6 ms·

Reminds me of "Good Software Takes Ten Years. Get Used To it." by Joel Spolsky. https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2001/07/21/good-software-takes-ten-years-get-use

Reminds me of "Good Software Takes Ten Years. Get Used To it." by Joel Spolsky. https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2001/07/21/good-software-takes-ten-years-get-used-to-it/ https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2001/07/21/good-software-take...

tppiotrowski 5y ago
https://i1.wp.com/www.joelonsoftware.com/wp-content/uploads/2003/06/Notes-Installed-Base.gif?resize=341%2C220&ssl=1 https://i1.wp.com/www.joelonsoftware.com/wp-content/uploads/... This chart is a good example of having no traction for years and then growing exponentially. We usually hear about a company once it hits the inflection point so it seems like an overnight success.
- ZephyrBlu 5y ago
  "no traction" lol. After 2 years that chart shows 35k users. That's only no traction in relation to the final outcome. Imagine this was money instead, where the final result was $1B and after the first 2 years it was only $1M. $1M is only "no traction" in relation to $1B. In absolute terms it's pretty damn good.
ChrisMarshallNY 5y ago
This has been my experience. I'm working on an app that will be released in the next few months (we don't have a definite ship date, yet). It's based on two servers that I wrote. One, I wrote eleven or twelve years ago, and has become a world standard; but only in the last three years. Since it's a specialized demographic, the numbers are quite small, for "world standard." The other server is one that I wrote, about four years ago. It took me seven months. It's a very good general-purpose application server. I wrote it for practice, but it's also ideal for the app I'm writing. I've been working on the frontend app for over a year. It's really, really good. I deliberately took my time, because we went through a lot of "MVP" stuff, during its development. The rest of the team seems to think it will take the world by storm, when it's released, but I don't think it will. That's fine with me. I don't mind a slow burn. I've written software that lasts decades.
- pm 5y ago
  I'm working on social software at the moment, and when I explain it to potential users, they seem to love the concept (which gives me confidence), but truthfully I don't know if will live up to expectations. I've found it best to downplay any potential success in my own mind so that I'm not disappointed if it doesn't take off. I hope your launch goes well; your comments are always insightful and glad to have someone of your experience around the traps.
  - ChrisMarshallNY 5y ago
    Thanks. I think that the general Quality of the app will be phenomenal. I spend a great deal of time “polishing the fenders.” This is stuff like making sure that popovers are pixel-perfect, Dark Mode is supported, it’s localizable and accessible, and has various fast animations for “flourish,” etc. We know the target demographic well, and all indications are, that it will be well-received. But I don’t think it has much monetary potential, which I feel is fine. We’re a nonprofit, anyway. It will be funny, because a free app will have a level of refinement that leaves many money-making apps in a cloud of dust. Time will tell. More will be revealed…
  - tpetry 5y ago
    You should read the „Mom Test“. Very often people say they like the idea, but still won‘t buy it.
    - pm 5y ago
      Indeed, it's on my list of things to read, and it's why I'm not considering these signals to be definitive.
- skinkestek 5y ago
  FWIW, there seems to be an issue with your contact form on rift walley software, here is what it looks like in mobile Safari: CONTACT US [contact-form-7 id="67" title="Contact form 1"] (
  - 5y ago
Gigachad 5y ago
This seems true of small scale things but companies like google have been able to release good software on the first try. I don't remember it vividly but I used google docs and drive on the first year and I don't remember having a single issue with them and I can't even think of anything it does now almost 10 years later that I would have wanted back then.
- kahon65 5y ago
  Wtf your pseudo dude, "Gigachad"?
  - Gigachad 5y ago
    https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/gigachad https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/gigachad
xunn0026 5y ago
It would be an absolute disaster if people would stick to their dead-end side projects for 10 years before calling it quits.

tppiotrowski 5y ago

https://i1.wp.com/www.joelonsoftware.com/wp-content/uploads/2003/06/Notes-Installed-Base.gif?resize=341%2C220&ssl=1 https://i1.wp.com/www.joelonsoftware.com/wp-content/uploads/... This chart is a good example of having no traction for years and then growing exponentially. We usually hear about a company once it hits the inflection point so it seems like an overnight success.

ZephyrBlu 5y ago
"no traction" lol. After 2 years that chart shows 35k users. That's only no traction in relation to the final outcome. Imagine this was money instead, where the final result was $1B and after the first 2 years it was only $1M. $1M is only "no traction" in relation to $1B. In absolute terms it's pretty damn good.

ChrisMarshallNY 5y ago

This has been my experience. I'm working on an app that will be released in the next few months (we don't have a definite ship date, yet). It's based on two servers that I wrote. One, I wrote eleven or twelve years ago, and has become a world standard; but only in the last three years. Since it's a specialized demographic, the numbers are quite small, for "world standard." The other server is one that I wrote, about four years ago. It took me seven months. It's a very good general-purpose application server. I wrote it for practice, but it's also ideal for the app I'm writing. I've been working on the frontend app for over a year. It's really, really good. I deliberately took my time, because we went through a lot of "MVP" stuff, during its development. The rest of the team seems to think it will take the world by storm, when it's released, but I don't think it will. That's fine with me. I don't mind a slow burn. I've written software that lasts decades.

pm 5y ago
I'm working on social software at the moment, and when I explain it to potential users, they seem to love the concept (which gives me confidence), but truthfully I don't know if will live up to expectations. I've found it best to downplay any potential success in my own mind so that I'm not disappointed if it doesn't take off. I hope your launch goes well; your comments are always insightful and glad to have someone of your experience around the traps.
- ChrisMarshallNY 5y ago
  Thanks. I think that the general Quality of the app will be phenomenal. I spend a great deal of time “polishing the fenders.” This is stuff like making sure that popovers are pixel-perfect, Dark Mode is supported, it’s localizable and accessible, and has various fast animations for “flourish,” etc. We know the target demographic well, and all indications are, that it will be well-received. But I don’t think it has much monetary potential, which I feel is fine. We’re a nonprofit, anyway. It will be funny, because a free app will have a level of refinement that leaves many money-making apps in a cloud of dust. Time will tell. More will be revealed…
- tpetry 5y ago
  You should read the „Mom Test“. Very often people say they like the idea, but still won‘t buy it.
  - pm 5y ago
    Indeed, it's on my list of things to read, and it's why I'm not considering these signals to be definitive.
skinkestek 5y ago
FWIW, there seems to be an issue with your contact form on rift walley software, here is what it looks like in mobile Safari: CONTACT US [contact-form-7 id="67" title="Contact form 1"] (
- 5y ago

Gigachad 5y ago

This seems true of small scale things but companies like google have been able to release good software on the first try. I don't remember it vividly but I used google docs and drive on the first year and I don't remember having a single issue with them and I can't even think of anything it does now almost 10 years later that I would have wanted back then.

kahon65 5y ago
Wtf your pseudo dude, "Gigachad"?
- Gigachad 5y ago
  https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/gigachad https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/gigachad

xunn0026 5y ago

It would be an absolute disaster if people would stick to their dead-end side projects for 10 years before calling it quits.