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BuiltWith: $14M ARR, no employees

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Re: BuiltWith: $14M ARR, no employees

#91

Post by thrown_22 »

58x14 wrote: post #14

The key takeaway for me was that the mid-2000s were the perfect time to be a founder of a software tool. I can’t help but feel that there are so many tens of thousands of similar stories without such a successful conclusion. In previous roles I’ve used BuiltWith before and it’s an invaluable tool. There’s a few companies with similar approaches except focusing on social media profiles (HypeAuditor comes to mind) that…

> The key takeaway for me was that the mid-2000s were the perfect time to be a founder of a software tool. I can’t help but feel that there are so many tens of thousands of similar stories without such a successful conclusion.

The key take away is that any companies that survive for 15 years or more make money or go bust.

Re: BuiltWith: $14M ARR, no employees

#92

Post by altdataseller »

quickthrower2 wrote: post #60
58x14 wrote: post #14

The key takeaway for me was that the mid-2000s were the perfect time to be a founder of a software tool. I can’t help but feel that there are so many tens of thousands of similar stories without such a successful conclusion. In previous roles I’ve used BuiltWith before and it’s an invaluable tool. There’s a few companies with similar approaches except focusing on social media profiles (HypeAuditor comes to mind) that…

Mid 2000s might have been harder. I think more people are willing to pay a subscription for a thing than back then.

I think 2008-2012 was the sweet spot. Building your product in 2008 for 2 years would have taken you to 2010 when SaaS was more mainstream., but still relatively low competition.

Mid 2000s though would have been the best time to start an internet startup though (ie TripAdvisor, MyFitnessPal) given the low competition in search.

Re: BuiltWith: $14M ARR, no employees

#93

Post by [deleted] »

forte124 wrote: post #42
dangrossman wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm having trouble replicating my own success from that era. Everything is more complicated today: the development stacks, the competitive landscape, the vast increase in regulations and liability around handling data, the move from an open web to social media silos and mobile apps, scammers and bots winning the spam wars and destroying most online advertising. I still have businesses I started in the 2000s and early…

This is actually really interesting to hear. I always hear the argument "you don't need a fancy website or UI, when I started my site/app looked like ___" These people created MVPs in 2010. You're now competing with MVPs that can be built with way more features, the latest tech stacks, and more in the same period of time.

[deleted]

Re: BuiltWith: $14M ARR, no employees

#94

Post by b20000 »

"But the most important thing was his meeting with Raymond King, the founder of AboutUs. AboutUs was an internet domain directory containing information about millions of businesses. Gary showed Ray BuiltWith, and Ray immediately loved it. He added a BuiltWith.com link to every record in their index to provide BuiltWith information regarding each business."

there you go.

Re: BuiltWith: $14M ARR, no employees

#96

Post by scubakid »

xwowsersx wrote: post #76
scubakid wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been making a little progress on the "building things I love that generate revenue" piece (in part thanks to the HN crowd!), but oh boy, do the goalposts always keep shifting. I remember the first dollar I ever made on the internet felt so amazing and validating... but several adjustments later, the mentality is more like "okay, but I still can't do this full-time." Goalposts aside though, I'd agree that if ther…

Care to share what kinds of things you've built or are currently building?

For the past year and a half, I've been focused on just one side project: a privacy-friendly personal finance simulator that doesn't ask to link your accounts (projectionlab.com), can run Monte Carlo simulations in your browser, and keeps your data client-side unless you choose otherwise.

Re: BuiltWith: $14M ARR, no employees

#97

Post by quickthrower2 »

youssefabdelm wrote: post #67
quickthrower2 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can hire without hiring! Use other SaaS or even human services for every spot you would normally hire someone.

Interesting, you mean something like mTurk but for what would ordinarily be a full time spot, and break down the task into small tasks?

You could do that for low skill tasks. Fiverr might take the skill level up a notch while still being self-serve pay as you go. Also use Heroku over AWS and so on, footing a bigger bill to have ops taken care of.

Re: BuiltWith: $14M ARR, no employees

#98

Post by [deleted] »

b20000 wrote: post #94

"But the most important thing was his meeting with Raymond King, the founder of AboutUs. AboutUs was an internet domain directory containing information about millions of businesses. Gary showed Ray BuiltWith, and Ray immediately loved it. He added a BuiltWith.com link to every record in their index to provide BuiltWith information regarding each business." there you go.

[deleted]

Re: BuiltWith: $14M ARR, no employees

#99

Post by vasco »

altdataseller wrote: post #92
quickthrower2 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mid 2000s might have been harder. I think more people are willing to pay a subscription for a thing than back then.

I think 2008-2012 was the sweet spot. Building your product in 2008 for 2 years would have taken you to 2010 when SaaS was more mainstream., but still relatively low competition. Mid 2000s though would have been the best time to start an internet startup though (ie TripAdvisor, MyFitnessPal) given the low competition in search.

There's still no competition now compared to any time in the future for an internet business.

Re: BuiltWith: $14M ARR, no employees

#100

Post by altdataseller »

vasco wrote: post #99
altdataseller wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think 2008-2012 was the sweet spot. Building your product in 2008 for 2 years would have taken you to 2010 when SaaS was more mainstream., but still relatively low competition. Mid 2000s though would have been the best time to start an internet startup though (ie TripAdvisor, MyFitnessPal) given the low competition in search.

There's still no competition now compared to any time in the future for an internet business.

What do you mean? Give me some examples. There are plenty of saturated niches.
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