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Ask HN: What are 100K dollar ideas but not million dollar ideas?

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Re: Ask HN: What are 100K dollar ideas but not million dollar ideas?

#111

Post by afigkka »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #88
afigkka wrote: post #31

in the UK most villages/small towns without a school have very old residents with no real village population replacement (people die of old age and the big old cold houses are bought by increasingly wealthy retirees leaving urban environments). The current residents need increasing amounts of care and infrastructure but there isn't anybody nearby of working age (compounded by the fact that NIMBY policies have driven…

Aka, increasing taxes and increasing pay to quality of life at work ratios for healthcare workers.

government involvement is the root of the problem, care used to be familial and community responsibility which we abandoned. I'm already paying the highest average tax rate since the war to pay for current pensions that are unfunded and thereby expect future generations to give me their money when I'm old. Poor outcomes

Re: Ask HN: What are 100K dollar ideas but not million dollar ideas?

#112

Post by tdiggity »

leros wrote: post #78

My favorite $100k idea to share is starting a landscaping business. The startup cost is small, you grow through hustle and good work, and the ability to expand to multiple employees/crews is there as you expand. I think it's something just about anyone can do as it doesn't require special training.

This idea is a good one for local, but can be crowded. Search Reddit for starting a maid service or lawn service for templates and experiences.

And google “maid/lawn service ” for your city and adjacent ones and you might find people using that playbook.

Re: Ask HN: What are 100K dollar ideas but not million dollar ideas?

#113

Post by aynyc »

zdragnar wrote: post #103
drdrek wrote: post #95

Stand up from the computer and walk out the door, pretty sure you'll find your local problems there. Do local brewers need better distribution to stores? Can you connect local handymen with clients? Can you organize local neighborhood cleanup days, maybe supported by local businesses? You'll be amazed what can be done with the technology of outside, its like the internet just with real people! :) Some call it web 4.0

> Do local brewers need better distribution to stores? Probably, but state laws (varying from bad to worse) make alcohol distribution one of the more heavily regulated things you could try to "fix".

NJ has entered the chat!

Re: Ask HN: What are 100K dollar ideas but not million dollar ideas?

#114

Post by tlb »

siva7 wrote: post #15
dismalpedigree wrote: post #10

Work for somebody else. No startup stress. No need to take it home with you. Consistent schedule. You can easily clear $100k just keeping your head down in a big company.

This is the right advise. If you have the rare talent to build a 100K startup, you have also what it takes to execute above 1M. Stress and competition are the same.

In fact, stress may hardly vary between being CEO of a $100k and a $1B (annual revenue) company.

Above $1B, you can’t avoid having your name in the press, so that may increase stress on both you and your family.

Re: Ask HN: What are 100K dollar ideas but not million dollar ideas?

#115

Post by shireboy »

cityzen wrote: post #86
julian_t wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm just sorting out my late father's stuff. He was an avid photographer and so I've got hundreds - probably a couple of thousand - 35mm slides, along with a load of printed ephemera. I do have a slide scanner but it only works one at a time, so there's no way I'm going to do all those. There are a couple of places that will do it but prices are prohibitive, so I'd definitely consider a service like this.

Have you seen DigMyPics.com? I knew the owner in Phoenix, he built the whole pipeline custom. Very smart guy and cool business.

Got dad a gift certificate for them a few years back but he’s hesitant to send the stuff off for various reasons. I disagree with him but I have to think there are plenty of people who would want the service on-site.

Re: Ask HN: What are 100K dollar ideas but not million dollar ideas?

#116

Post by CrypticShift »

valdiorn wrote: post #3

My startup ideas :) I've been designing and building audio software and hardware components for musicians since I was a teenager. VST plugins to start, then moved on to digital guitar effects and now Eurorack synth modules. I've also built custom midi controllers, traditional guitar pedals, you name it, I've designed and built it. I have absolutely no doubt that I could build a small, semi-successful company around t…

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the market for musicians’ audio software and hardware is underdocumented. Despite this outstanding explosion (especially software), I fail to find "insiders" or dedicated open communities writing articles or books on the business side. You mostly hear the musical side because that's what the audience wants at kvr or SOS...

