5 ms·

I Took My Startup From $20k/month to 0

31 points by jhunter1016 6y ago

ensiferum 6y ago
"I did some research, but I couldn’t find an alternative to Google Docs where I’d have complete control over my documents and couldn’t be locked out. So I said, fuck it. I’ll build it. " Umh..how about I dunno just using your computer and a Microsoft word or Libre office and storing the data locally on your computer or usb stick. Weird.
- vidanay 6y ago
  Offline LaTeX mode? Inconceivable!
- yaseer 6y ago
  There probably is some value, and demand, for cloud products which reduces dependency/control by a single company. The model seems very hard to execute on though; Diaspora comes to mind. I think there's a mismatch between what people say they want ("I care about owning my data") vs how they behave ("I'll go with whatever is most convenient").
  - gostsamo 6y ago
    I'd like to self-host lots of things, but doing it properly costs time, money, and effort. Just the software to do it is not enough when you would like 99.99% availability, data backup, security, and disaster recovery. If you can find a way to provide this in a box with encrypted backup, you have a billion dollar business. Or at least a few hundred dollars from me.
- arsalanb 6y ago
  I think the author meant a privacy-focused online editor which allows collaborative editing, etc
- JohnCurran 6y ago
  Because then you wouldn’t get to use the blockchain /s —— I read this article for far too long trying to find some more detail on how, or why, the blockchain enabled him to create a privacy centered document writing service but found nothing. Another solution looking for a problem I suppose
- snazz 6y ago
  Google Docs (and modern versions of Microsoft 365) offers a much nicer experience for a lot of writing work, so I can see why the author would prefer it to an offline solution—especially for creative writing. I like being able to write on my phone in the Google Docs app while on the subway or somewhere where using a laptop is inconvenient. I like being able to share a document and collaborate on it without emailing a copy back and forth. I also like Google Apps Script when I need to extend Google Sheets; I never learned VBA, but JavaScript is a much more normal programming language.
- onion2k 6y ago
  Word isn't really an alternative to Google Docs. There's no multi-user collaboration mode without an Office365 account, you can't really share a document with someone who doesn't have Word, you don't always have access to the latest version wherever (with other people's edits), etc. There definitely is a market for a Google docs alternative.
  - originalvichy 6y ago
    There is. Atlassian’s Conflunce can be self-hosted on your own VPS. It is more of a Wiki-like knowledge sharing tool, but it also has collaborative editing modes. It’s definitely no Google Office Suite since there is no support for sheets, but you can share and display them there and auto-upload office-files from the desktop to Confluence. It’s not perfect but it is an alternative.
- chansiky 6y ago
  Even Adobe at some point tried to compete with Word/Excel. Word processing sounds like it would be one of the most crowded markets.
- krisgenre 6y ago
  Zoho Writer isn't that popular I guess - https://www.zoho.com/writer/ https://www.zoho.com/writer/
grantlmiller 6y ago
This title feels like click bait. The story is interesting, but this product never had real revenue (definitely not $20k/month). "At its peak, Graphite was pulling in $20,000 a month in grant money. The design of the grant program was such, though, that after a while money would be allocated to other applications built on the protocol offering the grants. All told, Graphite received about $130,000 in grants."
S_A_P 6y ago
I’m not usually one to call bs but the dude said he went from customer service to learning to code to being interested in “the crypto space” in the span of 3 years. That’s an enormous red flag for me...
brightball 6y ago
"But here’s the thing. That was 100% luck. Don’t let anyone with a similar experience tell you otherwise. Luck happens." This sentiment is starting to get really old and I'm reading it a lot lately. Luck happened after he'd put in the time and effort to build a solid product, launch it and make it available for public consumption. He didn't just get lucky and make a product appear out of thin air. "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." When you have a product to sell, you're able to capitalize on the opportunity to market and sell that product. Those opportunities don't present themselves until you have put in the work.
- SwiftyBug 6y ago
  Luck is the meeting of preparation and opportunity itself. Luck is also the preparation. Preparing for something for which there will be an opportunity is luck. You never know what opportunities will appear (to you). Luck is even being able to prepare at all. > Those opportunities don't present themselves until you have put in the work Being able to put it the work, specially in tech, is absurdly lucky. Even out of tech, people are not just born with the skills required to put in the work and build a product – be it digital or not. Access to education is luck. Access to quality education is extreme luck. And a specific kind of luck that is presented to a few more than to most. Luck plays a much bigger role than preparation and opportunity alone.
  - robertlagrant 6y ago
    This is an unhelpful redefinition of luck.
    - jjj123 6y ago
      How is it a redefinition or unhelpful? Being born with privilege of any kind is luck. Even if you’re a hard worker, the chance of being very successful varies dramatically based on your initial state. I’d argue it is helpful to frame luck in this way so you’re less likely to buy into the “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” narrative.
  - 6y ago
krisgenre 6y ago
Did I read it correctly? This person learnt to code and released a product to compete with Google in just three years? That's very impressive!
sweetheart 6y ago
Whatever your thoughts on blockchain are, or learning to code, or grant money vs. MRR, can we just take a moment to appreciate the magnitude of the man’s achievement? Serious props to him for having an idea and being passionate enough to manifest it, without knowing how he was going to. Lots of unnecessary criticism in this thread for what was effectively the man’s hobby.

