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Ask HN: My app is shared on Twitter every day. What should I do?

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Ask HN: My app is shared on Twitter every day. What should I do?

#1
I created an app last year that gained some popularity on Hacker News thankfully. I'm in a transition phase. I work full-time and I have a side job I'm finishing up for a client. Soon I can concentrate on building my next version.

My problem is it's shared on Twitter, but it has bugs and it's not good enough to begin marketing yet. I'm learning Swift to build the 2nd version, but I'm not an iOS coder, so the build is slow going. I've had a ton of feedback and I have the design and features of the next version planned.

Should I pursue seed funding? Should I apply to an accelerator? Should I look for a partner to help with coding? I don't have much money, but should I hire someone? I've looked at the analytics and the market segment is pretty clear. It makes me a little nervous to see the social sharing without much real ability to capitalize on it. I'm not sure how long Buffer will keep it in the suggested articles rotation (although it seems like it's been 6 months now). It's shared on Twitter and LinkedIn almost everyday for at least 3 months. I feel like the opportunity is slipping away.

I may be overreacting, but hopefully you can understand my anxiety. You can see the shares by searching Twitter for "rememberwinapp.com".

Re: Ask HN: My app is shared on Twitter every day. What should I do?

#2
Try to fix the bugs. Don't rewrite the app from scratch. Keep updating it and keep momentum.

The other questions are harder and really something you have to figure out for yourself. I can say a partner can help and turning a side project into a business is a ton of work. At the same time don't let fear of missing out force a rash choice and only work with someone you trust and have a track record with.

You have built something people seem to want and that's a great first step.

Re: Ask HN: My app is shared on Twitter every day. What should I do?

#4
Release it under GPL if you can, put it on github or bitbucket, document the bugs as "issues," focus on fixing show stoppers and high-visibility user complaints, don't worry too much about it (all these apps are buggy, we just don't like show stoppers), ask for donations and for volunteer drive-by coders.

Re: Ask HN: My app is shared on Twitter every day. What should I do?

#10
post #4

Release it under GPL if you can, put it on github or bitbucket, document the bugs as "issues," focus on fixing show stoppers and high-visibility user complaints, don't worry too much about it (all these apps are buggy, we just don't like show stoppers), ask for donations and for volunteer drive-by coders.

This is a bad idea. You have to have a plan if you have a for-profit open source product. You need to give contributors something so they don't feel like they're being taken advantage of. It's complicated. It isn't as easy as just open sourcing it and asking for contributions.
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