6 ms·

How to Create a Million-Dollar Business This Weekend

124 points by frankdenbow 15y ago

mmaunder 15y ago
43 minutes and no comment?
- jnorthrop 15y ago
  I only made it through a quarter of the article. I found the tone arrogant and felt like I was being talked down to. The pictures of a woman in lingerie on the sidebar capped it off.
  - athom 15y ago
    I read this, and thought, it's GOT to be Timothy Ferriss. Sure enough, I see the site is fourhourworkweek.com, just after I've clicked the link. My favorite line is in the photo caption: "He also looks great in orange." That may come in handy for him in the near future, if he's not careful.
  - wyclif 15y ago
    You must not be familiar with Tim Ferriss.
guelo 15y ago
I'm sure I don't know why this article reminds me of this, but totally off topic: Does anyone else remember get rich quick magazines back in the day? They were tons of fun! Every page was full of possibilities. I remember as a kid trying to get into mail envelope ponzi schemes. It was all about how to figure out the scam and improve on it. Taught me how to love to hustle.
- hugh3 15y ago
  No, but I do remember Mad Magazine making fun of get rich quick schemes! If every kid grew up on a diet of satire, they might grow up to be less gullible.
ig1 15y ago
You should be very careful if you're selling something you don't have, you almost certainly violate the terms of your payment provider and depending on where you live you might be committing fraud.
- nikcub 15y ago
  It is against most merchant rules (and PayPal) to process a complete transaction without the product or service being immediately available. For pre-orders, you can collect card information and authorizations, but you can only charge when the product or service is delivered. PayPal doesn't support that at all (it is messy) Even with pre-orders the condition usually is that you need to deliver within 30 or 60 days (depends on the merchant). It is definitely not a good idea to collect money with the promise of a product in the future. This is why Kickstarter, GroupOn etc. only charge cards later on, and make it clear to users with disclaimers.
- swombat 15y ago
  You don't have to actually sell. If you don't have a product yet, just build a mock payment page and check how many people get to the end - and never charge them.
  - ig1 15y ago
    The article suggests actually taking money from people.
    - swombat 15y ago
      The article presents a context where there is a product there to sell already (a discounted imgur membership).
  - thenomad 15y ago
    An idea I just thought of on that front - instead of the usual bland "we cannot fulfil the order at this time" end to a dry-test, send people to a 404-alike page with a contact email. You can track conversions by watching the clickthroughs, but as an added bonus, if people subsequently email going "your site's broken! Where can I buy?" you know they really want your product
dirkdeman 15y ago
I found the article to be hands-on, and a good insight in the MO of a successful entrepeneur. It doesn't have to take cutting edge technology or thousands lines of code to make it big. On the other hand, the majority of folks here are hackers, so maybe the article is barking at the wrong tree here...
nikcub 15y ago
As an entrepreneur I really don't identify with this world of self-help books, overnight entrepreneurs, 10-point checklists to success and how to become a millionaire in a weekend.
- zalew 15y ago
  yeah, sometimes the frontpage on HN looks like a motivational tape from the 90s
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
- freshfey 15y ago
  Judging from your comment, you haven't read past the title, have you? Because there are actually quite good starting points for some people who don't know where to start. The title is pure link bait though
  - hugh3 15y ago
    I'm gonna flag it for this reason. Come back to us when you're using sensible titles, Mr Ferris.
- hugh3 15y ago
  The best part is that if you ever do manage to build a million-dollar business, nobody will be impressed any more. "Oh, I heard you could do that in one weekend just by building a website to sell some crap."
- pmf 15y ago
  As a businessman I really don't identify with this world of entrepreneur snobs who don't read shit and critiquize everything they see. The funnny thing is that you say that you don't like overnight succes but you write for TechCrunch. By the way, if you dont like checklist I have something for you http://www.amazon.com/Seeking-Wisdom-Darwin-Munger-3rd/dp/1578644283/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316873922&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/Seeking-Wisdom-Darwin-Munger-3rd/dp/15... Sorry for my bad english.
