7 ms·

Not trying to downtalk, but it took you 11 years to pull this off? This is some massively slow growth :D

icedchai 7y ago
On the contrary, it is actually impressive compared to many startups... the ones you usually don't hear about on here.
kitten_smuggler 7y ago
average monthly revenue back in 2012 was 2k. Nothing to scoff at for a side hustle while working full time. This guy is killing it..
jbverschoor 7y ago
So what’s your mrr?
- MichaelApproved 7y ago
  So, nobody can offer criticism unless they are producing better results? How many NBA coaches can dunk hit a 3-pointer? Yet, the players still listen to their advice and perform better. Just because someone can't do it themselves doesn't mean they can't offer meaningful insight.
  - randlet 7y ago
    Speaking as someone who is trying to bootstrap a product, constructive criticism is worth its weight in gold. OP's statement was critical, and included no valuable feedback which is why it's being downvoted. "How many NBA coaches can dunk or defend? Yet, the players still listen to their advice and perform better. Just because someone can't do it themselves doesn't mean they can't offer meaningful insight. " This is true, but an NBA coach would never criticize Lebron by saying "Wow look how slow you were to learn how to dunk!" Where do you see the meaningful insight in that response?
    - MichaelApproved 7y ago
      I get what you're saying but I'm referring to this comment: "what's your mrr?" Not only does it not provide any meaningful insight, it attempts to shut down the discussion of anyone who doesn't have Monthly Recurring Revenue. As if that's a qualifier to providing feedback.
      - randlet 7y ago
        Ok, I agree with that, the "MRR" comment was useless feedback on useless feedback!
        MichaelApproved 7y ago
        Agreed.
  - jdironman 7y ago
    Whats more, they don't even have to be from the same professions to provide insight / unique perspective which sometimes gets things out of a rut. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjorie_Rice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjorie_Rice
- balls187 7y ago
  4k
randlet 7y ago
Most side projects earn negative dollars over 11 years so that growth over 11 years is probably in the top 0.1% of side project earnings. Very few people can say they grew a side project business into a $200k+ a year business.
r1nkgrl 7y ago
also June 2019 - Dec 2009 != 11 years
ska 7y ago
Not trying to downtalk But then you went ahead and did anyway...
- tozeur 7y ago
  He prefaced to let OP know that he doesn’t intend to be disparaging and only wants to offer feedback. Not every critique is a personal attack...
  - ska 7y ago
    I didn't see any feedback. Just a statement of questionable veracity that reads negatively, to me at least.
    - dhruvkar 7y ago
      I wouldn't jump to that conclusion. Given that many users here aren't native English speakers/writers, the tone that might seem obvious to you & I, might actually be completely inadvertent.
      - giarc 7y ago
        Using the :D emoji at the end is a way for the author to reiterate the "No offense but..." type statement. The problem is, if they use that, it's likely they recognize their comment can be taken the wrong way and should have just rephrased it instead of taking the easy way out with the :D.
      - ska 7y ago
        Agree that tone is hard, but regardless there is nothing constructive about the comment.
  - soneca 7y ago
    I agree that not every critique is a personal attack. But this one is (or at least seemed like one to me). There is not one character of feedback in that sentence
sp332 7y ago
Yup, that's the difference between bootstrapped and venture-backed businesses. Bootstrapping takes time because you (largely) have to make money before you can invest that money in the business.
whitepoplar 7y ago
What a shitty comment! Go OP, you're doing great.
sbilstein 7y ago
Buster was doing lots of full time job stuff throughout this period. He was the head of product for the Slack Platform while I worked there. I think it’s pretty damn impressive he had time to do 750 words while having some very demanding full time roles.
giarc 7y ago
During that time he's also worked at Twitter, Slack, Patreon, Amazon, currently writing a book, had a child, built a lot of other sites/businesses. I'd say it's incredible growth.
bovermyer 7y ago
I know that you're not intentionally being condescending, but it definitely comes across that way. Consider the wide variety of activities that the author has been involved in. Also consider that 750 Words was a side project, and not the primary focus of his attention. This is an achievement worth respecting.
dang 7y ago
"Please don't post shallow dismissals, especially of other people's work. A good critical comment teaches us something." https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
nedwin 7y ago
Pretty incredible if you consider that during that time he started another company, raised VC for it, shut it down, then worked at Twitter. He's had a whole different life while this has been slowing building in the background.
busterbenson 7y ago
It is slow! No question about it. :) To be honest, most of my projects have either gotten popular fast or died slow deaths. Slow, steady growth is the anomaly and it's taken me 10 years to really appreciate how weird and special that is. And wow, the other comments to this comment really made my day. I haven't been to Hacker News in a while but it's amazing to see that it's turned into a positive environment.

