Let's walk through hmexx's premises. Premise 1, that investors overestimate their ability to pick good ideas is undoubtedly true. The best investors are still usually wrong. But the consistent returns that the Sequoias of the world suggest that even if they're usually wrong, they're right enough to make oodles of money. Premise 2, that an MVP built by a lone founder is just as likely to succeed as a full team on Ange…
Proposition HN: I will pay $8000 for you to build your side-project/MVP
381–390 of 395 posts
Re: Proposition HN: I will pay $8000 for you to build your side-project/MVP
#382If this was answered, I can't find it. - At $5k / 50%, who is covering the costs of creating a separate entity (LLC formation)? - What happens in the event that the project is completed in time, but the addl $3k spent to acquire enough customers doesn't yield any positive results? - Who owns the IP in case after all is said and done, it falls into a dead pool? IP in code that didn't survive as a startup is still valu…
Re: Proposition HN: I will pay $8000 for you to build your side-project/MVP
#383My concern with the approach is that it doesn't seem very lean. An idea that a developer has kicking around isn't necessarily one that has a market. I'd suggest getting involved early on the product development side and getting out and talking to customers. Articulated market needs are much more valuable than just an idea... Nathan Barry had a nice post on HN the other day having to do with this: http://nathanbarry.c…
Re: Proposition HN: I will pay $8000 for you to build your side-project/MVP
#384I'm interested, but I have an important question: Are you an accredited investor? Must you be, for this plan to work?
Re: Proposition HN: I will pay $8000 for you to build your side-project/MVP
#385Can't edit the main article anymore, but here's a rally-point for future updates: http://hnproposition.blogspot.co.uk/ Been emailed to everyone who contacted me. Hopefully has not hit too many spam boxes.
Re: Proposition HN: I will pay $8000 for you to build your side-project/MVP
#386Out of curiosity. Do any developers reading this refer to themselves as "techie" ? Am I the only one who finds this term to be suspicious?
Re: Proposition HN: I will pay $8000 for you to build your side-project/MVP
#387Any room for a designer in this proposal? If a talented programmer has a great idea, and is able to make it functional, thats great. However, as a designer I'm interested in how these projects will turn out visually.
Re: Proposition HN: I will pay $8000 for you to build your side-project/MVP
#388Let's walk through hmexx's premises. Premise 1, that investors overestimate their ability to pick good ideas is undoubtedly true. The best investors are still usually wrong. But the consistent returns that the Sequoias of the world suggest that even if they're usually wrong, they're right enough to make oodles of money. Premise 2, that an MVP built by a lone founder is just as likely to succeed as a full team on Ange…
Problem is, no one believes you.
Re: Proposition HN: I will pay $8000 for you to build your side-project/MVP
#389Earlier quoted context omitted.
Again, you're seeing this dangerously wrong. This isn't an employment opportunity, this is a startup where one of the founders is using an interesting way to find a co-founder and the idea itself. You bring the idea, he brings the cash. He's not giving you a job, he's playing the role of seed investor and co-founder.
Okay. I guess we can agree to disagree, although I think at this point we're arguing semantics.
Re: Proposition HN: I will pay $8000 for you to build your side-project/MVP
#390Earlier quoted context omitted.
The precedent of a questionable value proposition by an anonymous member raises the question, are caveat emptor funding offers beneficial to the HN community? Logical assumptions lead to a plausible candidate - but that's not identity.
This may or may not be a good idea, but it is certainly a novel approach. My best guess is that the precedent isn't too big a concern because few would be willing to put up cash for such an attempt and the # of MVPs worth buying is low.