sneak 15y ago
Am I the only one tired of single-purpose a/b-tested-to-death webpages that sell only one thing in loud marketing-speak? I'm a businessman myself, so I'm glad someone out there is making a living for themselves, but I truly tire of these sorts of eyesore sites on the web.
llii 15y ago
I don't get entirley what he did to validate his idea for AppSumo. He got 200 new customers for imgur which pay 25$/year (to imgur) and he payed imgur 3$/user for this? Didn't he loose money then?
- anthony_franco 15y ago
  No I think Noah got a $3 commission for each sale. So he earned $600 from selling 200 accounts.
- biot 15y ago
  The sales pitch is probably what threw you off. "I'll pay you to bring you new customers" is the pitch, but the detail is likely more along the lines of Groupon's deals: "I'll charge $12 for selling your $25 product, and keep $3 for myself. So I'll pay you $9 for every new customer I bring." Assuming it's the kind of business that typically sees recurring revenue and the expenses of servicing each new customer consists of little more than pushing electrons around, $9 for a new customer isn't too bad compared to whatever their current cost per acquisition is.
sushumna 15y ago
Though it appears to be marketing his products(competition at the end) and its associates like shopify,appsumo etc, it is informative for a novice like finding ideas, customers, validating etc...Its worth a read
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
pgstillsucks 15y ago
I am shocked, SHOCKED, that there is yet another article at the top of HN which plays on pressed nerd rage. If only there were some way to monetize with a loving helpful mentor who wishes nothing but the best for the most productuve years of my life!
azal 15y ago
Having personal talked with Noah, it makes sense on what he did or is asking others to do. I myself have ran and am running sites which bring in revenue. not on the $1MM scale but still some $. + replicating what AppSumo does is not that hard, you need a decent site with some deals on the page. The Deals you get by emailing entrepreneurs or devs of any product out there. There are many struggling devs and companies which would love to cut you a deal as far as they are getting sales and customers.
hmans 15y ago
You don't. That guy didn't.
ofca 15y ago
I hate when they oversimplify entrepreneurship and pitch us all these easy 'earn 1.000.000$' schemes. (especially when it's acompanied with ego-trippin') I love when they demistify entrepreneurship and give some insight in how to start. (especially when a concrete marketing advice is give) Overall as with all posts on Tim's blog - they are generally great. Just, take them with a grain of salt.
nickswan 15y ago
The steps are good, the title is link bait. I know you want to encourage people to stop complaining and get starting, and it can sometimes be that easy, but it's a lot of hard work over the next 12 months even if you prove your idea works and I feel some of these types of articles forget to mention that.
akamaka 15y ago
I clicked on this article expecting to have a laugh, considering the linkbait title and the website it's on. But I was impressed. The article nicely introduces ideas like customer validation and minimum viable prototypes in a way most people could easily understand. Well done!
rumblestrut 15y ago
I'm so confused. Can I create a million-dollar business in a weekend or not? Because I read "Reboot. Relaunch. Redesign. Pivot. Sunset. Shutter. The Knack, a web app, story," and it sounds like building a business is work. (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3024147 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3024147) </s>
ShawnJG 15y ago
Link bait and sensationalism aside, there are definitely some good pointers in the article. Treat the article like an apple eat all the good parts and leave the core stems and seeds. The point is to motivate you to get started with your idea. Where they able to condense it into a weekend or week using the analytic tools that's mentioned in the article is never a bad idea.
synnik 15y ago
Oh, all you have to do is write a million dollar product and find a million dollars worth of customers? Is that all? This is old advice. From Steve Martin. On SNL: "How to make a million dollars: First, get a million dollars." - Steve Martin
- pmf 15y ago
  This isnt even funny. Its just "make a product for some existing market" rather than "make a market for some product", wich obviously dosnt work, Actually this isn't that obvious you know... hello dot-com bubble.
faitswulff 15y ago
Biggest ommission: How to build/code/produce your product.

