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Ask HN: Is the concept of a one-person software shop still viable?

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Re: Ask HN: Is the concept of a one-person software shop still viable?

#91

Post by ovidiup »

I built Jollyturns (https://jollyturns.com), a ski and snowboarding oriented business. I currently have a fairly extensive web site, and two mobile apps, on iOS and Android. I started with the iOS mobile app, I wanted something to show me on a ski resort's map where my friends are, and keep track of my skiing statistics.

I tried finding a partner to work with, but that's pretty much impossible in Silicon Valley where I live. Most good engineers want to work for one of the glamorous companies in the Valley. Oh well...

I've been working on Jollyturns for the past 5 years. It's been a lot of work, but I do it at my own pace since I still want to enjoy myself. The experience is unique. I write all the software myself, and hired few people to help map the ski resorts. I built a bunch of custom tools for the mapping work, so people can map the location of lifts, ski runs, restaurants inside a ski resort. I ended up having mapped all the ski resorts in the world, about 2700 of them.

Being by yourself, you need to be prepared to be a full-stack engineer. I built my own Supermicro servers, and host them in a colocation facility. I found that if you're in it for a long time it's cheaper this way. I run Kubernetes for cluster management, Postgres with PostGIS for database, Redis for caching, nginx for web proxy. Server side is written in a mixture of Python and C++. Web frontend is AngularJS (JavaScript). For iOS I write C, C++ and Objective-C. On Android I use Java.

Writing the code is the easy part. I found marketing to be the hardest. You need to find a way to make the world know what you built, and that's hard!

Re: Ask HN: Is the concept of a one-person software shop still viable?

#92

Post by cschmidt »

6DM wrote: post #89
oceanswave wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I attended the session on "How to create your own revenue source though conferences: tips and tricks for closing the deal" and the technique of getting information about the buyer before they have a chance to walk away when presented with the cost was one of the main bullets.

So, overall, would you say it's worth the price? Where you able to take the advice and translate that into money? I've never been to a conference before. So I'm having trouble justifying the cost to be honest.

I think your parent was making a joke. But I thought the conference was worth it. That said, one of the two conference organizers has a book that is in the same vein. At the very least, read his book:

Start Small, Stay Small: A Developer's Guide to Launching a Startup https://www.amazon.com/Start-Small-Stay-Developers-Launching...

Re: Ask HN: Is the concept of a one-person software shop still viable?

#93

Post by nthState »

ovidiup wrote: post #91

I built Jollyturns ( https://jollyturns.com ), a ski and snowboarding oriented business. I currently have a fairly extensive web site, and two mobile apps, on iOS and Android. I started with the iOS mobile app, I wanted something to show me on a ski resort's map where my friends are, and keep track of my skiing statistics. I tried finding a partner to work with, but that's pretty much impossible in Silicon Valley whe…

"Writing the code is the easy part. I found marketing to be the hardest" - This part is the hardest, absolute hardest :-/

Re: Ask HN: Is the concept of a one-person software shop still viable?

#94

Post by desktopapp »

marpstar wrote: post #90
weaksauce wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Congrats on your success! A few questions... Why electron over native? How large in scope is your program? How large in scope was your program when you first started? Is it just one program and domain or have you diversified to different areas?

> Why electron over native? Presumably to go cross-platform with less effort.

Exactly. Windows is a much much larger market in terms of number of devices and Mac is larger in terms of pros that pay for software.

And there is huge value in supporting both. If somebody wants to buy an organization-wide license, they almost certainly have lots of both and if you're being evaluated against a competitor that only supports one platform it is quite the leg up.

Re: Ask HN: Is the concept of a one-person software shop still viable?

#95

Post by kossae »

joshontheweb wrote: post #54
jasonswett wrote: post #24

I'll add something I wish I had realized several years ago: build a SaaS is not the only path to a product business, and for a solo founder, it's (in my opinion) probably not a very good path. I spent 5 years trying to get a micro ISV off the ground which made scheduling software for hair salons. It was a terrible idea for a large number of reasons (described in detail here: https://www.jasonswett.net/im-shutting-dow…

Word. I started my current SaaS with the goal of working 10hrs a week and making 15k a month. I'm getting close to my monthly revenue goal but if I'm not sleeping, I'm working. I don't regret it. I'm enjoying the challenge now but it wasn't what I had thought I was getting myself into. I truly underestimated the gravity of emails and support requests. As a one man shop, it can grind entire days to a halt. Passive inf…

I know support, especially good support, is a hard problem to solve. However have you explored documenting processes in extreme detail in order to outsource that part of the business? The upfront investment would be great, but the returns in time alone would seem worth it.

