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> Build a product. Add Stripe. Profit. Not exactly rocket science. I don't think you realize just how much of a naive statement that is. That is honestly, ge
by jv22222 10y ago
> Build a product. Add Stripe. Profit. Not exactly rocket science.
I don't think you realize just how much of a naive statement that is.
That is honestly, genuinely, terrible advice that does not take in to account that building a business means building a BUSINESS not building software.
They are two very different things.
The idea that you can "build it and they will come" has been proven to be a fallacy many many times over.
With regard to your other comments - Yes - I wrote that post with the express purpose of drawing attention to my product. That is called marketing and that is how you build a business.
The trick is to always try to give value while you do that, and from reading the general tone of the comments here I believe that aim was achieved.
- jwilliams 10y agoTotally agree. I've had the fortune to have done a couple of rounds of "build it an they will come" (they didn't) to learn that lesson. Building a products is definitely the most _necessary_ part of any SaaS business, but it's just one component out of many.
- gizmo 10y agoExcept I have actually done it, so I know what it takes, and it doesn't take an extraordinary, gargantuan, effort. You do need to work on some non-software skills, but not nearly as much as some as the HN wisdom would lead you to believe.
- corobo 10y agoWhats your product?
- corobo 10y ago> building a business means building a BUSINESS not building software This has been my biggest reality check. Building software is easy. Do you know how much of a pain in the rear it is to, for example, open a bank account for a registered company? I didn't! It's not hard as such, just not something I've done before. The idea was to open a braintree account. The reality was I had to open a bank account for the business. To do that I had to get a passport (never been out of the country - it involved visiting passport interview office a few cities away to prove I'm me). I then had to write up a bit of a business plan so that I had numbers to give the bank. Then braintree wanted a bunch of info to open the account, this involves bank statements to prove I have enough liquid cash to cover chargebacks and refunds. Now I had to look at what a director's loan is (UK) and how to use that so I can put enough cash in the bank to prove I can cover chargebacks. I also registered the company far too early I believe, I had to do a tax self-assessment this month being a company director. I've never had to do that before, so that was another hurdle to figure out. I'm going to have to at some point before 2018 figure out how to do corporation tax and the likes as well as accounts. Either that or hire an accountant which is yet another interview and business plan scrutiny (first business plan I've ever written, so somewhat anxious I've done it completely wrong). Bear in mind all this doesn't even touch on advertising, marketing, landing pages, etc. Building software is easy.
- dbbk 10y agoHave you looked into Crunch? I'm going to be starting my company through them. Should take care of a lot of those accountancy headaches for you.