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Is 22,000 downloads, a million actions on the site and 15 dollars in donations a success? It feels like it is missing the part where he sold 2,000 memberships

by ipaddr 5y ago

Is 22,000 downloads, a million actions on the site and 15 dollars in donations a success? It feels like it is missing the part where he sold 2,000 memberships or made 2,000 in ad revenue. I guess if three angel investors are calling there might be a path. Building traffic is hard but only half of it.

AS_of 5y ago
Yeah, well, when it's making money you're too busy to post a write-up.
mushufasa 5y ago
it sounds like an unconditional amazing success given the original project motivations and goals. building a thing and delivering joy is a reward in and of itself. whether or not this is or should be a business is a separate matter. not everything that works as an idea will work as a business.
mrtksn 5y ago
If the app turns out to be sticky, he can explore proper monetisation. I don't see why the negativity, after all the codes are not written into a stone. I don't see a problem. There's always a joy in having people use your product, if it is not a capital intensive project the money can come later.
vuciv1 5y ago
Yeah, just wanna echo the other comments. It was fun, and honestly, even if I don't profit from it, it was fun to build, I'm learning a lot, and it really is bringing people joy. Would it be nice to be rich from my app? Yeah, of course. If that doesn't happen, that's okay too, though. I'll find another way.
w0mbat 5y ago
22,000 downloads of a free app at launch is no big deal. It's free and he's having to pay for hosting for the backend. I can stand on the corner and give away dollar bills too.
sarsway 5y ago
Yes please think about monetization next time!! All that attention is nice, but in the end you just gotta charge for your work, at least a little. We all just want to give away freebies, but success is hard to come by. These are rare opportunities and money gives you the freedom to focus on what you want to work on in the future.
- vuciv1 5y ago
  Noted :) I have strong monetization plans for the future, and plan to expand!
guessbest 5y ago
Its not so much about the money as it is about making the world a better place.
- mewpmewp2 5y ago
  If you have more money, you will have more power to make the world a better place, multiples times over as opposed to having no money. Money is a tool to scale your influence whichever direction you please. If all the good doers ignored money, bad doers would have all the influence in the world.
sombremesa 5y ago
22k is nothing on a free app. I’ve been there, but with a higher number. You can make a “profitable” exit (so I guess calling it nothing is a bit harsh) but not really profitable when you really consider costs (especially opportunity costs). People are impressed by that kind of number though, usually people who’ve never built anything marketable or investors who have little to no experience in the space.
dan1234 5y ago
I think 22,000 downloads on an app only built to work out how the technology works definitely qualifies as a success.

by ipaddr 5y ago

AS_of 5y ago

Yeah, well, when it's making money you're too busy to post a write-up.

mushufasa 5y ago

it sounds like an unconditional amazing success given the original project motivations and goals. building a thing and delivering joy is a reward in and of itself. whether or not this is or should be a business is a separate matter. not everything that works as an idea will work as a business.

mrtksn 5y ago

If the app turns out to be sticky, he can explore proper monetisation. I don't see why the negativity, after all the codes are not written into a stone. I don't see a problem. There's always a joy in having people use your product, if it is not a capital intensive project the money can come later.

vuciv1 5y ago

Yeah, just wanna echo the other comments. It was fun, and honestly, even if I don't profit from it, it was fun to build, I'm learning a lot, and it really is bringing people joy. Would it be nice to be rich from my app? Yeah, of course. If that doesn't happen, that's okay too, though. I'll find another way.

w0mbat 5y ago

22,000 downloads of a free app at launch is no big deal. It's free and he's having to pay for hosting for the backend. I can stand on the corner and give away dollar bills too.

sarsway 5y ago

Yes please think about monetization next time!! All that attention is nice, but in the end you just gotta charge for your work, at least a little. We all just want to give away freebies, but success is hard to come by. These are rare opportunities and money gives you the freedom to focus on what you want to work on in the future.

vuciv1 5y ago
Noted :) I have strong monetization plans for the future, and plan to expand!

guessbest 5y ago

Its not so much about the money as it is about making the world a better place.

mewpmewp2 5y ago
If you have more money, you will have more power to make the world a better place, multiples times over as opposed to having no money. Money is a tool to scale your influence whichever direction you please. If all the good doers ignored money, bad doers would have all the influence in the world.

sombremesa 5y ago

22k is nothing on a free app. I’ve been there, but with a higher number. You can make a “profitable” exit (so I guess calling it nothing is a bit harsh) but not really profitable when you really consider costs (especially opportunity costs). People are impressed by that kind of number though, usually people who’ve never built anything marketable or investors who have little to no experience in the space.

dan1234 5y ago

I think 22,000 downloads on an app only built to work out how the technology works definitely qualifies as a success.