4 ms·

Very illustrative warning to other devs. Just because you're coding and building things, doesn't mean you're doing work, or that you're going to make any money

Very illustrative warning to other devs. Just because you're coding and building things, doesn't mean you're doing work, or that you're going to make any money. Most devs are salarymen because that's the best role they can play in society. Their employer plugs them into what the market actually wants. 99% of them are inequipped to perform any that business aspect themselves. They just want to build stuff. Like this devs projects -- a hobby not an enterprise. The best thing any likeminded dev can do is this: do not write a single line of code until you've vigorously screened for market demand. If you can't pick up a phone and talk to businesses, this isn't for you, or you need to partner with a so called "extrovert" or sales type. Do not even so much as ponder the technical implementation of an idea for at least a month, don't touch a terminal, and don't type a single char of code. If you can't restrain yourself from doing so, save yourself the wasted time, money, and energy. If you want a hiatus, just have a real hiatus and fly to a Thai island for 6 months.

heipei 7y ago
Part of the problem that I have with some of these accounts is that they so often focus on tiny and mundane problems that individuals have. I don't know if this is a conscious decision or just an unintended consequence of the fact that B2C ideas are easy to find (you just watch your own daily routines) and are more shiny since everyone knows about customer-facing products but fewer people know all the gears that power corporations large and small. The "Is it Keto" site is a nice hobby but if I seriously wanted to make money with a product/SaaS/platform I'd ring up everyone I knew from previous jobs and ask them which problem I should solve to save them hours of work every day. If you do that your product will become irreplaceable, while a site for helping you with your Keto diet is probably the first thing anyone would cut out if they wanted to save some money. That's the issue I have when founders focus so much on these lifestyle and purely optional products.
- epicgiga 7y ago
  It's worth noting quite how vigorously you have to apply this concept. My first business attempt _did_ factor in market demand, but didn't consider the depth or capacity to pay ("nice to have" vs "take my money"). So I burned out doing 70 hr weeks for something that was never going to make real money vs what I could get as a salaryman or contractor. If you're starting out, you really really shouldn't be aiming for a new unique solution to something, unless you're planning on the VC route. It is far wiser to copycat. Aim for a massive crowded market (e.g. weight loss), because your chance of missing is hundreds of times lower. Indeed an even more effective tactic is to buy an existing business in a space, and develop it. It rips out all the market risk. This is how freelancer.com started for instance.
  - PaulDavisThe1st 7y ago
    > It is far wiser to copycat. Aim for a massive crowded market (e.g. weight loss), because your chance of missing is hundreds of times lower. And hence ... the fuckery of the modern economy. "Too many hands in too many pockets / Not enough hands on hearts." - The Housemartins (80s)
    - epicgiga 7y ago
      Nope, once you have revenue you can maneuver into fresh territory. One step at a time.
      - henryfjordan 7y ago
        Or just be a strong competitor in an obviously valuable space. Nothing wrong with that.
- redisman 7y ago
  Seems like the author didn't have any financial pressure due to years at Google so it's hard to judge how serious he was about making money. I think if he didn't have money for rent this month (my experience as a "solo-dev" back in the day) then he would've done consulting/contracting or more profit driving ideas. Making $5000 a year is not realistic for most of us so this just seems like a long vacation with some coding. But yes B2B is very underrated among younger devs especially. They have huge problems in scale and complexity and most of the money is in there.
say_it_as_it_is 7y ago
OP shares his struggles with the world and this is the best you can come up with? The illustrative warning here is for anyone in OP's position to not post personal nor professional difficulties with randoms on Hacker News. Share wisdom, not criticism.
- epicgiga 7y ago
  I did both. You just have to finish reading before you start typing. See, did both again!
  - mixmastamyk 7y ago
    Free, accurate feedback isn't always fawning or even especially kind. It is certainly better than the alternatives, however. Thanks.
    - epicgiga 7y ago
      You will go far, sir.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
tempsy 7y ago
OP has effectively F.I.R.E'd even if he doesn't say that explicitly. These projects are fun things to do that keep him fresh more than anything.
huhtenberg 7y ago
> If you can't pick up a phone and talk to businesses... This is not required by any means. It helps if you can communicate well and be generally not afraid of or annoyed by people, but being an energetic extrovert is absolutely NOT required. Not at all.

heipei 7y ago

Part of the problem that I have with some of these accounts is that they so often focus on tiny and mundane problems that individuals have. I don't know if this is a conscious decision or just an unintended consequence of the fact that B2C ideas are easy to find (you just watch your own daily routines) and are more shiny since everyone knows about customer-facing products but fewer people know all the gears that power corporations large and small. The "Is it Keto" site is a nice hobby but if I seriously wanted to make money with a product/SaaS/platform I'd ring up everyone I knew from previous jobs and ask them which problem I should solve to save them hours of work every day. If you do that your product will become irreplaceable, while a site for helping you with your Keto diet is probably the first thing anyone would cut out if they wanted to save some money. That's the issue I have when founders focus so much on these lifestyle and purely optional products.

epicgiga 7y ago
It's worth noting quite how vigorously you have to apply this concept. My first business attempt _did_ factor in market demand, but didn't consider the depth or capacity to pay ("nice to have" vs "take my money"). So I burned out doing 70 hr weeks for something that was never going to make real money vs what I could get as a salaryman or contractor. If you're starting out, you really really shouldn't be aiming for a new unique solution to something, unless you're planning on the VC route. It is far wiser to copycat. Aim for a massive crowded market (e.g. weight loss), because your chance of missing is hundreds of times lower. Indeed an even more effective tactic is to buy an existing business in a space, and develop it. It rips out all the market risk. This is how freelancer.com started for instance.
- PaulDavisThe1st 7y ago
  > It is far wiser to copycat. Aim for a massive crowded market (e.g. weight loss), because your chance of missing is hundreds of times lower. And hence ... the fuckery of the modern economy. "Too many hands in too many pockets / Not enough hands on hearts." - The Housemartins (80s)
  - epicgiga 7y ago
    Nope, once you have revenue you can maneuver into fresh territory. One step at a time.
    - henryfjordan 7y ago
      Or just be a strong competitor in an obviously valuable space. Nothing wrong with that.
redisman 7y ago
Seems like the author didn't have any financial pressure due to years at Google so it's hard to judge how serious he was about making money. I think if he didn't have money for rent this month (my experience as a "solo-dev" back in the day) then he would've done consulting/contracting or more profit driving ideas. Making $5000 a year is not realistic for most of us so this just seems like a long vacation with some coding. But yes B2B is very underrated among younger devs especially. They have huge problems in scale and complexity and most of the money is in there.

say_it_as_it_is 7y ago

OP shares his struggles with the world and this is the best you can come up with? The illustrative warning here is for anyone in OP's position to not post personal nor professional difficulties with randoms on Hacker News. Share wisdom, not criticism.

epicgiga 7y ago
I did both. You just have to finish reading before you start typing. See, did both again!
- mixmastamyk 7y ago
  Free, accurate feedback isn't always fawning or even especially kind. It is certainly better than the alternatives, however. Thanks.
  - epicgiga 7y ago
    You will go far, sir.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]

tempsy 7y ago

OP has effectively F.I.R.E'd even if he doesn't say that explicitly. These projects are fun things to do that keep him fresh more than anything.

huhtenberg 7y ago

> If you can't pick up a phone and talk to businesses... This is not required by any means. It helps if you can communicate well and be generally not afraid of or annoyed by people, but being an energetic extrovert is absolutely NOT required. Not at all.