6 ms·

We’re creating a “Startup toolbox”. What apps should go in it?

• sammville 16y ago
  My web app at poplytics.com helps website owners collect feedback. Would love for it to be included. Currently free
  • sammville 16y ago
    Am i not getting a reply for my post. I case we you were wondering we are a competitor to kamplye and kissinsights
  • rcamera 16y ago
    I and my cofounder are starting our beta team, and we are considering using your app to gather and manage feedback. Seems interesting, though we just started researching today. Will give feedback tomorrow.
• bpeters 16y ago
  http://getsatisfaction.com http://getsatisfaction.com is a great way to get feedback from users on your startup. Easy to manage and free for the feedback widget. I have not tried to pay for features yet.
  • g0atbutt 16y ago
    That's an interesting app. I've heard good things about it but I've never used it myself. How often do you use it?
    • bpeters 16y ago
      We use it all the time during our closed alpha. Provides a quick and simple way to have users ask questions, provide new ideas, and offer feedback. Allows admins to comment back and answer any questions so its pretty engaging.
• benologist 16y ago
  MongoHQ: http://mongohq.com/ http://mongohq.com/ If anyone wants to work with MongoDB (nosql database) it's a lot easier to let them handle the details instead of adding it to your already huge list of things you need to do, know, learn etc. They have free databases you can mess around with, and their paid ones are a lot cheaper than getting more vps's/dedicateds/cloud instances - these guys save me time, headaches and money. BizSpark: http://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/ http://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/ Free MS software for 3 years including Windows, Visual Studio, SQL Server etc. Generous terms when your 3 years are up. DNSPark: http://dnspark.net/ http://dnspark.net/ Very cheap DNS, I use them at Playtomic which millions of people hit each day. They have generous query limits - $14/year for 5 million queries/month should well and truly cover most startups - and if like me that's closer to "a day" then a month they're still yet to implement overage charges. Pingdom: http://www.pingdom.com/ http://www.pingdom.com/ Uptime and latency monitoring for your servers. I'm still only using their free plan which is a mistake on my part - I just haven't had time to get it all set up properly and have the data piped into my own dashboard but it is on my to do list. High Scalability: http://highscalability.com/ http://highscalability.com/ Not a service, but an awesome blog that you should read if you are dealing with big numbers or big data, or aspiring to. They're one of the few out-of-my-industry blogs I actually go to without coming through HN. Web Hosting Talk: http://webhostingtalk.com/ http://webhostingtalk.com/ If you're not excited about being billed per hour, per request and per gigabyte for storage and bandwidth in teh cloudz then you can get awesome deals on all levels of hosting there, esp good for dedicateds and vps. Fusion Charts: http://www.fusioncharts.com/ http://www.fusioncharts.com/ I don't use them anymore but they have a great library of free Flash charts you can use. AMCharts (http://www.amcharts.com/ http://www.amcharts.com/) is another one that I still use but only for their world maps.
• inmygarage 16y ago
  Dropbox, Github, Pivotal Tracker, Balsamiq
• DanielRibeiro 16y ago
  Pretty much everything listed here: http://steveblank.com/tools-and-blogs-for-entrepreneurs/ http://steveblank.com/tools-and-blogs-for-entrepreneurs/
• norova 16y ago
  Geckoboard: http://www.geckoboard.com/ http://www.geckoboard.com/ --- "a hosted, real-time status board serving up the indicators that matter to you." Freshbooks: http://www.freshbooks.com/ http://www.freshbooks.com/ --- "painless billing" Linode: http://www.linode.com/ http://www.linode.com/ --- "Deploy and Manage Linux Virtual Servers in the Linode Cloud. Get a server running in minutes with your choice of Linux distro, resources, and node location."
