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I spent two years launching tiny projects

tinyprojects.dev

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Re: I spent two years launching tiny projects

#141

Post by alin23 »

aaronbrethorst wrote: post #124
alin23 wrote: post #112

I started doing the same but with macOS apps: https://lowtechguys.com Reading about the author's projects in the past is actually what inspired me to do it. I used Windows for a long time before as a power user (living my life in FarManager and WinAPI), then switched to Ubuntu with i3. After finally switching to the Mac, I loved its simplicity and how it freed my mind from micro-managing the system, but I also notice…

Any chance you could add licenses and maybe a screenshot to each of those repos?

I haven’t open sourced them in that sense. I don’t want to maintain them for others to use. I just shared the source code for inspiration.

Re: I spent two years launching tiny projects

#142

Post by keyle »

buf wrote: post #135

I also do the same as the author, but I only build websites with a clear monetization model. Every project I've done after my first successful one as been in an adjacent audience. Doing roughly $700k revenue yearly right now over the 2 main projects. Hopefully with a 3rd coming this summer. https://siliconvict.com/projects

Wow, I love the honesty within that page. Keep up the good work!

Re: I spent two years launching tiny projects

#143

Post by ux4 »

hardwaresofton wrote: post #11

One thing I would have loved to read about is more about how they did market validation for these ideas. For a micro-bet strategy knowing which one (outside of really interesting projects that would trend on HN), it feels like market validation chops would be crucial. The author seems to be batting an insanely high average for just building things and having them actually get some traction, and be exit-able. > When I…

>At this point market validation (and practice validating ideas) is starting to seem like the most important thing.

Market validation - especially for online products and services - is indeed incredibly important, but not many people like to write about it because it is actually very drab and a tiny bit audacious.

His market validation - you are seeing it. It is a submission to Hacker News.

Ok ok, that is a given, but the author alludes to other various ways he gets feedback and validation for his products. He also talks about how well his products were received on Product Hunt and you can also follow him on Twitter.

My final advice for seeing how online services validate their ideas - run the product's domain through a backlink checker. It lets you see what other websites link to their product and what avenues they pursued for outreach. Each of those submissions exposes the product to potential customers and gives valuable feedback to the creator.

Re: I spent two years launching tiny projects

#145

Post by DantesKite »

krick wrote: post #144

How do I start coming up with all these actionable ideas? I mean, not that these are great, but it really doesn't matter for me, implementing them does. It just makes me feel ashamed for my lack of industriousness.

The author addresses your question at the end.

> If you're stuck for ideas, I recommend just building something; anything; even if it's terrible, and I guarantee a better idea will pop into your brain shortly after.

Re: I spent two years launching tiny projects

#146

Post by krick »

dcchambers wrote: post #23

Does anyone let the tax implications of launching (several) tiny projects prevent them from even starting? I know LLCs allow for pass-through taxation and you don't have to file as a business, but I get frozen by the idea that generating a few hundred dollars in revenue from some silly side project means I have to spend hours/days of my time the next Spring figuring out how to properly pay taxes on it.

It is a bit less of a problem for me lately, because I now feel somewhat more confident about many things in life. But for the most of my life, absolutely. It isn't like there is any real problem, but it was fear of the unknown for me. I was confident about how to make things, solve technical problems and such, and absolutely clueless about anything else. I was somewhat envious of how everyone files taxes on his own in USA. I just knew that my employer pays taxes for me, that I would have to if I want to start a business, and that I can get in jail if I fuck up. It isn't just about taxes, really, just anything law-related. But I had absolutely no idea what I actually have to do, or how do I even find out. I know it sounds silly, but it wasn't funny to me, it was infuriating helplessness.

Then I became older and just started caring less about doing things "the right way". It was liberating.

Re: I spent two years launching tiny projects

#147

Post by nukst »

buf wrote: post #135

I also do the same as the author, but I only build websites with a clear monetization model. Every project I've done after my first successful one as been in an adjacent audience. Doing roughly $700k revenue yearly right now over the 2 main projects. Hopefully with a 3rd coming this summer. https://siliconvict.com/projects

As someone who wants to be a software developer one day, I took notes from the 'How to hire actually good engineers' post. Honestly, I lack code and I'm gonna fix that.

Re: I spent two years launching tiny projects

#148

Post by faizmokhtar »

xwowsersx wrote: post #129
marban wrote: post #46

I started my professional life ~25y ago with a side project that by 2022 led to roughly 50 more side projects — The vast majority failed, some turned into 200 employee businesses, some others got acquired. In essence, I make a living out of side projects. Side projects are life.

Could you share the projects here? Took a look at thomas.me but couldn't quite find the projects. Thanks!

Not OP but here: https://thomas.me/about/

Re: I spent two years launching tiny projects

#149

Post by krick »

DantesKite wrote: post #145
krick wrote: post #144

How do I start coming up with all these actionable ideas? I mean, not that these are great, but it really doesn't matter for me, implementing them does. It just makes me feel ashamed for my lack of industriousness.

The author addresses your question at the end. > If you're stuck for ideas, I recommend just building something; anything; even if it's terrible, and I guarantee a better idea will pop into your brain shortly after.

It doesn't really address the question. There's no such thing as "something, anything". I mean, there obviously is for the author, but that's exactly the difference between our mindsets, which is exactly the problem. I know how to build a concrete thing, most of the time. I have no idea, how to build "something", most of the time. I mean, there always are exceptions and sometimes I can come up with something, but that obviously happens rarely enough, compared to the OP.
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