Don't you think this will give people like you (especially those not well connected) more granular insight to take the decisions they are hesitant about?

Personally. I'm just curious. I've been using VSTs for 20 years, and I find this power fascinating. So, I'm intrigued by all the human and market dynamics behind the scenes that make it possible.

Sadly, in our current system, less economic growth = less money is given to musicians = less money musicians give to tool creators. This may not even be a linear chain, so the effect get a whole worse at the end point (if you know what I mean)

Re: Ask HN: What are 100K dollar ideas but not million dollar ideas?

#117

Post by throwaway2037 »

hnfong wrote: post #76
komadori wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the website? I can only think of CantoDict.

Didn't post a link since it's not supposed to be an ad, but since somebody asked... - https://words.hk - if you haven't heard of this yet, probably because the site is in Cantonese (yeah, this is a novel thing, a Cantonese-Cantonese dictionary...) - https://cantowords.com - This is an English version recently launched this year. The page rank or whatever SEO thing isn't up to speed yet, so there's not a lot of page v…

BTW -- For these types of discussions, I think it is fine to share links. Don't feel bad. You can also add a disclaimer: "Sorry if this looks an advert." People will respect that here. :)

And good luck with your business!

Re: Ask HN: What are 100K dollar ideas but not million dollar ideas?

#118

Post by shireboy »

hindsightbias wrote: post #94
shireboy wrote: post #60

I have often thought someone could make solid income going around to storage facilities, garages, attics etc and scanning in old photos and memorabilia. My dad has his mothers’, grandparents, and maybe further back in storage. Doesn’t want to send it off but does want it digitized, but doesn’t have time or equipment to do himself (nor do I). Some of it could probably be sold on eBay. So it sits and collects dust and…

When I look around at the insane increases in physical storage units in the US, planning for virtual storage for the next generation seems like a good opp.

Oh it’s crazy. That he’s spending 350+/mo on storage eats me up.

Re: Ask HN: What are 100K dollar ideas but not million dollar ideas?

#119

Post by lotsofpulp »

afigkka wrote: post #111
lotsofpulp wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aka, increasing taxes and increasing pay to quality of life at work ratios for healthcare workers.

government involvement is the root of the problem, care used to be familial and community responsibility which we abandoned. I'm already paying the highest average tax rate since the war to pay for current pensions that are unfunded and thereby expect future generations to give me their money when I'm old. Poor outcomes

I would have thought that agglomeration of economic opportunities and desirable quality of life in urban areas for working age populations is some of the “root” of the problem.

And also the aging demographics, leaving fewer and fewer younger age people to support more and more older people.

>I'm thinking if each rich old person in the village paid a subscription for a dedicated local care team who lived together in a nice house in the village (like 30x people paying £1000 a month to support 5 people) then that would be a balance for a very decent care wage + consistent high quality care

What is your basis for thinking 5 people would have the expertise to support 30 old people, and they would do it for 6k pounds per month each, and live in a single house together?

I highly doubt that a person would go through years of grueling medical training to live that lifestyle.

Re: Ask HN: What are 100K dollar ideas but not million dollar ideas?

#120

Post by chubot »

CrypticShift wrote: post #116
valdiorn wrote: post #3

My startup ideas :) I've been designing and building audio software and hardware components for musicians since I was a teenager. VST plugins to start, then moved on to digital guitar effects and now Eurorack synth modules. I've also built custom midi controllers, traditional guitar pedals, you name it, I've designed and built it. I have absolutely no doubt that I could build a small, semi-successful company around t…

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the market for musicians’ audio software and hardware is underdocumented. Despite this outstanding explosion (especially software), I fail to find "insiders" or dedicated open communities writing articles or books on the business side. You mostly hear the musical side because that's what the audience wants at kvr or SOS... Don't you think this will give people like you (especially those n…

I think you have to go to industry events like NAMM and so forth. You’re not going to find experts just giving away their knowledge on the Internet openly

Same thing with medical tech, energy tech, etc.

Web and to some extent games are a lot more open (and larger) than most fields

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