks don’t get the difference between say paying Atlassian $1000/month or whatever it is for Jira and paying a dev $1000 to develop a JIRA clone, because it probably seems like the same thing.

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#299

Post by thrownblown » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 9:58 PM UTC

wolco wrote: post #288

thrownblown wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well if you do, know that the $3k/mo saas that took 2 years to build isn't going to put that kid through college but will allow you to be a present and engaged parent to your child for the precious few years before they go to school.

College can be free. Three 3k/mo saases would.

I wouldn't know... I didn't go...

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#300

Post by gbasin » Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 10:00 PM UTC

dhruvkar wrote: post #208

chowes wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not the OP, but what I have struggled with here is the feeling of being a "solution looking for a problem". It's a step before where you're at. It's not that I can't identify owners, it's that I can't identify _problems_. I am lacking the domain experience to even have the first conversation, and it feels like paying people to ask "so tell me everything that is wrong with your business" is the wrong way to do it. I k…

I hear you. I was in Software for a couple of years and I only saw software/IT problems. But these problems usually had a variety of solutions and only some glue was required. Now I've been in the natural stone industry for 4 years and I can't count the number of problems to which the solution is "add more people". So much data entry and data extraction from PDFs ERP/CRM/Other software. 100s of man-hours spent on som…

Totally agree. Software is just starting to scratch the surface of other industries.

Out of curiosity, what's your role in the space you're in now? Are you solving these data extraction problems?