31 points by jhunter1016 6y ago

"I did some research, but I couldn’t find an alternative to Google Docs where I’d have complete control over my documents and couldn’t be locked out. So I said, fuck it. I’ll build it. " Umh..how about I dunno just using your computer and a Microsoft word or Libre office and storing the data locally on your computer or usb stick. Weird.

vidanay 6y ago
Offline LaTeX mode? Inconceivable!
yaseer 6y ago
There probably is some value, and demand, for cloud products which reduces dependency/control by a single company. The model seems very hard to execute on though; Diaspora comes to mind. I think there's a mismatch between what people say they want ("I care about owning my data") vs how they behave ("I'll go with whatever is most convenient").
- gostsamo 6y ago
  I'd like to self-host lots of things, but doing it properly costs time, money, and effort. Just the software to do it is not enough when you would like 99.99% availability, data backup, security, and disaster recovery. If you can find a way to provide this in a box with encrypted backup, you have a billion dollar business. Or at least a few hundred dollars from me.
arsalanb 6y ago
I think the author meant a privacy-focused online editor which allows collaborative editing, etc
JohnCurran 6y ago
Because then you wouldn’t get to use the blockchain /s —— I read this article for far too long trying to find some more detail on how, or why, the blockchain enabled him to create a privacy centered document writing service but found nothing. Another solution looking for a problem I suppose
snazz 6y ago
Google Docs (and modern versions of Microsoft 365) offers a much nicer experience for a lot of writing work, so I can see why the author would prefer it to an offline solution—especially for creative writing. I like being able to write on my phone in the Google Docs app while on the subway or somewhere where using a laptop is inconvenient. I like being able to share a document and collaborate on it without emailing a copy back and forth. I also like Google Apps Script when I need to extend Google Sheets; I never learned VBA, but JavaScript is a much more normal programming language.
onion2k 6y ago
Word isn't really an alternative to Google Docs. There's no multi-user collaboration mode without an Office365 account, you can't really share a document with someone who doesn't have Word, you don't always have access to the latest version wherever (with other people's edits), etc. There definitely is a market for a Google docs alternative.
- originalvichy 6y ago
  There is. Atlassian’s Conflunce can be self-hosted on your own VPS. It is more of a Wiki-like knowledge sharing tool, but it also has collaborative editing modes. It’s definitely no Google Office Suite since there is no support for sheets, but you can share and display them there and auto-upload office-files from the desktop to Confluence. It’s not perfect but it is an alternative.
chansiky 6y ago
Even Adobe at some point tried to compete with Word/Excel. Word processing sounds like it would be one of the most crowded markets.
krisgenre 6y ago
Zoho Writer isn't that popular I guess - https://www.zoho.com/writer/ https://www.zoho.com/writer/

grantlmiller 6y ago

This title feels like click bait. The story is interesting, but this product never had real revenue (definitely not $20k/month). "At its peak, Graphite was pulling in $20,000 a month in grant money. The design of the grant program was such, though, that after a while money would be allocated to other applications built on the protocol offering the grants. All told, Graphite received about $130,000 in grants."

S_A_P 6y ago

I’m not usually one to call bs but the dude said he went from customer service to learning to code to being interested in “the crypto space” in the span of 3 years. That’s an enormous red flag for me...

brightball 6y ago

"But here’s the thing. That was 100% luck. Don’t let anyone with a similar experience tell you otherwise. Luck happens." This sentiment is starting to get really old and I'm reading it a lot lately. Luck happened after he'd put in the time and effort to build a solid product, launch it and make it available for public consumption. He didn't just get lucky and make a product appear out of thin air. "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." When you have a product to sell, you're able to capitalize on the opportunity to market and sell that product. Those opportunities don't present themselves until you have put in the work.

SwiftyBug 6y ago
Luck is the meeting of preparation and opportunity itself. Luck is also the preparation. Preparing for something for which there will be an opportunity is luck. You never know what opportunities will appear (to you). Luck is even being able to prepare at all. > Those opportunities don't present themselves until you have put in the work Being able to put it the work, specially in tech, is absurdly lucky. Even out of tech, people are not just born with the skills required to put in the work and build a product – be it digital or not. Access to education is luck. Access to quality education is extreme luck. And a specific kind of luck that is presented to a few more than to most. Luck plays a much bigger role than preparation and opportunity alone.
- robertlagrant 6y ago
  This is an unhelpful redefinition of luck.
  - jjj123 6y ago
    How is it a redefinition or unhelpful? Being born with privilege of any kind is luck. Even if you’re a hard worker, the chance of being very successful varies dramatically based on your initial state. I’d argue it is helpful to frame luck in this way so you’re less likely to buy into the “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” narrative.
- 6y ago

krisgenre 6y ago

Did I read it correctly? This person learnt to code and released a product to compete with Google in just three years? That's very impressive!

sweetheart 6y ago

Whatever your thoughts on blockchain are, or learning to code, or grant money vs. MRR, can we just take a moment to appreciate the magnitude of the man’s achievement? Serious props to him for having an idea and being passionate enough to manifest it, without knowing how he was going to. Lots of unnecessary criticism in this thread for what was effectively the man’s hobby.