Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I Created a $60K/Month App That Collects In-Person Payments Through Stripe

starterstory.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 172 posts

Re: I Created a $60K/Month App That Collects In-Person Payments Through Stripe

#71

Post by mahin »

rscherf wrote: post #54
dimino wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems like startup advice is based on the repeatable observations that people who've worked with a lot of startups have discovered. That means there are a bunch of situations that don't get covered because they don't come up a lot. When playing an odds game like startups, you want to do all the maximally viable things possible, but that doesn't mean other decisions aren't also viable, they're just not observed to…

I’m definitely not trying to peddle advice, I was just approached about my story. I think there are tons of micro niche things like this that can be built to earn a living (I have a list of 5 I’d build on top of just Stripe if I had the time). Large companies can’t do everything, and I think Stripe owns that. Not to mention, they still get all their same fees and don’t have to maintain the app.

What, in your opinion, is Stripe lacking that can be built on top of it?

Re: I Created a $60K/Month App That Collects In-Person Payments Through Stripe

#73

Post by kuschku »

cmonnow wrote: post #69
abvdasker wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having done a UPI integration for a well-known multinational tech company, I consider it a mixed bag. For the end-user it's a great concept and continues to revolutionize payments in India. It's convenient and it will help India transition away from a cash economy. UPI is clearly the future. However, UPI currently has a lot of problems. Number one is that to use UPI as a payment method for your product you have to in…

> have to integrate with one of India's banks what you mention as a disadvantage is the biggest advantage. cut out the card men. Banks' technical prowess will catch up. That is the solution. Not introducing a middle man just because he is technically better now.

Which is the same idea as SEPA-ICT or the German girocard system.

Cut out the middle men, the card companies, and suddenly everything is 2-3% cheaper, and faster, and simpler.

Re: I Created a $60K/Month App That Collects In-Person Payments Through Stripe

#74

Post by slimed »

buzzkillington wrote: post #64
rscherf wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Happy to not be selling my soul to another Evil Inc or having a boss... tried that several times before.

You do you man. But if you have the skills you have it will be a lot easier to make that much money in corporate than on your own. That said I'm buying some specialized equipment for a synthetic biology startup I'll be trying my hand at before my next contract. I expect to spend most of the money I made and get no where, again.

Thanks, BuzzKillington.

Have you considered that your definition of "easy" might be different than that of OP's?

Re: I Created a $60K/Month App That Collects In-Person Payments Through Stripe

#75

Post by ignoramous »

rscherf wrote: post #61
heyalexej wrote: post #59

Slightly off-topic and not doubting this particular story. Posts from this blog get submitted every few minutes it seems. Is anyone checking and verifying the numbers these companies and "startups" claim to make? If so, how?

I’m the founder, and although I can’t speak for the other posts, I can assure you the numbers are real. Several posts in my personal and business Twitter feeds can confirm.

Incredible story and a pretty good product. It takes some skill to out do Stripe at being easier and simpler to setup and use. Thanks for the inspiration.

Congratulations!

Re: I Created a $60K/Month App That Collects In-Person Payments Through Stripe

#77

Post by anomaloustho »

buzzkillington wrote: post #55
taneq wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$60k/month is a hell of a “lifestyle”.

You can get that sort of money as a developer if you're lucky and in the right place. I just finished a contract with an Evil Inc that was paying pretty close to that. From my personal sample getting a job that pays that well is a lot easier than getting a business to be successful enough to have that much profit.

Would love to exchange emails or hear more about how you’re pulling this off as a developer. I’ve done similar, but I’m only aware of a couple ways to hit that amount as a solo dev.

Re: I Created a $60K/Month App That Collects In-Person Payments Through Stripe

#78

Post by tempestn »

echelon wrote: post #13
gruez wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>but with cheaper processing fees What? The product's page says it charges 1% + whatever Stripe charges ("generally" 2.9% + $0.3). A quick search says that Square charges 2.6% + $0.10 per in-person transaction. Seems like that this product is more expensive than Square.

Ah, good find! The article claims > The app collects a 1% service fee on every single charge. Per your comment, this is indeed a more expensive Square. Square already does Card Not Present transactions. The question then is why do people choose to use this?

My question is: why doesn't Stripe just include this feature themselves? Not enough of a market? But as an integrated feature it would certainly be higher (probably much higher) than what this third party app is making.

Re: I Created a $60K/Month App That Collects In-Person Payments Through Stripe

#80

Post by thedangler »

rscherf wrote: post #52
ttraub wrote: post #23

He's getting 80% of the gross = 48,000/month. That's impressive income, half a million a year for what amounts to a good idea implemented at the right time. I love reading stories like this, and it demonstrates that there are still many opportunities out there. I don't understand some of these comments which seem to resent his success or belittle his company as "not a unicorn". That's good money, he works for himself…

Thank you! I’ll be first to admit it was perfect timing (which wasn’t planned at all). The freedom is what I was looking for; if nobody buys it, I’ll happy just keep running it. If Stripe launches the same features, I’ll figure out how to pivot. Or, build something completely new. Who knows what the future holds.

rscherf I have a way for you to pivot for US and Canadian clients which could make you 100k a month. Please contact me. mhebel [at] gmail dot com
Post reply on HN