• olalonde 16y ago
  http://Uservoice.com http://Uservoice.com: feedback box
• cj 16y ago
  If you recommend MediaTemple add a disclaimer to stay away from (gs). Their dv service is alright, but gs has terrible performance. I tweeted a few weeks ago that I was switching away from MT (gs) and their twitter support DM'd me admitting that gs "sucks" as they tried to sell me on their DV package. I'm sure many people here would recommend Linode, Slicehost, or Heroku as competent alternatives.
  • phlux 16y ago
    Greets! -- spell out those acronyms, please. If we are trying to educate people on services etc... dont assume they know what everything means.
    • acrum 16y ago
      The acronyms are how Media Temple refers to their different hosting packages. A look at their website reveals (gs) = grid service, (dv) = dedicated virtual. Personally, I have worked on one site that was hosted on a (dv) server with Media Temple (for three months.. I was only filling in), and had nothing but good experiences with them. Their prices are definitely high though, so I don't know if I'd call them exactly startup-friendly. I wasn't the one paying for the site I worked with, but if I had to pay for it myself, I'd probably look elsewhere.
  • maguay 16y ago
    Ouch ... They actually DMed you to confirm your thoughts on (gs)? They tried to sell me on (gs) in a DM message the other day! That's bad...
• edw519 16y ago
  The Hacker's Diet: http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/ http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/ If you don't take care of yourself, nothing else in your toolbox matters.
  • amock 16y ago
    Not only that, but it's good practice for the methodology you should be using when developing your product. Constantly measure and keep track of your results so you can see what's working and what isn't. Keep track of trends and don't overreact to short term changes.
• _pius 16y ago
  Hard to imagine why someone creating a traditional Ruby-based web app wouldn't start with Heroku. http://heroku.com http://heroku.com
• maguay 16y ago
  Why MediaTemple specifically? Is there something they provide more/better than other hosts to make them so much more popular among webdevs and creatives? I've tried to figure out how people justify their higher price relative to other hosts like Dreamhost on the simple hosting end to VPS.net on the hither end... I'd really be interested in any insight any MediaTemple users have! Edit: I should mention that I recently purchased a domain from MediaTemple because currently you can registe one .com for $5. Otherwise, though, I'm currently using Dreamhost for site hosting and my other domain registrations. I'd really like to know what more they truly offer for hosting!
  • jerhinesmith 16y ago
    I was wondering the same thing. I've used Linode in the past and been very happy, but I also feel like I have a lot to learn when it comes to "proper" server administration. Does MediaTemple alleviate any of that (ala Heroku)? Or is it just another VPS host with a good reputation? I'm genuinely curious!
  • norova 16y ago
    I know that MediaTemple is very cozy with the design community. Other than that, I can't glean much from their web site that would separate them from other hosting providers. I am curious for any insight on this as well!
    • JshWright 16y ago
      After taking a look at them, the only thing I could find that set them apart was cost... They're _much_ more expensive...
      • maguay 16y ago
        That's all I've figured out myself. Too bad no MediaTemple users have commented ... I'd honestly like to know what keeps people using them at their price!
      • acrum 16y ago
        I think they tend to pride themselves on their service (which is pretty good I guess.. the tech people you talk to at least seem to know what they're talking about), and they emphasize their scalability. I'm not sure if those things justify the price, but I guess some people think so.
• onteria 16y ago
  > Mockups: Photoshop (or Pixelmator for really tight budgets) Only thing with Pixelmator is it's Mac only (unless I missed fine print somewhere). You might not have Macs laying around if you're on a really tight budget. Gimp might be good to throw out there since it's free and works on multiple platforms.
  • Gertig 16y ago
    I use http://mocksup.com http://mocksup.com for mockups, clickable and connectable.
• ceslami 16y ago
  Recurly or Chargify for recurring payments.
