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Bootstrapping a side project into a profitable seven-figure business

projectionlab.com

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Re: Bootstrapping a side project into a profitable seven-figure business

#231

Post by bravesoul2 »

scubakid wrote: post #208
bravesoul2 wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. I'm saying the first HN post was a great signal, but a probability. It could have flopped from there. But sales from a cold HN post to me is good pot odds, so stay in the game! The rear view mirror thing is of course true: you can only know the market by testing it by trying to sell your thing to it. Anything forward looking is a prediction. You are always making decisions that are like bets.

Definitely agree on thinking in bets and probabilities. Is your sense that we're officially at PMF now? Or maybe last year even? Or do you think the question is fundamentally subjective and depends on who you ask and what numbers seem compelling to them, like you kind of alluded to before?

"We"? Are you the owner? If so you know much more than me!

Re: Bootstrapping a side project into a profitable seven-figure business

#232

Post by gilfoyle_7 »

scubakid wrote: post #171
mattfrommars wrote: post #170

Amazing stuff. I think I'm in the boat as you OP except I just can't get myself to commit to a project since 1) no idea if it works or is unique 2) look for better opportunity and spend time doing LC/apply for job. There is only so many hours after work. > Once you’ve validated your idea, Could you really break this down. I feel you overlooked this part. How do you filter through tons of ideas into idea that for sure…

There are many frameworks and approaches, but here are two of my filtering criteria: 1. I don't start a project unless it's something I deeply want to exist for my own personal use. That way I know there's at least one person who would pay for an elegant solution. And even if no one shows up, at least it's useful to me. 2. I don't start a project unless I can envision the solution top to bottom and feel confident abo…

Do you make this decision after doing tons of research about how you could implement a solution for the gray areas or do you just decide not to pursue the gray areas that you don't know how to implement yourself?

Re: Bootstrapping a side project into a profitable seven-figure business

#233

Post by immibis »

fullstackchris wrote: post #139
throwaway2037 wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> live securities prices This is probably impossible in 2025. Many stock exchanges now make more money from selling data feeds than trading fees. It is a little bit crazy. The best that you can hope for is a delayed feed, or last closes.

This is incorrect. Almost all brokers nowadays allow for OAuth connections where you can stream any data you'd see in your broker platform to any consuming web application (given the consuming web application does all the paperwork, dev work, and so on)

(with a contractual obligation to never share the data with anyone else or they'll sue you for all you're worth)

Re: Bootstrapping a side project into a profitable seven-figure business

#235

Post by throwaway342110 »

bravesoul2 wrote: post #113
44za12 wrote: post #107

I love how these stories always start with “I just wanted to scratch my own itch” and end with “...and now I’m running a company with a payroll bigger than my old day job.” It’s inspiring, but also a little bit intimidating. Makes you wonder how many potential seven-figure ideas are just sitting in people’s “maybe someday” folders. The real lesson here? Ship something, even if it’s ugly. You can’t optimize what doesn…

For me the lesson is: ship the thing that makes you feel like you are playing Golf doing it (assuming someone who plays Golf enjoys it alot). The golfer won't regret their day on the course. And if you fail on the passion project it won't feel like a fail. I have another idea too. It's the win anyway system. Pick something that if you fail you use those skills at work and get ahead. E.g. the side project is also the…

This is my plan now, launch a free product and use it to promote myself as a contractor or consultant. Commit to some time spent on maintenance weekly and consider it as part of the marketing time. Maybe I will be able to monetize it in the long term, but in the short term, I need it to escape the bottom of the barrel I am currently at. You don't get to have a good resume when you are tinkering with products on your own... and I realized that especially in this job market, I can only make decent money on my own. It helps that the product is quite technically complex, gives me ideas for blog posts and the idea itself is already validated (as a free product), but the existing implementations are poor. And I absolutely love developing it.

The big lesson for me is know what you are getting into. Look at the OP - he spent every spare hour he had. This is no joke. I have done something similar in the past for a time and I ended up constantly running into conflicts of priorities between that and personal life. I ended up wasting a few years, in both personal life and professional life, although the former hurts much more. This is how I ended up in a scenario where I have nothing to show and nothing to lose. I just hope I can do it all at some 50 hours per week total, where the product is just a part of the day job (promotes the consulting offering) and lower the volume of paid work as I need, if I want to have more time to make a big move with the product.

Re: Bootstrapping a side project into a profitable seven-figure business

#236

Post by scubakid »

gilfoyle_7 wrote: post #232
scubakid wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are many frameworks and approaches, but here are two of my filtering criteria: 1. I don't start a project unless it's something I deeply want to exist for my own personal use. That way I know there's at least one person who would pay for an elegant solution. And even if no one shows up, at least it's useful to me. 2. I don't start a project unless I can envision the solution top to bottom and feel confident abo…

Do you make this decision after doing tons of research about how you could implement a solution for the gray areas or do you just decide not to pursue the gray areas that you don't know how to implement yourself?

Doing some research would definitely be part of the diligence process when considering a new project.

Re: Bootstrapping a side project into a profitable seven-figure business

#237

Post by scubakid »

pipes wrote: post #228

It looks really good. Would it make much difference that I'm not USA based, (live in the UK). I.e. in terms of tax pensions pensions etc.

I noticed most tools neglect international scenarios because the US market is big and it's easier to focus on that. So I decided to be different and try to build with as much international flexibility as possible. We have a bunch of international account types and tax preseta, including some for the UK.

Re: Bootstrapping a side project into a profitable seven-figure business

#239

Post by scubakid »

bravesoul2 wrote: post #231
scubakid wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Definitely agree on thinking in bets and probabilities. Is your sense that we're officially at PMF now? Or maybe last year even? Or do you think the question is fundamentally subjective and depends on who you ask and what numbers seem compelling to them, like you kind of alluded to before?

"We"? Are you the owner? If so you know much more than me!

Yep, I wrote the post!

I'd say we reached PMF a couple years ago the way I define it (solid customer acquisition from organic sources & word-of-mouth, strong retention, sustainable growth).

I was just curious if others might look at it differently, since I know definitions can vary. And like you said, some people might look at this update and dismiss it as still really small-time.

Re: Bootstrapping a side project into a profitable seven-figure business

#240

Post by scubakid »

cbeach wrote: post #142

Great job on this webapp, it's a really easy-to-use platform. I've toyed with the same startup idea myself, having tracked my personal finances and life projection for years now using Google Sheets, Grafana and other tools. Just an annecdotal bit of feedback: I would like to continue using ProjectionLab but $109/year is beyond what I'm willing to spend, especially given ProjectionLab doesn't integrate with any live t…

We've done some pricing experimentation over the years, and it's possible we're actually still positioned too cheap right now for the value the platform provides.

Personal finance is a pretty broad space, and it's common for different people to come to this with varying desires and expectations.

In our experience, the people who see the value in a good long-term DIY financial plan view our current pricing as extremely affordable, especially compared to traditional financial planning services which often charge $3-5k for a PDF and a pat on the back.

Anyway, if automated tracking is the piece that's most important to you, it might be worth noting that we do plan to add more options for that. But that work -- and all the other controversial implications of it that I mentioned in another comment -- just needs to be prioritized against all the other highly requested things on the product roadmap, based on what the community really wants the most.

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