7 ms·
Is your startup something other than a web app?
This post is inspired by http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=207590 where one member ask advices about a possible venture that is not web related. It is always refreshing to find startups that are working anything other than a web app. Even desktop application would do.
Thank you.
- smanek 18y agoI don't think I'd call mine a startup yet (more like a weekend project that will hopefully evolve into a startup after I graduate ...). But, anyways, it's a centralized physical security application (think automated video monitoring on steroids). I'm still playing with getting a proof-of-concept off the ground at this point - the math involved is pretty challenging for me.
- lbrandy 18y agoAre you using computer vision techniques to do this automated video monitoring?
- tx 18y agoThis industry is loaded with cash, they're transitioning from traditional analog video to IP-centric solutions and have no expertise. They all are looking for good software companies to buy. Drop me a line if you have a demo or something, I may pass it along.
- smanek 18y agoThanks, I'm still in the very early just-playing-around phase right now. It will, at best, be 6 months till I get something worth showing off - and probably closer to a year. But don't be surprised if you get a strange email in a few months from 'that guy' you won't remember from YC ;-)
- xirium 18y ago> they're transitioning from traditional analog video to IP-centric solutions and have no expertise. Its astounding how little expertise they have in Internet Protocol, encryption, non-repudiation, codecs and RAID.
- oditogre 18y ago>This industry is loaded with cash, they're transitioning from traditional analog video to IP-centric solutions and have no expertise. I can confirm on this one. It's amazing how much money I've seen shelled out for utter crap surveillance / software combined systems, where the individual components are relatively inexpensive commodity stuff; the majority of the price is for simply having a passable bit of software that ties it together in a way that is useful from a surveillance standpoint.
- ujj 18y agoours is a startup thats a webapp that integrates with the real world very closely. Almost all our revenue actions happen off line. The business is very people dependent with the web providing us platform to showcase our capabilities and reaching out users.
- hbien 18y agoI quit my full time job last week to work on a desktop application. It's a Mac GTD app. As much as I like web programming, I didn't think SaaS would work well for consumer products.
- tlrobinson 18y ago"As much as I like web programming, I didn't think SaaS would work well for consumer products." I'm curious why you think that. Is there something inherent about SaaS, or is the technology lacking, or something else?
- cperciva 18y agoYes: Tarsnap (http://www.tarsnap.com/ http://www.tarsnap.com/) is a combination of client software (which generates and encrypts backups) and online service (which stores the backups). Ok, there's a very small web component -- users will be able to sign up and view their bills online. But that makes tarsnap about as "web related" as my bank account, my credit card, or an airline company.
- boris 18y agoWe do a compiler in C++. Probably as far from Web 2.0 as you can get (in this industry).
- schtog 18y agocool. but how will you make money from it? not saying one shouldnt write C++ compilers just wondering how you will make a business out of it.
- apgwoz 18y agoyou make it oodles better than any other c++ compiler out there????
- kurtosis 18y agoLet me guess (or pray) - they've fixed the STL compiler error message headache - if true I know many ppl who would line up to pay for such a product. Even with the intel compiler and STLport the error messages are the biggest PITA.
- stcredzero 18y agobiggest PITA = startup opportunity (Often true, but not necessarily)
- lbrandy 18y agoPeople will pay alot of money for a good compiler.
- keizo 18y agoyes, I make things out of carbon fiber and epoxy.
- mixmax 18y agoI'm currently looking into making molds by using an industrial robot to carve it out of foam from a 3D file. Maybe we should talk? My mail is in my profile.
- krschultz 18y agoHmm, that is already done extensively in the marine and aerospace industry? Maybe since you are talking about the mold itself rather than the plug it is new, but take a look. This is hardly an authoritative link, just something I saw about an hour ago, but that is basically the way all boats are made today. http://www.49er.org/images/stories/pdf/49erforward.pdf http://www.49er.org/images/stories/pdf/49erforward.pdf
- mixmax 18y agoThanks for the link. I'm not necessarily looking for cutting-edge technology, simply something I can use and experiment with for a weekend project. I live on a boat and have been perplexed by how badly designed the interior of most boats and yachts are, so just for fun I drew one up in 3ds max, and I'm thinking about building it. So I'm basically just looking for the best and cheapest way of doing it. If it works out well it might end up being a business but for now it's just a weekend project. Some (early stage) renderings here: http://www.maximise.dk/yacht/ http://www.maximise.dk/yacht/
- krschultz 18y agoI spent the last 20 years spending 3 months a year living on a boat, I feel you - some of them are poorly done. I have seen many ship yards from the inside, from Sea Ray to Frers, and the higher end stuff is all done this way - but by high end we are talking $200,000+ for a dinghy and millions to make the mold for a full size boat. Bring that price down and cool things will happen. If you want to talk about it more email me at kevinsch@udel.edu, I'm very interested
- dhimes 18y agoEducational software--desktop apps so far.
