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One year as a solo dev building open-source data tools without funding

datastation.multiprocess.io

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Re: One year as a solo dev building open-source data tools without funding

#111

Post by rgrieselhuber »

james_impliu wrote: post #46
ThePhysicist wrote: post #45

Advice regarding VCs: Don't ever talk to them if they randomly approach you saying they "really like what you're doing". They will gladly sent an associate to talk with you about your business in the greatest detail and ask you to share presentations, demos and metrics. Anything you give them will then get passed along to their own portfolio companies in your space. So don't feel flattered when they feign interest in…

Had this happen (random outreach). Led to a series A. Respectfully disagree - I don't think competitors copying is a significant risk early on, compared to running out of money whilst trying to hit product market fit.

It's hard to draw conclusions one way or another because there are so many variables. A good heuristic is that if you aren't speaking with a partner, your risk of having your time wasted (at best) is far higher.

Re: One year as a solo dev building open-source data tools without funding

#112

Post by yieldcrv »

eatonphil wrote: post #43
yieldcrv wrote: post #41

Pursued funding unsuccessfully, zero patrons, only reason its still open source is because they couldnt monetize with venture capital, got lucky in getting internet points, now interviewing for a job Exactly why you dont do this too Saved you some time

I mean it's not a success story but it was fun and I've got cooler interviews lined up than I have ever had before, got to speak with VCs for the first time, learned a ton, and got out of it an app I've wanted for years. :) I would actually recommend this sort of sabbatical if you can afford it and were in a similar situation as I was, basically.

Thanks for sharing it! These are great parts of a tech career

Re: One year as a solo dev building open-source data tools without funding

#113

Post by miladmalek »

stewx wrote: post #66
ThePhysicist wrote: post #45

Advice regarding VCs: Don't ever talk to them if they randomly approach you saying they "really like what you're doing". They will gladly sent an associate to talk with you about your business in the greatest detail and ask you to share presentations, demos and metrics. Anything you give them will then get passed along to their own portfolio companies in your space. So don't feel flattered when they feign interest in…

What's stopping you from asking them to sign an NDA before disclosing any details of what you are doing?

Asking for an NDA from an early stage VC is likely to actively hurt as it can make you seem inexperienced in the realm of startups/venture capital. A decent amount has been written on this. Here's a couple examples, but there are others: http://www.paulgraham.com/start.html https://feld.com/archives/2006/02/why-most-vcs-dont-sign-nda...

Re: One year as a solo dev building open-source data tools without funding

#114

Post by archon810 »

jensneuse wrote: post #9

Thanks for this writeup, I can relate 100%, especially the part on the supportive spouse. I've built WunderGraph ( https://wundergraph.com/ ) as a solo-dev for multiple years until I reached a similar point like you. It's weird to say, but my wife kind of accepted that I'd work on weekends between 1-3 pm when the kids sleep. What helped me get out of this "solo-time-drain-thing" was to find the right Co-Founders to h…

You have some typos on the homepage that may turn some people off.

"WunderGraph let's your access all your systems through a single pane of glass."

Lets* You*

Re: One year as a solo dev building open-source data tools without funding

#115

Post by jensneuse »

archon810 wrote: post #114
jensneuse wrote: post #9

Thanks for this writeup, I can relate 100%, especially the part on the supportive spouse. I've built WunderGraph ( https://wundergraph.com/ ) as a solo-dev for multiple years until I reached a similar point like you. It's weird to say, but my wife kind of accepted that I'd work on weekends between 1-3 pm when the kids sleep. What helped me get out of this "solo-time-drain-thing" was to find the right Co-Founders to h…

You have some typos on the homepage that may turn some people off. "WunderGraph let's your access all your systems through a single pane of glass." Lets* You*

thank you, fixing =)

Re: One year as a solo dev building open-source data tools without funding

#116

Post by alex_suzuki »

pirate787 wrote: post #108
leetrout wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Random thought on this: I do not personally believe the owner of the idea is worth more than 10% of equity. They have to be contributing something to get more. It may be capital, it may be sales but it has to be something. I dream to start a company where I am able to steer almost every decision and the company shares automatically reduce my ownership over X years until a kind of coop forms and most employees have en…

>none of this 1 year cliff vesting nonsense It is foolish to give immediate equity to a new hire who hasn't proven themselves as a good worker and good fit.

Totally agree, feels really naive.

Re: One year as a solo dev building open-source data tools without funding

#117

Post by benibela »

yieldcrv wrote: post #41

Pursued funding unsuccessfully, zero patrons, only reason its still open source is because they couldnt monetize with venture capital, got lucky in getting internet points, now interviewing for a job Exactly why you dont do this too Saved you some time

Story of my life

Re: One year as a solo dev building open-source data tools without funding

#118

Post by infinite8s »

yayr wrote: post #10

Thanks for sharing this. Regarding funding - I think this is a very crowded space and it is hard to see, how data station will get 10x better than other toolings. E.g. on the self-service side there are solutions like Alteryx, that are progressing quite quickly. On the dev oriented side e.g. for automated productive integrations you have various toolings available e.g. in the could platforms. Yes, they all cost money…

Alteryx is quite pricy though - about 5k/seat for the designer.

Re: One year as a solo dev building open-source data tools without funding

#119

Post by mbrodersen »

It is a bit of a misunderstanding to say that the work hasn’t been funded. It has been funded by lost earnings. If the developer instead could have made (say) $100k working on something else, then the funding was $100k. The same way that not selling a car you have been given for free cost you the money you could otherwise have made selling the car.

Re: One year as a solo dev building open-source data tools without funding

#120

Post by AlwaysRock »

justinclift wrote: post #98
AlwaysRock wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup. In general anytime someone is approaching you, unless you are specifically seeking their services out, its probably for their benefit and not yours. A VC seems impressive but they are just another company trying to make money. It's the founder version of getting LinkedIn Recruiter Spam.

> A VC seems impressive Err... why?

*to a lot of people who have never interacted with vcs before

It feels like a stamp of approval even though its mostly meaningless. Like getting recruiter spam from a fang company. It feels like you must be doing something right or its a sign you are a good X. In reality it just means you're in someones marketing/outreach funnel.

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