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What's your story? Why start Balsamiq?
- run4yourlives 18y agoThis is an excellent perspective from a single founder (with child, no less) that will be helpful for bootstrappers. On top of all that, the product seems pretty cool.
- aditya 18y agoAlong with the fact that he managed to make it work even though he's not in a startup hub. balsamiq is a dream startup!
- zhyder 18y agoIf you don't need investors or cofounders/employees, there is no advantage to a startup hub. You could live anywhere with an Internet connection and a (VoIP) phone. In fact in such a situation it makes sense to live in an area with lower cost of living, as Balsamiq's founder is doing.
- robfitz 18y agoit's easy to slip out of startup mode when nobody around you is doing it. peer pressure & constant exposure help a lot. you certainly can do it, and the perks you mentioned are spot on, but i've always found it harder to stay motivated when not around startuppy people.
- zhyder 18y agoCofounders exert a lot of peer pressure. I'd be surprised if being in physical proximity to other startuppy friends generally matters much, considering we do some of that interaction online (HN/Facebook/email/etc.) anyway.
- davidw 18y ago> area with lower cost of living Bologna is not a cheap place to live, although IIRC maybe he had some help with the apartment, which would be a big contribution. Italy in general is pretty expensive these days, especially considering the salaries.
- volida 18y agoI think readwriteweb.com is looking for these stories... http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/web_20_gritty_entrepreneur.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/web_20_gritty_entrepren...
- shafqat 18y agoEverytime I hear this guy's story, I get more impressed. He was actually one of the guys I had in mind when I wrote my post on why its a good time to be in a startup. Talk about capital efficiency! http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=332527 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=332527
- rrival 18y agoI am a very happy user of Balsamiq. I was able to deliver 20+ rough wireframes in about 6 hours using its interface. It would've taken significantly longer in OmniGraffle and we've been able to use them cross platform b/c of AIR. A++ would do business with again.
- jamongkad 18y agoIs OmniGraffle like Balsamiq? I though they're apps attacking different problems..
- rrival 18y agoAt an early stage of requirements gathering they're complementary for wireframes. Revisions/UI specs will be fleshed out in Omnigraffle for greater precision later, but that's after we've iterated with client in Balsamiq, which is what it makes so easy.
- djm 18y agoAn inspiring story. I want to know how that guy managed to actually see his laptop screen whilst coding on the beach in the sun.
- michaelneale 18y agoI have done it with my mac book pro - the screen seems to cope well with bright light environments.
- volida 18y agowith some help from the palm tree?
- zhyder 18y agoOne trick is to completely turn off the backlight (can be done on MBPs), and treat the display as a reflective screen. It isn't perfect: looks almost as washed out as with max brightness on the backlight, but without the battery drain. Definitely an inspiring story with Balsamiq, though I do also see it as competition to Dabbleboard, so -ahem- you know where my loyalties lie.
- davi 18y agoThis from Atlassian on Balsamiq: http://blogs.atlassian.com/news/2008/10/quit_your_job_a.html http://blogs.atlassian.com/news/2008/10/quit_your_job_a.html