Re: Ask HN: Is the concept of a one-person software shop still viable?

#96

Post by 6DM »

cschmidt wrote: post #92
6DM wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, overall, would you say it's worth the price? Where you able to take the advice and translate that into money? I've never been to a conference before. So I'm having trouble justifying the cost to be honest.

I think your parent was making a joke. But I thought the conference was worth it. That said, one of the two conference organizers has a book that is in the same vein. At the very least, read his book: Start Small, Stay Small: A Developer's Guide to Launching a Startup https://www.amazon.com/Start-Small-Stay-Developers-Launching...

Thanks for pointing that out to me, I think you're right. I didn't pick up on the sarcasm. I actually thought it was about a technique where you take a fictional product that everyone says is great, and try to sell it as if it actually exists. This is supposed to be a way to find out what people really think. Appreciate the feedback and I will be checking out the book :)

Re: Ask HN: Is the concept of a one-person software shop still viable?

#97

Post by jamesq »

seibelj wrote: post #5

I haven't done this, but if I was going to, I would target an existing platform that big companies depend on (salesforce, slack, more niche CRM's, etc.) and create a super focused niche plugin that 1) Is not core value prop of the platform, 2) Has little chance of being duplicated by the platform, 3) Has no competition, 4) Solves a real problem companies have. For example, do research that shows that 7% of companies…

We've just done something similar with our product https://fliprss.com - it integrates with MailChimp and Campaign Monitor to solve a niche problem neither solve. We knew it was a problem for at least one company as our client approached us to see if we a product that would allow them to send automated newsletters with multiple RSS feeds based on individual subscribers preferences.

It's since turned there is a demand for this beyond our one client too thankfully.

I think it's helped that this product is aimed at businesses primarily too. With a higher price point we won't need a mass volume of clients to be profitable reducing demand on customer service requests etc.

Re: Ask HN: Is the concept of a one-person software shop still viable?

#98

Post by tmaly »

jasonswett wrote: post #24

I'll add something I wish I had realized several years ago: build a SaaS is not the only path to a product business, and for a solo founder, it's (in my opinion) probably not a very good path. I spent 5 years trying to get a micro ISV off the ground which made scheduling software for hair salons. It was a terrible idea for a large number of reasons (described in detail here: https://www.jasonswett.net/im-shutting-dow…

If you are not creating your own info product, what is the viability of a decent monthly income stream from selling an info product that someone else created?

Re: Ask HN: Is the concept of a one-person software shop still viable?

#99

Post by Cyph0n »

joshontheweb wrote: post #80
Cyph0n wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's pretty impressive actually! Have you considering hiring one or two people (e.g., freelancers) to remotely help with support? Also, a virtual secretary would be immensely helpful I'd imagine. I have a couple of ideas I've been wanting to work on, but time is quite scarce as a grad student. I guess it's partly because I tend to overthink (and over-design) my ideas, and end up getting overwhelmed before even touc…

Thanks! I'm trying to hire right now. (web audio and/or webrtc devs call me) :) I've thought about a virtual secretary but I'm not so sure how helpful it would be. They would need pretty specialized knowledge to be able to help much with support requests. I don't have so many meetings that I can't schedule my own. As far as Uber for your country. Does Uber not exist where you are yet? There was another one in Malaysi…

No, not yet! There is one service that is doing something similar to Uber, but it's not a good service imo.

That sounds interesting actually. One of my biggest concerns is push back from the local taxi union, so that may be a better way to approach it. I'll definitely look that service up.

Re: Ask HN: Is the concept of a one-person software shop still viable?

#100

Post by jetti »

cschmidt wrote: post #23

You might be interested in http://www.microconf.com/ I went to the conferences when I was a one man startup, and it was helpful.

I've heard many things on Microconf from Mike and Rob on Startups for the Rest of Us. The problem is paying for a ticket as well as airfare to get there. Due to family financial responsibilities my company operates its own accounts and can only spend what it takes in. I'm currently down to a couple hundred dollars and I have monthly expenses that take cuts out of that. Any sort of conference is out of the question.

I am curious, though, what was it about the conference that made it helpful for you?

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