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Ask HN: Did your “Show HN” go on to become very successful?

14 points by jjoe 11y ago

I used the word "successful" not for ambiguity but because success is relative to each person. Has your Show HN made it big? If so a link would be great!

sideproject 11y ago
Yep. I've shared my side projects here and allowed them to get off to a great start. http://hellobox.co http://hellobox.co (create your own HackerNews clone) http://sideprojectors.com http://sideprojectors.com (a market place for side projects) I think sharing "relevant" projects for the audience is quite important. The subreddit r/startup is also quite good or r/sideprojects if you are looking for other places to share your projects. ProductHunt is also quite popular thesedays of course.
- codegeek 11y ago
  i like your sideprojectors project. One bug in comment system. It always says "posted one second ago" no matter how old the comment is.
  - sideproject 11y ago
    Haven't noticed that! Thanks for reporting it. Will get right on it.
- pineapplechunks 11y ago
  I love sideprojectors! I have it bookmarked and use it to get my creative juices flowing. Thank you!
osullivj 11y ago
My Show HN didn't make it big, unfortunately. The original link [1] never got anywhere near the front page. I'm not sure why it didn't strike a chord, because I've seen the exact use case in various banks several times over the last 10 years: serverizing critical spreadsheets. Just as Node.js puts JavaScript on the server side, SpreadServe put spreadsheets on the server. Node.xls if you like! [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10043294 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10043294
thecodemonkey 11y ago
We launched our side project as a Show HN almost 2 years ago and it was a great success. Could not have asked for a better way to kick it off and the feedback was super valuable. Obviously a lot has happened with our product since launch, but this is the original thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7095228 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7095228 This is our side project: http://geocod.io http://geocod.io
sjs382 11y ago
I've shared a few that have done very well on their Show HN posts: Show HN: Artpacks.org – Archive of the ANSI and ASCII art scene (1990 to present) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8962810 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8962810 & http://artpacks.org http://artpacks.org Show HN: SendToMyCloud – A Public Inbox for Your Dropbox and Google Drive - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9005870 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9005870 & https://sendtomycloud.com https://sendtomycloud.com And one that didn't do so well (and hasn't, in the market): Show HN: Private Forms: PGP-Encrypted Webforms for Privacy-Conscious Receipients - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10154565 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10154565 & https://privateforms.com https://privateforms.com
marssaxman 11y ago
I've posted two: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9335799 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9335799 - Ozette, text-mode programming editor; as is totally unsurprising for a project with such a narrow appeal, it didn't get much attention. Don't care, it's still by far the most successful piece of code I've ever written as far as my own personal usage goes, since I've had at least one instance of it running full-time on every computer I've touched for the last year. Nothing quite as satisfying (or frustrating) as an editing environment entirely customized to your own taste. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10411756 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10411756 - startc, a minimal freestanding C runtime library for 32-bit x86 PCs; got a lot of attention, including a lead on a job offer (though I'm not looking right now). Just a small piece of a bigger project, but still, fun to throw it out there and get some positive feedback.
- contingencies 11y ago
  New editing environment + lack of screenshot = lack of interest.
soneca 11y ago
If you don't mind, I will share my not successful case too :) I posted this Show HN (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7768857 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7768857) for a Cold Call Manager. It got some validation on the problem with reasonable upvotes (57), it stayed on front page for a full day (more than 24h). But it was a half-baked product with outsourced development (i'm not a developer myself) from a particularly bad source. Here is the former landing page: http://imgur.com/2VkKWXx http://imgur.com/2VkKWXx It was basically "sales follow-up focused mini Trello" using a few processes I use myself to this date (from an Excel sheet) on my salesy job. If some developer out there is interested in a side project solving the problem of non-sales people having to do sales and demanding a software much more simple than all CRM and Salesforce out there, contact me and I share the whole idea.
speedyapoc 11y ago
Two years ago I posted Musi here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6987738 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6987738 Since then, I managed to grow it to be one of the top 100 apps in the App Store. It's been a trip.
andrewmcwatters 11y ago
I shared this: https://github.com/Planimeter/grid-sdk https://github.com/Planimeter/grid-sdk It didn't catch on here. Sharing it on /r/gamedev helped though! Audience counts!
laksmanv 11y ago
My show HN (a side project on side projects) was reasonably successful, I wrote about it here: https://medium.com/@laksman/sideproject-book-launch-7c0aeb4f2a2c https://medium.com/@laksman/sideproject-book-launch-7c0aeb4f... http://www.sideprojectbook.com/ http://www.sideprojectbook.com/
semperdark 11y ago
Getting there, we've got a few thousand users at the moment, largely from HN and ProductHunt. Feedback from tech-savvy users is incredibly valuable. https://www.sonadier.com/ https://www.sonadier.com/
archagon 11y ago
Unfortunately, no. I tried posting and deleting my most recent project (Backgroundifier, an OSX app that turns art into desktop backgrounds) several times until it got a few upvotes, but it never got past the first few comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10325451 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10325451. I realize it's not like many Show projects in that it's a) paid, b) not a dev tool, and c) fairly small in scope, but similar projects have had a lot more success in Show in the past. Oh well! I guess luck has a lot to do with it.
inflam52 11y ago
I've shared an side project of mine (simplestoreapp.com)[http://simplestoreapp.com http://simplestoreapp.com] on here and it has gotten me off to a really good start. Most importantly getting feedback from other users on how to make it better. I think sideproject is right in stating that "relevance" to the audience where you are sharing is important. Best of luck!
codyguy 11y ago
I shared http://www.thatneedle.com/nlp-api.html http://www.thatneedle.com/nlp-api.html, didn't get the kind of feedback I was expecting on HN. I guess the forum is not what it used to be.