- davidw 18y agoI have some ideas about doing a food business (not a restaurant!). I'm not sure I'd really call it a startup, though. Hecl is more mobile than web: http://www.hecl.org http://www.hecl.org
- truebosko 18y agoWhere I currently work I guess you could call us a retail startup? Small retail store that has one team (me) focused on building an online presence while the rest focus on the out-the-door. I don't know if retail can be considered a startup though?
- Tamerlin 18y agoWhat I'm working on is fine-art photography, and the web site that I am designing is primarily intended as aa marketing tool, though I do plan to sell from it.
- pjackson 18y agoMine is an MVNO that sells mobile phones to kids. There are web application components, but there's a lot more to it than that.
- krschultz 18y agoIt's not "my" startup, but I work at Bug Labs (buglabs.net), we are trying to make an open source mobile hardware platform.
- BenS 18y agoI'm trying to make micro-organisms that make fuel and drugs.
- bbgm 18y agoI am very curious. A synthetic biologist on Hacker News :)
- rms 18y agoThink you'll beat Craig Venter? Am curious if you are NIH funded, independently wealthy, etc.
- neilc 18y agoYou don't necessarily need to "beat" Venter -- startups are not a zero-sum game, especially in a field as early as synthetic biology.
- rms 18y agoI just see him as an extraordinary tough target with his portfolio of relevant patents and endless financial resources. There are rooms for others of course, and it's great that people are trying... I would if I had the resources. That or algae farms.
- bbgm 18y agoJCV is not the only big gun in the synbio field. Jay Keasling has started more than one company (e.g. Amyris).
- BenS 18y agoYou're right, The competition is definitely stiff - aside from craig, there's ls9, amyris, sapphire and a dozen other solid companies. On the upside, the market is very big, and the problem is certainly worth solving.
- 18y ago
- Mistone 18y agohow about this we are doing an e-commerce retail apparel startup. While its 100% web - we sell physical goods (i.e hoodies)
- Mistone 18y agowe started off a while back on a small business marketing web app but have hit about every roadblock imaginable, so we regrouped and went in a entirely different direction.
- thorax 18y agoPart of our service is our search engine (a web app), but we also develop desktop-integrated tools, command-line utilities, and language libraries to help capture and share error message workarounds.
- menloparkbum 18y agoI create and license software-based artwork to events, museums, corporations with fancy offices, etc.
- neilc 18y agoIt's not "my" startup, but I work for a startup that makes a database system for stream processing -- i.e. it lets you run SQL over live streams of data, to understand data as it changes rather than waiting for it to hit disk.
- pkaler 18y agoSmartful Studios. Working on games for the iPhone. But really that is just the first beachhead since all of my experience is as a programmer in the video game industry. The blue-sky plan is a media brand. Non-profit, fashion, beverages, events, Formula 1 team, etc. Think Virgin, Red Bull, etc.
- signa11 18y agofixed-mobile-convergence
- lowkey 18y agoOur startup, www.Arkalumen.com, aims to bring the benefits of full-spectrum solid-state lighting to everyone. My technical co-founder has developed proprietary technology as good as the best on the market (microcontroller programming, integrated circuit layout, heatsink, and a unique wireless user-interface) which we are now in the process of commercializing. Our technology is most certainly not a web app! (note: My background is very web2.0 - Director of Product Management for a venture-backed niche social-network and community site, among other things) Honestly, I find it somewhat refreshing to be working wth real customers to develop tangible products again. We are in the process of taking our prototype from the spare bedroom to the spotlight and are currently working on our frst web site. Expect to hear more from us soon.
- h34t 18y agoWe're designing/building/marketing wellness tech products to consumers.. opening a retail shop this fall, web store, then expand nationally. Designing & mfg'ing some of our own and OEM'ing the rest. We've hit (nearly) every product roadblock you can think of, too. Now battling with electrical certification (much more stringent north of the border) and steeply rising shipping costs from asia. I personally spent almost a year in China starting a product dev engineering office & chasing dead-end manufacturer leads (now we're mfg'ing in Canada) culminating in a massive burnout (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=69097 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=69097) but after some R&R and soul-searching, have been able to re-join the fray. :)
- SA 18y agoOurs is a web app that helps you explore interesting and famous websites across a huge collection of categories. It's a nice way to discover the websites that you are not aware of. It is member recommended and the websites are genuine. It even allows you to bookmark your favorite websites for quick access in the future. You should check it out at http://www.hitlinkz.com http://www.hitlinkz.com
- stats101 18y agoMy non-web app startup: http://www.insidedesi.com/ http://www.insidedesi.com/ :)