124 points by frankdenbow 15y ago

mmaunder 15y ago

43 minutes and no comment?

jnorthrop 15y ago
I only made it through a quarter of the article. I found the tone arrogant and felt like I was being talked down to. The pictures of a woman in lingerie on the sidebar capped it off.
- athom 15y ago
  I read this, and thought, it's GOT to be Timothy Ferriss. Sure enough, I see the site is fourhourworkweek.com, just after I've clicked the link. My favorite line is in the photo caption: "He also looks great in orange." That may come in handy for him in the near future, if he's not careful.
- wyclif 15y ago
  You must not be familiar with Tim Ferriss.

guelo 15y ago

I'm sure I don't know why this article reminds me of this, but totally off topic: Does anyone else remember get rich quick magazines back in the day? They were tons of fun! Every page was full of possibilities. I remember as a kid trying to get into mail envelope ponzi schemes. It was all about how to figure out the scam and improve on it. Taught me how to love to hustle.

hugh3 15y ago
No, but I do remember Mad Magazine making fun of get rich quick schemes! If every kid grew up on a diet of satire, they might grow up to be less gullible.

ig1 15y ago

You should be very careful if you're selling something you don't have, you almost certainly violate the terms of your payment provider and depending on where you live you might be committing fraud.

nikcub 15y ago
It is against most merchant rules (and PayPal) to process a complete transaction without the product or service being immediately available. For pre-orders, you can collect card information and authorizations, but you can only charge when the product or service is delivered. PayPal doesn't support that at all (it is messy) Even with pre-orders the condition usually is that you need to deliver within 30 or 60 days (depends on the merchant). It is definitely not a good idea to collect money with the promise of a product in the future. This is why Kickstarter, GroupOn etc. only charge cards later on, and make it clear to users with disclaimers.
swombat 15y ago
You don't have to actually sell. If you don't have a product yet, just build a mock payment page and check how many people get to the end - and never charge them.
- ig1 15y ago
  The article suggests actually taking money from people.
  - swombat 15y ago
    The article presents a context where there is a product there to sell already (a discounted imgur membership).
- thenomad 15y ago
  An idea I just thought of on that front - instead of the usual bland "we cannot fulfil the order at this time" end to a dry-test, send people to a 404-alike page with a contact email. You can track conversions by watching the clickthroughs, but as an added bonus, if people subsequently email going "your site's broken! Where can I buy?" you know they really want your product

dirkdeman 15y ago

I found the article to be hands-on, and a good insight in the MO of a successful entrepeneur. It doesn't have to take cutting edge technology or thousands lines of code to make it big. On the other hand, the majority of folks here are hackers, so maybe the article is barking at the wrong tree here...

nikcub 15y ago

As an entrepreneur I really don't identify with this world of self-help books, overnight entrepreneurs, 10-point checklists to success and how to become a millionaire in a weekend.

zalew 15y ago
yeah, sometimes the frontpage on HN looks like a motivational tape from the 90s
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
freshfey 15y ago
Judging from your comment, you haven't read past the title, have you? Because there are actually quite good starting points for some people who don't know where to start. The title is pure link bait though
- hugh3 15y ago
  I'm gonna flag it for this reason. Come back to us when you're using sensible titles, Mr Ferris.
hugh3 15y ago
The best part is that if you ever do manage to build a million-dollar business, nobody will be impressed any more. "Oh, I heard you could do that in one weekend just by building a website to sell some crap."
pmf 15y ago
As a businessman I really don't identify with this world of entrepreneur snobs who don't read shit and critiquize everything they see. The funnny thing is that you say that you don't like overnight succes but you write for TechCrunch. By the way, if you dont like checklist I have something for you http://www.amazon.com/Seeking-Wisdom-Darwin-Munger-3rd/dp/1578644283/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316873922&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/Seeking-Wisdom-Darwin-Munger-3rd/dp/15... Sorry for my bad english.

