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Show HN: Side project passed $2.5k/mo revenue after 2 years (Phoenix and Vue)

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Re: Show HN: Side project passed $2.5k/mo revenue after 2 years (Phoenix and Vue)

#11
As someone who isn't a software developer by trade, how did you decide on the software stack?

I hadn't even heard of Phoenix (I am not a web dev by trade, so maybe that's why!), so I am a bit surprised to see something less mainstream as a 'goto'.

Re: Show HN: Side project passed $2.5k/mo revenue after 2 years (Phoenix and Vue)

#12
post #11

As someone who isn't a software developer by trade, how did you decide on the software stack? I hadn't even heard of Phoenix (I am not a web dev by trade, so maybe that's why!), so I am a bit surprised to see something less mainstream as a 'goto'.

I don't think there's a real answer to this that doesn't have a time variable.

Phoenix is pretty stable and fast. I'd assume it's pretty popular here.

I'd recommend .net core because i have the most experience with it ( but it moves fast since .net framework). But it's less popular here ( i think)

A couple of years ago, it was RoR ( and that is still a viable solution).

A long time ago, it was PHO and that's still a valid solution.

There are multiple answers to this and some people will prefer one over the other. It mostly has to do what they are used to and heard of.

I just wouldn't recommend a young and new javascript framework. Many have come and go.

Pick something stable and don't use the "latest and greatest" is the only advice i can give you.

Re: Show HN: Side project passed $2.5k/mo revenue after 2 years (Phoenix and Vue)

#13
post #11

As someone who isn't a software developer by trade, how did you decide on the software stack? I hadn't even heard of Phoenix (I am not a web dev by trade, so maybe that's why!), so I am a bit surprised to see something less mainstream as a 'goto'.

It could start with identifying concurrency as a priority, then looking up the erlang BEAM as a best in class solution, and finally using recent forums to see what today's practical tools are for taking advantage of the BEAM and coming across elixir/phoenix.

*that's how I heard of it, at least. I'm not a developer, more of a sysadmin / analyst

Re: Show HN: Side project passed $2.5k/mo revenue after 2 years (Phoenix and Vue)

#14
post #11

As someone who isn't a software developer by trade, how did you decide on the software stack? I hadn't even heard of Phoenix (I am not a web dev by trade, so maybe that's why!), so I am a bit surprised to see something less mainstream as a 'goto'.

Haha! I understand what you mean. It's a long story, but the gist of it is that I had been more of a hobby-grade developer, on and off, and had a few side projects that I would occasionally boot up and play with.

You could say that I was technical enough to be dangerous, but before PriceTable I did not have any "real-life" experience (or the depth and breadth of knowledge) that comes with building and maintaining a SaaS app with paying users.

I started playing with Rails back in... 2010 I think? And about five years ago someone in the Rails community introduced me to Elixir, and I fell in love with it. So when I conceived of PriceTable, I figured, why not use Elixir for it.

Re: Show HN: Side project passed $2.5k/mo revenue after 2 years (Phoenix and Vue)

#15

Contrary to another commenter here, I would suggest learning a bit about selling to businesses before (or even instead of) looking to raise money. Go on YouTube and watch some MicroConf videos. Most of the most popular videos are exactly this theme.

Thank you for the advice. I will check those out! For me, the challenge isn't really lack of knowledge of B2B sales (I do a fair bit of it in my day job) but rather lack of time. Prospecting and qualifying leads tends to be very time-consuming, and neither of us can dedicate ourselves to it since we both have day jobs. But I think you're right that our focus should be to expand our client base a bit more before looki…

At some point one (ideally both to avoid conflict later) will have to decide to go all in on your idea or otherwise it will always limp along due to the two of you not having enough time to devote to it.

Re: Show HN: Side project passed $2.5k/mo revenue after 2 years (Phoenix and Vue)

#16
post #3

May I ask how did you get the consulting gig in the first place?

Hey! So the consulting gig is my day job. I’ve been working with no-code platforms for more than a decade, and this client was for one of the projects assigned to me. I’m grateful because consulting is a really good way to look for new ideas in the marketplace since you’re always interfacing with customers and talking about their issues, sometimes in great detail. PriceTable was born out of one such project.

I see, thanks. So I assume you work for an agency and they let you build this SaaS product on the side. Pretty nice of them as some companies have rather draconic stipulations with regards to intellectual property produced while being employed by them.

Re: Show HN: Side project passed $2.5k/mo revenue after 2 years (Phoenix and Vue)

#17
Just out of curiosity, are you leveraging liveview at all?

I also use Phoenix for my SaaS project (took me 5 years to hit $2.5k/mo so congrats!) but I went all-in on liveview. It's some solid tech and I'm pretty happy with it but I'm wondering what the limits are when there is a lot of interactivity which seems to be the case with your app.

Re: Show HN: Side project passed $2.5k/mo revenue after 2 years (Phoenix and Vue)

#18
post #11

As someone who isn't a software developer by trade, how did you decide on the software stack? I hadn't even heard of Phoenix (I am not a web dev by trade, so maybe that's why!), so I am a bit surprised to see something less mainstream as a 'goto'.

Most of the time it's just because something looks neat, is well documented and might be a useful skill. That's why I learned Ruby back in 2006 with little to no programming experience. I really wanted to make websites, but I hated the idea of learning Java.

Re: Show HN: Side project passed $2.5k/mo revenue after 2 years (Phoenix and Vue)

#19
post #17

Just out of curiosity, are you leveraging liveview at all? I also use Phoenix for my SaaS project (took me 5 years to hit $2.5k/mo so congrats!) but I went all-in on liveview. It's some solid tech and I'm pretty happy with it but I'm wondering what the limits are when there is a lot of interactivity which seems to be the case with your app.

Thank you! We are not leveraging LiveView at the moment, since we already have a full-blown Vue frontend. I have been watching it from the sidelines though, and I agree that it's both very solid and very promising. I'd be very interested to hear your experience with it, if you'd be willing to share (either here, or you can email me: ege@pricetable.io).

Re: Show HN: Side project passed $2.5k/mo revenue after 2 years (Phoenix and Vue)

#20
Hi,

If you ever want to talk about how you build and deploy your app along with your tech stack in detail let me know. I've love to have you on the https://runninginproduction.com podcast.

There's 14 Phoenix episodes at https://runninginproduction.com/tags/phoenix but the more the merrier since every story is unique.

If you wanted to come on the show click the "become a guest" button on the top right to get the ball rolling.

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