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Show HN: I quit my job and made an automatic time tracker

taimapp.io

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Re: Show HN: I quit my job and made an automatic time tracker

#91

Post by rocksalad »

brailsafe wrote: post #60

Looks like you might have been inspired by Klokki, which is what I've been using for a while. Seems like a decent UI direction, but quite a lot of UI for something designed for people who forget to use their time tracking app. The roadmap indicates you've got plans for a bunch of features that are hard to reconcile with the idea of something getting out of my way. I do feel like that pricing scheme is also too aggres…

Thank you for the detailed feedback! I appreciate your insights and comparisons.

Taim is indeed inspired by the need for an intuitive and efficient time tracking solution, and while it may share some similarities with apps like Klokki (I heard about it for the first time). I'm aiming to bring a unique blend of features and usability. My goal is to balance robust functionality with a user-friendly interface that doesn’t get in the way.

Regarding pricing, I hear you. I want to make Taim accessible and valuable, and your feedback is crucial as I refine the approach. Thanks again for your thoughtful comments and suggestions. I'm committed to iterating and improving.

Re: Show HN: I quit my job and made an automatic time tracker

#92

Post by diimdeep »

I didn't know you could presale simple productivity app a whole half a year before release, smells like scam.

Also username is from 2016 with zero activity before this post.

But website sure looks nice, although I hate this distracting mouse flashlight effect.

Re: Show HN: I quit my job and made an automatic time tracker

#93

Post by rocksalad »

diimdeep wrote: post #92

I didn't know you could presale simple productivity app a whole half a year before release, smells like scam. Also username is from 2016 with zero activity before this post. But website sure looks nice, although I hate this distracting mouse flashlight effect.

I understand your skepticism, and I appreciate your honesty. The presale is a way for me to gather early supporters and fund further development. Rest assured, I am committed to delivering a high-quality product and the first users will get their hands on in 2-3 months already. Account was created a while back for sure by me, just wasnt a Y user before.

Regarding the flashlight effect, thanks for the feedback! I'll look into that. If you have any concerns or need more information, feel free to ask. And thanks for the compliment on the website design!

Re: Show HN: I quit my job and made an automatic time tracker

#94

Post by brailsafe »

diffxx wrote: post #80
brailsafe wrote: post #60

Looks like you might have been inspired by Klokki, which is what I've been using for a while. Seems like a decent UI direction, but quite a lot of UI for something designed for people who forget to use their time tracking app. The roadmap indicates you've got plans for a bunch of features that are hard to reconcile with the idea of something getting out of my way. I do feel like that pricing scheme is also too aggres…

My gut reaction is that independent of the quality of this product, $30 is easily spent on lunch for 1 in many places. I would like to see more developers willing to pay for tools that they benefit from using. Since we generally don't culturally, it is very difficult to make it as an independent developer which has many unfortunate consequences.

I agree, but I don't think it's equally comparable, and food is too damn expensive to trust most of the time anyway; I feel robbed when I spend $30 on a bad meal.

Although $30 for a meal is the same general benchmark I use, $30 isn't as easy to come by these days, and uses physical resources and a logistics chain to get the raw material and do anything with it. The value is concrete, and time us put into each individual product at time of purchase. You don't buy a burger and wonder if you'll get calories from it. With a productivity app, it's worth more if it's worth more, but it's not inherently worth anything as a more abstract intangible good.

~$30-50 is just the value I can imagine deriving from this specific category of app, but everyone's mileage is different. This app would not enable me to do design or development, it's an optimization on a specific corner of my workflow, which is valuable but not immensely valuable, and it's hard to bet on without the previous one being incredible. I love narrow-focus thoughtfully designed software, and pay periodically around that price for Dash, TripMode, Affinity, and various games. Would I pay double or quadruple? Probably not, because I'm fine working around the issue and using the rest of the money for food or other tools that supplement my flow.

Re: Show HN: I quit my job and made an automatic time tracker

#95

Post by ivm »

rocksalad wrote: post #39
blorenz wrote: post #28

Congrats on making a product! I've been using Qbserve for a decade with a one-time price (and it looks to still be just $29). Things that I love about it: - No connection needed. - Ability to categorize my time by project - Adding Rules to categorize by page url pattern, document path, or window title. - Exporting the data from the local sqlite. - Ability to annotate the timelines and attribute it to specific project…

Thank you for the detailed feedback and kind words! It’s great to hear about your positive experience with Qbserve. I appreciate you sharing the features you love—many of them align with what I'm aiming to offer with Taim. I'm working hard to bring these features and more to Taim, with a focus on simplicity and efficiency. Your insights are very helpful, and I hope to add some innovative touches to improve the time t…

Hi hi, Qbserve's dev here. Not to be a downer, but time tracking has turned out to be one of the worst possible niches for starting as an indie dev.

The app did great on Show HN (sales were fantastic that week), but then I spent almost a year on marketing and SEO with almost zero results and a mild burnout. Being Mac-only did not help, of course, but there are larger problems:

1. There were so many time trackers even in 2016, and the field is even more crowded nowadays. But at the same time, there are only a few keywords available to rank in search engines. You'll be fighting big corporations like Toggl and Clockify, who have whole marketing departments and recurring revenue from subscriptions.

2. There's so much you can write about time tracking, and honestly, there are already too many productivity articles on the internet. So content marketing doesn't take you far either (and the corporate time trackers do it too, a lot).

