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Balsamiq, a bootstrapped startup featured here some time ago, makes $10k in 6 weeks

balsamiq.com

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Re: Balsamiq, a bootstrapped startup featured here some time ago, makes $10k in 6 weeks

#11

Post by siculars »

balsamiq wrote: post #3

Thanks for posting news about Balsamiq here on HN ph0rque. I am quite excited by the RWW review, it's incredible to read about my own company on the #1 blog I read every morning...I still can't quite believe it.

thanks for your detailed blogging about the whole process of going from idea to quitting your job to launch. i spent about 30min going through all your blog posts. very encouraging and real. a great resource for others who are in the same boat.

Re: Balsamiq, a bootstrapped startup featured here some time ago, makes $10k in 6 weeks

#12

Post by ericb »

balsamiq wrote: post #8
ph0rque wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think he was being sarcastic...?

Oh, oops. Why is sarcasm the hardest thing to convey via email/IM/simple text? Hey maybe a one-person startup could takle _that_ problem! :)

The author of this site, Paul Graham (pg), is an essayist who listed single founders as number one on his startup mistakes list. It's not an opinion I share, so yes, sarcasm intended. :-) Agreed 100% about sarcasm being hard to see in text. While an extra person can be an advantage, I think he overestimates the advantages and underestimates the disadvantages.

Nice work on the site and app! Congrats!

http://www.paulgraham.com/startupmistakes.html

Re: Balsamiq, a bootstrapped startup featured here some time ago, makes $10k in 6 weeks

#13

Post by terpua »

siculars wrote: post #11
balsamiq wrote: post #3

Thanks for posting news about Balsamiq here on HN ph0rque. I am quite excited by the RWW review, it's incredible to read about my own company on the #1 blog I read every morning...I still can't quite believe it.

thanks for your detailed blogging about the whole process of going from idea to quitting your job to launch. i spent about 30min going through all your blog posts. very encouraging and real. a great resource for others who are in the same boat.

+3.14

Re: Balsamiq, a bootstrapped startup featured here some time ago, makes $10k in 6 weeks

#14

Post by SwellJoe »

ericb wrote: post #12
balsamiq wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, oops. Why is sarcasm the hardest thing to convey via email/IM/simple text? Hey maybe a one-person startup could takle _that_ problem! :)

The author of this site, Paul Graham (pg), is an essayist who listed single founders as number one on his startup mistakes list. It's not an opinion I share, so yes, sarcasm intended. :-) Agreed 100% about sarcasm being hard to see in text. While an extra person can be an advantage, I think he overestimates the advantages and underestimates the disadvantages. Nice work on the site and app! Congrats! http://www.paulgr…

It's merely a difference of approach. Balsamiq seems to be a very nice business...but it's not a startup according to pg's definition. The goal does not seem to be "get acquired or have an IPO". Building a lifestyle business as a solo founder is entirely feasible...if a little exhausting after a while (I ran a solo founder business for seven years before starting my current business).

Re: Balsamiq, a bootstrapped startup featured here some time ago, makes $10k in 6 weeks

#17

Post by tocomment »

balsamiq wrote: post #3

Thanks for posting news about Balsamiq here on HN ph0rque. I am quite excited by the RWW review, it's incredible to read about my own company on the #1 blog I read every morning...I still can't quite believe it.

How did you do the marketing for Balsamiq? Or is that covered in one of your blog posts?

Re: Balsamiq, a bootstrapped startup featured here some time ago, makes $10k in 6 weeks

#18

Post by Prrometheus »

balsamiq wrote: post #8
ph0rque wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think he was being sarcastic...?

Oh, oops. Why is sarcasm the hardest thing to convey via email/IM/simple text? Hey maybe a one-person startup could takle _that_ problem! :)

I thought they solved that problem when they invented the tags.

Re: Balsamiq, a bootstrapped startup featured here some time ago, makes $10k in 6 weeks

#19

Post by steveplace »

captk wrote: post #9

Congrats. May want to invest in some web design though, your site layout is pretty obviously copied from 37Signals' Basecamp... http://www.basecamphq.com/

And if I do recall, one of the points in "Getting Real" is to copy design of a website that is completely unrelated field.

Re: Balsamiq, a bootstrapped startup featured here some time ago, makes $10k in 6 weeks

#20

Post by niqolas »

ericb wrote: post #4

When will you startups learn? Single founder companies can't succeed. badness=true

It depends on your definition of success... I believe you can be very successful as an individual, but this will be limited by your capacity.

One person can go only so far (not that this is by any means insignificant e.g. PlentyOfFish apparently serves millions of uniques and earns US$10,000 per day with a staff of one). "Singles" will inevitably hit a glass ceiling where they will need more resources if they want to break through.

The secret to continuing your initial success is ensuring that these additional resources can leverage off your initial good work AND add value of their own in excess of the complexity added/strain they place on you and your new "organisation". Far easier said than done.

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