14 points by jjoe 11y ago

I used the word "successful" not for ambiguity but because success is relative to each person. Has your Show HN made it big? If so a link would be great!

sideproject 11y ago

Yep. I've shared my side projects here and allowed them to get off to a great start. http://hellobox.co http://hellobox.co (create your own HackerNews clone) http://sideprojectors.com http://sideprojectors.com (a market place for side projects) I think sharing "relevant" projects for the audience is quite important. The subreddit r/startup is also quite good or r/sideprojects if you are looking for other places to share your projects. ProductHunt is also quite popular thesedays of course.

codegeek 11y ago
i like your sideprojectors project. One bug in comment system. It always says "posted one second ago" no matter how old the comment is.
- sideproject 11y ago
  Haven't noticed that! Thanks for reporting it. Will get right on it.
pineapplechunks 11y ago
I love sideprojectors! I have it bookmarked and use it to get my creative juices flowing. Thank you!

osullivj 11y ago

My Show HN didn't make it big, unfortunately. The original link [1] never got anywhere near the front page. I'm not sure why it didn't strike a chord, because I've seen the exact use case in various banks several times over the last 10 years: serverizing critical spreadsheets. Just as Node.js puts JavaScript on the server side, SpreadServe put spreadsheets on the server. Node.xls if you like! [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10043294 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10043294

thecodemonkey 11y ago

We launched our side project as a Show HN almost 2 years ago and it was a great success. Could not have asked for a better way to kick it off and the feedback was super valuable. Obviously a lot has happened with our product since launch, but this is the original thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7095228 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7095228 This is our side project: http://geocod.io http://geocod.io

sjs382 11y ago

I've shared a few that have done very well on their Show HN posts: Show HN: Artpacks.org – Archive of the ANSI and ASCII art scene (1990 to present) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8962810 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8962810 & http://artpacks.org http://artpacks.org Show HN: SendToMyCloud – A Public Inbox for Your Dropbox and Google Drive - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9005870 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9005870 & https://sendtomycloud.com https://sendtomycloud.com And one that didn't do so well (and hasn't, in the market): Show HN: Private Forms: PGP-Encrypted Webforms for Privacy-Conscious Receipients - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10154565 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10154565 & https://privateforms.com https://privateforms.com

marssaxman 11y ago

I've posted two: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9335799 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9335799 - Ozette, text-mode programming editor; as is totally unsurprising for a project with such a narrow appeal, it didn't get much attention. Don't care, it's still by far the most successful piece of code I've ever written as far as my own personal usage goes, since I've had at least one instance of it running full-time on every computer I've touched for the last year. Nothing quite as satisfying (or frustrating) as an editing environment entirely customized to your own taste. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10411756 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10411756 - startc, a minimal freestanding C runtime library for 32-bit x86 PCs; got a lot of attention, including a lead on a job offer (though I'm not looking right now). Just a small piece of a bigger project, but still, fun to throw it out there and get some positive feedback.

contingencies 11y ago
New editing environment + lack of screenshot = lack of interest.

soneca 11y ago

If you don't mind, I will share my not successful case too :) I posted this Show HN (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7768857 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7768857) for a Cold Call Manager. It got some validation on the problem with reasonable upvotes (57), it stayed on front page for a full day (more than 24h). But it was a half-baked product with outsourced development (i'm not a developer myself) from a particularly bad source. Here is the former landing page: http://imgur.com/2VkKWXx http://imgur.com/2VkKWXx It was basically "sales follow-up focused mini Trello" using a few processes I use myself to this date (from an Excel sheet) on my salesy job. If some developer out there is interested in a side project solving the problem of non-sales people having to do sales and demanding a software much more simple than all CRM and Salesforce out there, contact me and I share the whole idea.

speedyapoc 11y ago

Two years ago I posted Musi here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6987738 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6987738 Since then, I managed to grow it to be one of the top 100 apps in the App Store. It's been a trip.

andrewmcwatters 11y ago

I shared this: https://github.com/Planimeter/grid-sdk https://github.com/Planimeter/grid-sdk It didn't catch on here. Sharing it on /r/gamedev helped though! Audience counts!

laksmanv 11y ago

My show HN (a side project on side projects) was reasonably successful, I wrote about it here: https://medium.com/@laksman/sideproject-book-launch-7c0aeb4f2a2c https://medium.com/@laksman/sideproject-book-launch-7c0aeb4f... http://www.sideprojectbook.com/ http://www.sideprojectbook.com/

semperdark 11y ago

Getting there, we've got a few thousand users at the moment, largely from HN and ProductHunt. Feedback from tech-savvy users is incredibly valuable. https://www.sonadier.com/ https://www.sonadier.com/

archagon 11y ago

Unfortunately, no. I tried posting and deleting my most recent project (Backgroundifier, an OSX app that turns art into desktop backgrounds) several times until it got a few upvotes, but it never got past the first few comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10325451 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10325451. I realize it's not like many Show projects in that it's a) paid, b) not a dev tool, and c) fairly small in scope, but similar projects have had a lot more success in Show in the past. Oh well! I guess luck has a lot to do with it.

inflam52 11y ago

I've shared an side project of mine (simplestoreapp.com)[http://simplestoreapp.com http://simplestoreapp.com] on here and it has gotten me off to a really good start. Most importantly getting feedback from other users on how to make it better. I think sideproject is right in stating that "relevance" to the audience where you are sharing is important. Best of luck!

codyguy 11y ago

I shared http://www.thatneedle.com/nlp-api.html http://www.thatneedle.com/nlp-api.html, didn't get the kind of feedback I was expecting on HN. I guess the forum is not what it used to be.