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This reads like something I could've wrote. Built a bunch of apps, launched none. Always feels like there are more features left to complete, and eventually I g
by JSavageOne 3y ago
This reads like something I could've wrote. Built a bunch of apps, launched none. Always feels like there are more features left to complete, and eventually I get bored and/or jump to some other idea that looks more promising.
I think part of it is also fear of rejection. Easier to tell nobody then to put yourself out there.
And as much as I like to think I don't care about money, I think the reality is that it's hard to keep plugging away on some side project if there's no financial incentive (I speak as someone who's not financially independent, maybe not having to worry about money would change things).
Might as well list my most recent unlaunched side projects
- MindGarden.app (currently sitting at yume.fyi, and I need to redo the landing page). Basically started off as an attempt to make a Notion clone that I plan to open source, where users can publish folders of documents (eg. into a blog). But there's always more work to do (eg. bare minimum would be end-to-end encryption, proper image support, endless list of random bugs / unfinished work, and then there's extra stuff like multiplayer support, desktop app, etc.). Hard to stay motivated to keep at it when I don't see any potential for it to make money since it's basically an inferior Notion.
- zsync.xyz - Reddit / HN where my primary goal is that comment quality be high, and posts can be separated by tags. Put some minor UX modifications to try to incentivize that, and was going to put in some token incentives before the bear market and not finding a good strategy around that that can't just be gamed. But in any case I realized there's a massive chicken and egg problem with this kind of site so got bored and stopped working on it without even posting it anywhere.
- nomadz.app - A crowdsourced map of cafes that are good for working, where people can rate them by wifi speed, power outlets, etc. Didn't post it anywhere because it's kind of crap, and I realized it's probably not worthwhile to continue working on it. I still think something like this could be very valuable (I've been nomadic the last 5 years working out of coffee shops so finding good work cafes is a big deal for me), but of all the possible things I could be working on I can't rank this towards the top.
I'll try to put in the last mile to get mindgarden.app to a launchable state.
Of course now my side project attention is focused on a new app I'm building. I think this new app has more obvious utility, though would be difficult to monetize. But will do my best to actually finish and launch it!
- SyneRyder 3y agoFriendly "don't make my mistake" suggestion - skip the nomadz.app. I tried building exactly that over a decade ago. I have seen many others build it over the years. There's even someone else on HN who made something very similar (but with grander vision), and independently came up with exactly the same name I did! Cool people though. I believe they got VC funding for it, launched on web & iOS, but it still didn't survive beyond 2 years. It's an itch many of us have, but there might just be better ways to solve it. Instead of searching for places with the best WiFi & Power, just bring your own mobile hotspot & external phone battery, and even a portable laptop battery if you really need power (eg Hyper made a 100W airplane-friendly battery that can drive a laptop & recharge it twice over & even supported Apple's proprietary MagSafe connections). You still need to find the cafes & when they're open, but that's largely solved by Google Maps or asking on Nomad List. (Also worth asking, why isn't this a feature built-in to Nomad List?!) I don't want to dissuade you from launching, it's already hard enough to stay positive about projects (and this is a thread about Fear Of Shipping after all!) Maybe you can succeed where others haven't! But maybe talking about a project openly is useful, because then others can find the holes in the plan before you expend too much effort, and you can be more quantitative about fixing those holes or discovering that it's an unprofitable idea.