sneak 15y ago

Am I the only one tired of single-purpose a/b-tested-to-death webpages that sell only one thing in loud marketing-speak? I'm a businessman myself, so I'm glad someone out there is making a living for themselves, but I truly tire of these sorts of eyesore sites on the web.

llii 15y ago

I don't get entirley what he did to validate his idea for AppSumo. He got 200 new customers for imgur which pay 25$/year (to imgur) and he payed imgur 3$/user for this? Didn't he loose money then?

anthony_franco 15y ago
No I think Noah got a $3 commission for each sale. So he earned $600 from selling 200 accounts.
biot 15y ago
The sales pitch is probably what threw you off. "I'll pay you to bring you new customers" is the pitch, but the detail is likely more along the lines of Groupon's deals: "I'll charge $12 for selling your $25 product, and keep $3 for myself. So I'll pay you $9 for every new customer I bring." Assuming it's the kind of business that typically sees recurring revenue and the expenses of servicing each new customer consists of little more than pushing electrons around, $9 for a new customer isn't too bad compared to whatever their current cost per acquisition is.

sushumna 15y ago

Though it appears to be marketing his products(competition at the end) and its associates like shopify,appsumo etc, it is informative for a novice like finding ideas, customers, validating etc...Its worth a read

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

pgstillsucks 15y ago

I am shocked, SHOCKED, that there is yet another article at the top of HN which plays on pressed nerd rage. If only there were some way to monetize with a loving helpful mentor who wishes nothing but the best for the most productuve years of my life!

azal 15y ago

Having personal talked with Noah, it makes sense on what he did or is asking others to do. I myself have ran and am running sites which bring in revenue. not on the $1MM scale but still some $. + replicating what AppSumo does is not that hard, you need a decent site with some deals on the page. The Deals you get by emailing entrepreneurs or devs of any product out there. There are many struggling devs and companies which would love to cut you a deal as far as they are getting sales and customers.

hmans 15y ago

You don't. That guy didn't.

ofca 15y ago

I hate when they oversimplify entrepreneurship and pitch us all these easy 'earn 1.000.000$' schemes. (especially when it's acompanied with ego-trippin') I love when they demistify entrepreneurship and give some insight in how to start. (especially when a concrete marketing advice is give) Overall as with all posts on Tim's blog - they are generally great. Just, take them with a grain of salt.

nickswan 15y ago

The steps are good, the title is link bait. I know you want to encourage people to stop complaining and get starting, and it can sometimes be that easy, but it's a lot of hard work over the next 12 months even if you prove your idea works and I feel some of these types of articles forget to mention that.

akamaka 15y ago

I clicked on this article expecting to have a laugh, considering the linkbait title and the website it's on. But I was impressed. The article nicely introduces ideas like customer validation and minimum viable prototypes in a way most people could easily understand. Well done!

rumblestrut 15y ago

I'm so confused. Can I create a million-dollar business in a weekend or not? Because I read "Reboot. Relaunch. Redesign. Pivot. Sunset. Shutter. The Knack, a web app, story," and it sounds like building a business is work. (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3024147 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3024147) </s>

ShawnJG 15y ago

Link bait and sensationalism aside, there are definitely some good pointers in the article. Treat the article like an apple eat all the good parts and leave the core stems and seeds. The point is to motivate you to get started with your idea. Where they able to condense it into a weekend or week using the analytic tools that's mentioned in the article is never a bad idea.

synnik 15y ago

Oh, all you have to do is write a million dollar product and find a million dollars worth of customers? Is that all? This is old advice. From Steve Martin. On SNL: "How to make a million dollars: First, get a million dollars." - Steve Martin

pmf 15y ago
This isnt even funny. Its just "make a product for some existing market" rather than "make a market for some product", wich obviously dosnt work, Actually this isn't that obvious you know... hello dot-com bubble.

faitswulff 15y ago

Biggest ommission: How to build/code/produce your product.