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100% User-Supported

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Re: 100% User-Supported

#61

Post by pier25 »

Sytten wrote: post #46

I am 2.5y into a bootstrap business (proxy alternative to burp suite). We are not nearly as successful as obsidian, but we managed to hit 30k$ ARR. Honestly if I didnt have a contract on the side with high pay and low hours I would not be able to do it. Even with that if I compare what I would make as a full time dev I am not sure I will ever break even. I used to judge/lament VC backed software, now I understand. Wi…

> There could be with gov subsidies

My company is incoporated in the EU. I tried getting a small subsidy of about 50k Euros through the Music Aire program [1].

I worked for a couple of weeks on the application and couldn't even get through the first round of evaluation. From the scores I received, my honest impression is the evaluators didn't have a clue or were too busy to pay attention or simply were told to focus on certain types of projects that would look good politically.

It was a long shot but it was quite disheartening to see a project that fit exactly the premise of the fund being discarded.

[1] https://musicaire.eu/

Re: 100% User-Supported

#62

Post by northzen »

pier25 wrote: post #61
Sytten wrote: post #46

I am 2.5y into a bootstrap business (proxy alternative to burp suite). We are not nearly as successful as obsidian, but we managed to hit 30k$ ARR. Honestly if I didnt have a contract on the side with high pay and low hours I would not be able to do it. Even with that if I compare what I would make as a full time dev I am not sure I will ever break even. I used to judge/lament VC backed software, now I understand. Wi…

> There could be with gov subsidies My company is incoporated in the EU. I tried getting a small subsidy of about 50k Euros through the Music Aire program [1]. I worked for a couple of weeks on the application and couldn't even get through the first round of evaluation. From the scores I received, my honest impression is the evaluators didn't have a clue or were too busy to pay attention or simply were told to focus…

Maybe I'm stupid but with the link opened I struggled to understand what musicaire does.

Re: 100% User-Supported

#63

Post by joshspankit »

pier25 wrote: post #61
Sytten wrote: post #46

I am 2.5y into a bootstrap business (proxy alternative to burp suite). We are not nearly as successful as obsidian, but we managed to hit 30k$ ARR. Honestly if I didnt have a contract on the side with high pay and low hours I would not be able to do it. Even with that if I compare what I would make as a full time dev I am not sure I will ever break even. I used to judge/lament VC backed software, now I understand. Wi…

> There could be with gov subsidies My company is incoporated in the EU. I tried getting a small subsidy of about 50k Euros through the Music Aire program [1]. I worked for a couple of weeks on the application and couldn't even get through the first round of evaluation. From the scores I received, my honest impression is the evaluators didn't have a clue or were too busy to pay attention or simply were told to focus…

For anyone reading this experience and trying to take a broader lesson: don’t. Each subsidy/grant is run by a different board for different reasons and there are many who change (at least a couple) evaluators each year so that can change acceptances also. It’s kind of a pain, but applying for funding is like applying for a job: your best bet is to first understand what the current decision-makers are actually looking for (not just what they say they are).

To OP: Sorry it played out that way. I would have been disheartened too in your situation.

Re: 100% User-Supported

#64

Post by pier25 »

joshspankit wrote: post #63
pier25 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There could be with gov subsidies My company is incoporated in the EU. I tried getting a small subsidy of about 50k Euros through the Music Aire program [1]. I worked for a couple of weeks on the application and couldn't even get through the first round of evaluation. From the scores I received, my honest impression is the evaluators didn't have a clue or were too busy to pay attention or simply were told to focus…

For anyone reading this experience and trying to take a broader lesson: don’t. Each subsidy/grant is run by a different board for different reasons and there are many who change (at least a couple) evaluators each year so that can change acceptances also. It’s kind of a pain, but applying for funding is like applying for a job: your best bet is to first understand what the current decision-makers are actually looking…

> your best bet is to first understand what the current decision-makers are actually looking for (not just what they say they are)

Difficult to say.

Someone close to me has been dealing with grant projects and evaluators in the EU for years now. They think the most probable reason is simply that the evaluators are bureaucrats unfit to evaluate the projects. Lots of money goes to useless projects and the follow-up is very shallow.

After I submitted my project, MusicAire opened a call for external evaluators which does support this theory.

https://musicaire.eu/open-calls/musicaire-eac-2021-0090-exte...

I'm guessing they received lots of complaints about how they evaluated the projects.

Re: 100% User-Supported

#65

Post by pier25 »

northzen wrote: post #62
pier25 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There could be with gov subsidies My company is incoporated in the EU. I tried getting a small subsidy of about 50k Euros through the Music Aire program [1]. I worked for a couple of weeks on the application and couldn't even get through the first round of evaluation. From the scores I received, my honest impression is the evaluators didn't have a clue or were too busy to pay attention or simply were told to focus…

Maybe I'm stupid but with the link opened I struggled to understand what musicaire does.

They manage grants from the EU and give them to music-related projects.

Re: 100% User-Supported

#66

Post by johnjago »

rkangel wrote: post #58
doesnt_know wrote: post #42

"VCware" is a nice succinct term to use, I hope it catches on in the wider tech/power user scene and the first comment about any launch is whether it's "vcware". Of course it will be a bit awkward here on HN due to somewhat obvious reasons but hopefully elsewhere the term becomes used. I think one thing that royally pisses me off even more then an initial VC backed launch is a seemingly stable, premium product going…

I didn't realise Bitwarden had taken VC. That's sad. I'm not going to transition away immediately, but I'm definitely going to keep an eye on it.

No small amount either, they raised $100 million. Quite the turn.
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