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I keep hearing this advice on HN, and I still don't believe it. Who is going to pay me for software that doesn't exist yet? Can you give me some real examples o

• itronitron 8y ago
  If you build your product on top of existing tech (i.e. open source stacks) then that removes a lot of risk for the client (assuming they are smart enough to even care about that). The trick then is doing this in such a way that you retain ownership, instead of it being a freelance thing. Companies are willing to do this because they get 100% input on the product direction.
• open-source-ux 8y ago
  I also don't believe it. In fact, I'd feel duped if I sign up with my email only to find out the product doesn't exist and the owner was simply soliciting interest. It's fine if you say upfront the product doesn't exist and offer users the option to register interest. It's not fine if you hide the fact the product doesn't exist. It's disappointing that so many programmers think this is ok. Here's an example of someone who created a UI concept that suddenly went viral, but which ultimately never got built. There was never any deception - everyone knew it was a concept piece but many expressed an interest seeing it built: https://www.vanschneider.com/story-dotmail https://www.vanschneider.com/story-dotmail
• sh87 8y ago
  I dont believe it either. I dont know of any successful product built that way. I can't imagine Apple building a landing page before the iPhone. Landing pages may serve a purpose but surely not to judge product market fit.