On the contrary, it is actually impressive compared to many startups... the ones you usually don't hear about on here.

average monthly revenue back in 2012 was 2k. Nothing to scoff at for a side hustle while working full time. This guy is killing it..

jbverschoor 7y ago

So what’s your mrr?

MichaelApproved 7y ago
So, nobody can offer criticism unless they are producing better results? How many NBA coaches can dunk hit a 3-pointer? Yet, the players still listen to their advice and perform better. Just because someone can't do it themselves doesn't mean they can't offer meaningful insight.
- randlet 7y ago
  Speaking as someone who is trying to bootstrap a product, constructive criticism is worth its weight in gold. OP's statement was critical, and included no valuable feedback which is why it's being downvoted. "How many NBA coaches can dunk or defend? Yet, the players still listen to their advice and perform better. Just because someone can't do it themselves doesn't mean they can't offer meaningful insight. " This is true, but an NBA coach would never criticize Lebron by saying "Wow look how slow you were to learn how to dunk!" Where do you see the meaningful insight in that response?
  - MichaelApproved 7y ago
    I get what you're saying but I'm referring to this comment: "what's your mrr?" Not only does it not provide any meaningful insight, it attempts to shut down the discussion of anyone who doesn't have Monthly Recurring Revenue. As if that's a qualifier to providing feedback.
    - randlet 7y ago
      Ok, I agree with that, the "MRR" comment was useless feedback on useless feedback!
      - MichaelApproved 7y ago
        Agreed.
- jdironman 7y ago
  Whats more, they don't even have to be from the same professions to provide insight / unique perspective which sometimes gets things out of a rut. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjorie_Rice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjorie_Rice
balls187 7y ago
4k

randlet 7y ago

Most side projects earn negative dollars over 11 years so that growth over 11 years is probably in the top 0.1% of side project earnings. Very few people can say they grew a side project business into a $200k+ a year business.

r1nkgrl 7y ago

also June 2019 - Dec 2009 != 11 years

ska 7y ago

Not trying to downtalk But then you went ahead and did anyway...

tozeur 7y ago
He prefaced to let OP know that he doesn’t intend to be disparaging and only wants to offer feedback. Not every critique is a personal attack...
- ska 7y ago
  I didn't see any feedback. Just a statement of questionable veracity that reads negatively, to me at least.
  - dhruvkar 7y ago
    I wouldn't jump to that conclusion. Given that many users here aren't native English speakers/writers, the tone that might seem obvious to you & I, might actually be completely inadvertent.
    - giarc 7y ago
      Using the :D emoji at the end is a way for the author to reiterate the "No offense but..." type statement. The problem is, if they use that, it's likely they recognize their comment can be taken the wrong way and should have just rephrased it instead of taking the easy way out with the :D.
    - ska 7y ago
      Agree that tone is hard, but regardless there is nothing constructive about the comment.
- soneca 7y ago
  I agree that not every critique is a personal attack. But this one is (or at least seemed like one to me). There is not one character of feedback in that sentence

sp332 7y ago

Yup, that's the difference between bootstrapped and venture-backed businesses. Bootstrapping takes time because you (largely) have to make money before you can invest that money in the business.

whitepoplar 7y ago

What a shitty comment! Go OP, you're doing great.

sbilstein 7y ago

Buster was doing lots of full time job stuff throughout this period. He was the head of product for the Slack Platform while I worked there. I think it’s pretty damn impressive he had time to do 750 words while having some very demanding full time roles.

giarc 7y ago

During that time he's also worked at Twitter, Slack, Patreon, Amazon, currently writing a book, had a child, built a lot of other sites/businesses. I'd say it's incredible growth.

bovermyer 7y ago

I know that you're not intentionally being condescending, but it definitely comes across that way. Consider the wide variety of activities that the author has been involved in. Also consider that 750 Words was a side project, and not the primary focus of his attention. This is an achievement worth respecting.

dang 7y ago

"Please don't post shallow dismissals, especially of other people's work. A good critical comment teaches us something." https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

nedwin 7y ago

Pretty incredible if you consider that during that time he started another company, raised VC for it, shut it down, then worked at Twitter. He's had a whole different life while this has been slowing building in the background.

busterbenson 7y ago

It is slow! No question about it. :) To be honest, most of my projects have either gotten popular fast or died slow deaths. Slow, steady growth is the anomaly and it's taken me 10 years to really appreciate how weird and special that is. And wow, the other comments to this comment really made my day. I haven't been to Hacker News in a while but it's amazing to see that it's turned into a positive environment.