3. If you try to run ads, then again the few important keywords are expensive because those corporate products bid for them across all platforms.

4. Desktop software seems to be generally hard to sell because of the long funnel: landing page > download > installation > launch > retention > payment. No wonder web-based SaaS has been the way to go for most.

At some point, the revenue dropped because Zapier removed Qbserve from one of their listing articles, and I just gave up. Qbserve has been bringing in only a few hundred dollars monthly for over five years now. I maintain it to keep it working with browser and OS updates, and add some small UX improvements, but that's pretty much it.

I sincerely wish you luck, maybe you'll find some way around these challenges. But it's tough out there and, just in case, adding more features does not increase sales – I learned it the hard way!

Cheers!

Re: Show HN: I quit my job and made an automatic time tracker

#96

Post by rocksalad »

ivm wrote: post #95
rocksalad wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for the detailed feedback and kind words! It’s great to hear about your positive experience with Qbserve. I appreciate you sharing the features you love—many of them align with what I'm aiming to offer with Taim. I'm working hard to bring these features and more to Taim, with a focus on simplicity and efficiency. Your insights are very helpful, and I hope to add some innovative touches to improve the time t…

Hi hi, Qbserve's dev here. Not to be a downer, but time tracking has turned out to be one of the worst possible niches for starting as an indie dev. The app did great on Show HN (sales were fantastic that week), but then I spent almost a year on marketing and SEO with almost zero results and a mild burnout. Being Mac-only did not help, of course, but there are larger problems: 1. There were so many time trackers even…

Hi there,

Thanks so much for sharing your experience and insights — it's incredibly valuable to hear from someone who's been through this journey. I really appreciate the honesty and the heads-up about the challenges.

1. You're right, the time tracking space is indeed somewhat crowded, and competing with big players like Toggl and Clockify is a huge task. I'm aware of the uphill battle with SEO and marketing, and your experience reinforces the importance of having a solid strategy.

2. Content marketing is definitely tricky, especially with so much already out there. I'm exploring unique angles and user stories to hopefully stand out, but it's clear that traditional methods have their limitations.

3. Advertising costs for competitive keywords are another tough hurdle. I'll be keeping an eye on creative marketing approaches to get the word out without breaking the bank.

4. The long funnel for desktop software is something I've been considering as well. Ensuring a smooth user experience from download to payment is crucial, and I'll be focusing on making that as seamless as possible.

Thank you for maintaining Qbserve and sharing your learnings. I hope to find ways to navigate these challenges and appreciate any advice or tips you might have.

Wishing you all the best as well, and thanks again for the candid advice!

Cheers!

Re: Show HN: I quit my job and made an automatic time tracker

#98

Post by rocksalad »

pdjljl wrote: post #97

[flagged]

Thanks so much for the encouragement! Quitting my job to build Taim was definitely a big step, but it’s been an exciting journey.

Currently, Taim tracks your activity on a project basis. You need to manually assign a task/session name to each activity. However, I'll try to also automate this process in the future based on previous sessions to make it even more seamless.

Taim stores all data locally on your device for Individual licence owners, so you have full control over it. Used application history will be only visible to you.

Thanks again for the support and great questions! If you have any more, feel free to ask.

Re: Show HN: I quit my job and made an automatic time tracker

#99

Post by richardreeze »

ivm wrote: post #95
rocksalad wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for the detailed feedback and kind words! It’s great to hear about your positive experience with Qbserve. I appreciate you sharing the features you love—many of them align with what I'm aiming to offer with Taim. I'm working hard to bring these features and more to Taim, with a focus on simplicity and efficiency. Your insights are very helpful, and I hope to add some innovative touches to improve the time t…

Hi hi, Qbserve's dev here. Not to be a downer, but time tracking has turned out to be one of the worst possible niches for starting as an indie dev. The app did great on Show HN (sales were fantastic that week), but then I spent almost a year on marketing and SEO with almost zero results and a mild burnout. Being Mac-only did not help, of course, but there are larger problems: 1. There were so many time trackers even…

This is actually great feedback (even though on the surface it looks like a "your idea won't work" message).

But to see a list of the top challenges from a close competitor is what I think most developers should look for. That way, they can either fix those problems or look for ways around them.

Re: Show HN: I quit my job and made an automatic time tracker

#100

Post by ivm »

richardreeze wrote: post #99
ivm wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi hi, Qbserve's dev here. Not to be a downer, but time tracking has turned out to be one of the worst possible niches for starting as an indie dev. The app did great on Show HN (sales were fantastic that week), but then I spent almost a year on marketing and SEO with almost zero results and a mild burnout. Being Mac-only did not help, of course, but there are larger problems: 1. There were so many time trackers even…

This is actually great feedback (even though on the surface it looks like a "your idea won't work" message). But to see a list of the top challenges from a close competitor is what I think most developers should look for. That way, they can either fix those problems or look for ways around them.

It may work, but some luck is required along with the right market fit. For example, a few years ago I shared similar concerns to the author of Session time tracker[1] when he was starting the app's promotion. Back then I believed he won't make it either, but, as far as I know from his twitter, he managed to reach at least a decent 4-digit revenue. Although his product is subscription-based, so there's no endless acquisition trap like in case of Taim in Qbserve.

[1]: https://www.stayinsession.com

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