191–199 of 199 posts
How do you pay taxes for a international business? Do you have to pay in every country that you have s costumer?
Also, how do you make sure everything is legal in every country that it's accessible?
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 has written down probably 100's of little ideas over the years, and never built even a single one of them ... I applaud you
My problem is a bit different, and I'm curious if others can relate. I constantly have a project in the works, but once I solve the interesting technical hurdles and prove that the concept works, I suddenly think of a "better idea" and never actually release anything. I've been in this cycle for the better part of a decade now. But let me tell you, if my current project works out, I'll never have to work a W2 job aga…
He said great artists have one thing in common, they finish projects. It's OK to have a workshop full of experiments, but you must finish projects.
I've always taken it to mean that forcing your self to do that last 20% of a project is the only way to learn how to make something great.
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…
I was able to reach the author using Gmail, fwiw.
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To be honest, I would never do something that requires a single employee ever again. I sold my first company because soon enough, all you get to do is manage politics and not the thing you signed up for — Sounds infantile but at some point you have to stay true to yourself no matter the benefits. If you're more of a team-player, there are obviously better options today (remote, etc.) — The only thing I would recommen…
Doesn't sound infantile at all. I strongly resonate with everything you're saying. A little over a year ago I submitted this Ask HN, which helps shed light on my situation: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27039701 It is now a year later and I'm still wondering the same thing as I was back then (as in, I haven't changed up my work setup at all / haven't hired people). I do rely on contractors here and there, but…
Some of them are very driven by the stress of management, and seek it out. Their mentality is that a work situation isn't worthwhile if it isn't pushing you to your limit.
But they're the minority. I feel like you either know that you're this kind of person or you're not.
The rest feel burdened by their situation, and would happily trade for yours 300 days out of the year. They not-irregularly make comments, in private to friends, along the lines of "sometimes I wonder if I'm living life wrong? maybe I should be in the park with my kids instead of on the nth investor call or one-on-one with a direct report".
Like most questions, I think you can answer this with a mixture of experiments and introspection. You say you've manage contractors, for example.
Do you ever feel like you wish you had more responsibility for their lives? The urge to give mentorship is real, do you wish you could do that in a professional setting?
You can probably find ways to scratch those itches that are outside your company, too, for what it's worth.
You're in a good position where you get to "choose your own adventure", so you should experiment with it! Document your feelings, find somebody to talk it through with, iterate towards a happier spot. There's always ways to test your curiosities without sacrificing everything, if you get clever with it. :)
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I think first and foremost is bringing yourself into a position that gets you enough runway (time and money) to be able to take things seriously — even if that sounds like the opposite of a side project. For me it was skipping university and having kids in favour of starting a web agency in the dotcom days. Also, I don't believe in working on something you love — you just need to hate it a little less than the other…
Was there a general goal for each one or any sort of decision tree you used to decide on what to build next... for example, did you only work on things that could potentially be big, or huge, etc? Did you analyze the market size of each idea before starting, etc?
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Your career is what I aspired to when I started in this industry over a decade ago. But what ended up happening was that I (a) worked full-time while dabbling on nights and weekends, (b) spent several years trying to decide which project I wanted to really pursue in earnest, and then (c) after picking the project, obsessing over it so much that I never felt it was ready to release. So it's...not going well so far lol…
Time is easy. Find a work with 20 hours/week schedule and a lifestyle to live for earned money. Should be possible for software developer. Now you have 20 hours a week without sacrificing free time (or more with sacrifices if you feel it worth it). Choosing good idea worthy of implementation and finding enough inspiration to finish it is another matter.
Unfortunately, from what I've experienced, this doesn't align with the typical US lifestyle minimum?
what's the fastest tech stack or other way to go from idea to product...