New ask Hacker News story: Ask HN: Where am I going wrong?
Ask HN: Where am I going wrong?
32 by throwaway2019a | 15 comments on Hacker News.
I keep building startups and side projects, and they keep failing. Initially I was doing it to make money, now I'd just be grateful if anyone used any of the stuff I build. My first project launched in 2003. It was a competitor to bunk1.com but I couldn't get any camps to sign up to it because I was crap at sales. Since then I've spent untold numbers of hours building various projects. Some, where I was in between jobs would be full time efforts. Others would be done evenings and weekends but still consume nearly all my free time. There's something about the idea of running my own software business that appeals to me in a way I can't describe. Now, 15 years later I have nothing to show for it. I can live with the fact that my projects have never made money but it hurts to think I've put so much effort into something nobody wants. I used to have a "build it and they'll come" mentality but I learned about lean startups and started validating ideas. Now I try to make sure there is at least some interest in what I'm building and then mention in in related forums, groups etc I usually get a positive response but this never translates into traction. I often see 'Show HN' posts blowing up and sometimes I don't understand how they get as many votes as they do. After 15 years I feel like I've exhausted every resource and I'm just not cut out for this. Where am I going wrong HN?
32 by throwaway2019a | 15 comments on Hacker News.
I keep building startups and side projects, and they keep failing. Initially I was doing it to make money, now I'd just be grateful if anyone used any of the stuff I build. My first project launched in 2003. It was a competitor to bunk1.com but I couldn't get any camps to sign up to it because I was crap at sales. Since then I've spent untold numbers of hours building various projects. Some, where I was in between jobs would be full time efforts. Others would be done evenings and weekends but still consume nearly all my free time. There's something about the idea of running my own software business that appeals to me in a way I can't describe. Now, 15 years later I have nothing to show for it. I can live with the fact that my projects have never made money but it hurts to think I've put so much effort into something nobody wants. I used to have a "build it and they'll come" mentality but I learned about lean startups and started validating ideas. Now I try to make sure there is at least some interest in what I'm building and then mention in in related forums, groups etc I usually get a positive response but this never translates into traction. I often see 'Show HN' posts blowing up and sometimes I don't understand how they get as many votes as they do. After 15 years I feel like I've exhausted every resource and I'm just not cut out for this. Where am I going wrong HN?
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