• rbreve 16y ago
  mixpanel: for specific analytics and metrics yammer: to communicate with your teammates gomockingbird.com easy way to create mockups browser based amazon ec2/s3 for hosting
• kwellman 16y ago
  For the bootstrapping budget startups: bitbucket.org --> Free private repositories amazon ec2 --> Free usage tier for a year uservoice --> basic functionality is free
• juddlyon 16y ago
  Google Apps, Dropbox, Evernote, LAMP, VIM, Google (learn the advanced search operators)
• krisrak 16y ago
  domain: godaddy.com ($7.67 with promo code) hosting and db: google app engine (free) mail: google apps (free) support: get satisfaction (free) blog: tumblr (free) graphics: gimp (free) analytics: google analytics (free) :this is what I use for all my projects: http://shaloc.com http://shaloc.com, http://checkinmania.com http://checkinmania.com, http://misotrendy.com http://misotrendy.com more at http://initlabs.com http://initlabs.com
  • jonny_eh 16y ago
    Excellent suggestions. The awesomeness of App Engine should not be under estimated. It makes running a web app extremely easy and painless (and free, at first). It has some gaps though depending on what you're going to use it for. For example, its sending/receiving to/from custom domains is quite limited. To fix that I've used: -To send emails from a custom domain: SendGrid.com -To receive emails sent to a custom domain: CloudMailin.net For buying domain names, I've switched from GoDaddy to name.com, just to get away from the awfulness that is GoDaddy's UI.
• trustfundbaby 16y ago
  unfuddle.com ... free git/svn hosting and ticketing. domaintools - domain monitor for stalking that domain that you absolutely have to have http://www.domaintools.com/monitor/ http://www.domaintools.com/monitor/
• Groxx 16y ago
  TrueCrypt + DropBox = protect your data from almost anything. I've been using this for programming, it has been working flawlessly. And DropBox is the only system so far that handles my 1GB file without choking, and does so quickly enough that a day's changes (and the repo changes) only take a few minutes to scan and upload.
• ElbertF 16y ago
  Surveys: http://surveymonkey.com/ http://surveymonkey.com/ I'm currently using the free plan for a handful of projects and it's awesome.
  • clare 16y ago
    In the same line our own survey startup http://www.impressity.com http://www.impressity.com is another free survey option. The surveys are 100% free without limitation. You can set 10 survey questions to private, and the remaining will be public. We welcome any feedback, and hope this can contribute to HN community.
• fredoliveira 16y ago
  Goplan for project management: http://goplanapp.com http://goplanapp.com (Disclaimer: I work on the app - we'll also cut a deal for the toolbox if it moves forward)
• mkramlich 16y ago
  DropBox, GitHub, Basecamp, Balsamiq, vi, DynaDot, Linode, Gmail, Twitter, Gimp
  • benologist 16y ago
    +1 for Dynadot, forgot to mention them earlier. I don't really think of them much but I've used them for years.
• lwat 16y ago
  PostGreSQL
• thushan 16y ago
  This isn't so much as a toolbox item but a must read I think http://nvie.com/posts/a-successful-git-branching-model/ http://nvie.com/posts/a-successful-git-branching-model/
• cemregr 16y ago
  For web design/mockup work, Fireworks is way more suitable than Photoshop. It's also a lot cheaper.
• zapnap 16y ago
  A few that I swear by: github http://github.com http://github.com for source control and wikis sendgrid http://sendgrid.com http://sendgrid.com or Amazon SES for email mogotest http://mogotest.com http://mogotest.com for browser testing recurly http://recurly.com http://recurly.com for managing recurring payments tender http://tenderapp.com http://tenderapp.com for support / help desk linode http://linode.com http://linode.com for hosting or Amazon EC2 mocksup http://mocksup.com http://mocksup.com for quick and easy mockups clicky http://getclicky.com http://getclicky.com for analytics zerigo http://www.zerigo.com http://www.zerigo.com for dns and monitoring AWS http://aws.amazon.com http://aws.amazon.com S3, EC2, and everything else :)
• mercurialist 16y ago
  IndexTank: http://indextank.com http://indextank.com Full-text indexing & search service (realtime, incl. free options, geo/faceting).
