Large-scale, low-latency decision server. Will have some web console tools, but they're ancillary to the core product.
Non-web startups, anyone is doing these?
11–20 of 43 posts
Re: Non-web startups, anyone is doing these?
#12 Our product has both desktop as well as web parts to it. Some of the code needs to be executed on the client machine which in no way we can shift to server.
Re: Non-web startups, anyone is doing these?
#13Our product idea tackles the analysis of massive amounts of data. Thus, we require relatively high computing power, data storage and bandwidth, and a rich, interactive UI. Consequently, we are going for a more traditional desktop app approach. IMO, there's nothing wrong with either web, desktop, mobile, or whatever, which is why I don't understand the web vs. desktop wars that sometimes rage around here. Just use the…
I agree, but I really look at it in terms of what best suits your customer's needs.
Thats why I can't wait to get my hands on Atlas and give Cappuccino a whirl. Complete flexibility between desktop and the web could create a one-size-fits-all solution.
Re: Non-web startups, anyone is doing these?
#14Tarsnap (my online backup service startup) has a web site for signups and accounting; but it definitely falls into the "client/server app" category rather than the "web app" category.
Re: Non-web startups, anyone is doing these?
#15I have a non web start up www.wickwerks.com
bicycle parts manufacturing. Manufacturing has quite a different set of headaches.
Re: Non-web startups, anyone is doing these?
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree. I started a company that has nothing to do with the web at all. After a few years, it has done quite well. It seems that many believe here that the only form of entrepreneurship worth pursuing is web-based apps, or, failing that, a technology-oriented company. But many startups do quite well by innovating with business processes, targeting inefficient industries, or offering more traditional but innovative p…
citation needed...four steps to the epiphany page 17
Good catch, I'd forgotten where I'd read that story.
Re: Non-web startups, anyone is doing these?
#17I have a non web start up www.wickwerks.com bicycle parts manufacturing. Manufacturing has quite a different set of headaches.
I think it would be interesting to hear more discussion on HN regarding these different types of problems. Just as we can all learn about optimal web promotion strategies, or the right development framework to use, so too should we learn from others about how to identify the right manufacturing partners, how to arrange distribution deals, channel strategies, etc.
I am getting involved in a plastics manufacturing business and reading like crazy to prepare myself for it.
Re: Non-web startups, anyone is doing these?
#18Or what about something more brick and mortar, a physical product or a service that must be carried out in person? I am becoming increasingly critical of the immense value we put on things that exist strictly on the web.
I agree. I started a company that has nothing to do with the web at all. After a few years, it has done quite well. It seems that many believe here that the only form of entrepreneurship worth pursuing is web-based apps, or, failing that, a technology-oriented company. But many startups do quite well by innovating with business processes, targeting inefficient industries, or offering more traditional but innovative p…
"It seems that many believe here that the only form of entrepreneurship worth pursuing is web-based apps, or, failing that, a technology-oriented company."
There are huge margins, opportunities for disruption, potential for capital efficiency, and huge scaling advantages for software/tech businesses (which is why they are popular with VCs and entrepreneurs alike. But there are obviously plenty of examples of offline business that prosper (or even grow like gangbusters).
(Design within Reach is an awesome example, by the way)
Re: Non-web startups, anyone is doing these?
#19i'm attempting to build one based on hacker-ish, somewhat collaborative principles. its slow going, though, because it at least partly involves steel manufacture, as well as electronics design.
its an interesting prospect, since the niche isn't huge, but it has potential, and because the margins on some of the things i'm looking to produce will likely be thin, at least to start. definitely different from how something like a web app works.
Re: Non-web startups, anyone is doing these?
#20I am.
I think there are some things you can do on the desktop that you can't do on the web. Or another way of looking at this -- the OS is simply a vastly complex web browser.
I thought about iPhone and Palm WebOS, but iPhone is saturated and Palm has crippled WebOS from doing anything truly fun.