• timtim 16y ago
  Those two have not been mentioned yet: Hosted SVN/Git: http://www.assembla.com/ http://www.assembla.com/ -> I prefer it over Github. Real Browser Website Monitoring: http://www.alertfox.com/free-website-monitoring/ http://www.alertfox.com/free-website-monitoring/ -> Once you have your web app running, make sure it really works. We have been using both for more than a year now. Great services! Both over free plans, too.
• meiers 16y ago
  Plimus.com for easy billing/recurrent billing
• hardik988 16y ago
  There's an awesome collection of startup tools here: http://startuptools.pbworks.com/w/page/17974963/FrontPage http://startuptools.pbworks.com/w/page/17974963/FrontPage
• thethimble 16y ago
  Vim
• mutru 16y ago
  Some of the tools we're using ourselves: Team collaboration: http://www.flowdock.com/ http://www.flowdock.com/ No matter what are the other tools you're using, Flowdock keeps your team organized and up-to-date. Google Wave done right. Version control: http://www.github.com/ http://www.github.com/ Agile project management: http://www.pivotaltracker.com/ http://www.pivotaltracker.com/ Customer feedback: http://www.uservoice.com/ http://www.uservoice.com/ Service monitoring: http://www.pingdom.com/ http://www.pingdom.com/ Scalable database: http://www.mongodb.org/ http://www.mongodb.org/ Programming languages: JavaScript, Ruby, Scala Everyone in the company is using an OS X desktop, and our servers (hosted in several places) are powered by Ubuntu Linux and Chef (systems management).
• edge17 16y ago
  coffee
• tm65atcolumbia 16y ago
  Infrastructure: github, heroku, linode, dropbox Team: skype, google voice, googleApps, Development: stackoverflow Customer Understanding: clicky
• hopeless 16y ago
  Codebase: http://codebasehq.com http://codebasehq.com for Git/Subversion/Mercurial hosting, tickets, wikis, time tracking etc. Cheaper and more flexible than Github (though I also love Github for public projects). And they have a new version out in Q1
  • dlib 16y ago
    With a Codebasehq account also comes a free deployhq account. You commit changes to your git-branch and deployhq will ssh into your production server and update the code. Extra commands (e.g. rake db:migrate) can also be executed. It's basically like Capistrano but as-a-service, but easier to set up (and less versatile probably, but I haven't come across anything I couldn't do). They're also working on Deliverhq, basically transactional email delivery like Sendgrid.
• paraschopra 16y ago
  <plug> Visual Website Optimizer http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/ http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/ for A/B testing </plug>
• glenjamin 16y ago
  Hoptoad: http://hoptoadapp.com http://hoptoadapp.com Exception notification, mainly ruby but has an easy to implement API. Plugins available for many other frameworks afaik.
• andyshora 16y ago
  I've created a Collaborative Task Manager, http://managewith.us http://managewith.us which allows remote members of a team to manage a list of tasks, seeing updates in real-time (a bit like Etherpad). There's a free version, but I'd be happy to give your readers a discount on the Pro and Enterprise packages (they are relatively affordable anyway). If you're interested drop me an email, which is info@ the domain above :-) Andy
• rjrodger 16y ago
  My http://startupdeathclock.com http://startupdeathclock.com is great for cheering yourself up. Only to be used in the week after you close a round!
• duck 16y ago
  Shortcut to Hacker News
• kleinsch 16y ago
  If you're in any way technical, why would you go MediaTemple (or other VPS provider) and not Amazon EC2? With the new micro instances, Amazon is very competitive on the low end, and they've got configurations to scale up to the highest volumes. I think as far as features go, they're miles ahead of the competition, but feel like there's something I must be missing.
• ac132 16y ago
  Lots of great stuff mentioned, but here's some I didn't see: SEO:http://raventools.com/ http://raventools.com/ Password Management: http://passpack.com/ http://passpack.com/ Stickers: http://www.stickermule.com/ http://www.stickermule.com/ :-)