5 ms·

I can build enterprise software but I can't charge for it

167 points by echend 11mo ago

ahmadss 11mo ago
why enterprise? why not consumer? can you monetize via crypto?
- malfist 11mo ago
  Are you really suggesting crypto so people can bypass sanctions?
  - tbrownaw 11mo ago
    Isn't evading pesky legal restrictions pretty much the entire point of cryptocoins? Sanctions, capital controls, banned substances, ransoms ...
  - system2 11mo ago
    Yes? Isn't it the purpose of crypto to avoid centralized restrictions? The person can still pay taxes by declaring it. Either way, when he turns crypto into fiat, he will have to explain its origin to his government and eventually pay taxes.
  - 8note 11mo ago
    dont ask dont tell a major crypto usecase is terrorist financing/sanctions avoidance
- echend 11mo ago
  Great question. Why enterprise: B2B customers pay $500-5000/month. Consumer would be $10-50/month. I need fewer customers to survive. Why not crypto: Tried that. B2B accounting departments won't pay recurring subscriptions in Bitcoin. Too volatile, compliance issues. Consumer crypto payments might work but harder to scale. The honest answer: I built what I knew how to build (enterprise infrastructure) without validating the market first. Classic founder mistake (see avandekleut's comment above - they're right).
lykahb 11mo ago
Is this a request to bypass the sanctions?
- worik 11mo ago
  Yes. Good.
- echend 11mo ago
  No, I'm not asking anyone to bypass sanctions. I'm looking for a partner/co-founder OUTSIDE Iran who would: - Register a US/UK company (legally) - Open their own Stripe account (under their name/company) - I work as a remote contractor/technical co-founder (legal, like any distributed team) This is the same model as any international startup with founders in different countries. I'm not hiding my location - I'm openly saying "I'm in Iran, need a partner elsewhere." If this violates HN guidelines, mods can remove it. Not trying to do anything illegal.
  - Aurornis 11mo ago
    > No, I'm not asking anyone to bypass sanctions. > I'm looking for a partner/co-founder OUTSIDE Iran who would: - Register a US/UK company (legally) - Open their own Stripe account (under their name/company) - I work as a remote contractor/technical co-founder (legal, like any distributed team) This is a clear and direct sanctions violation. What you are requesting is very illegal.
    - cellis 11mo ago
      ChatGPT does not offer a clear indication that it is blatantly illegal, though the amount of legal risk is high enough that it might as well be.
      - MrMorden 11mo ago
        ChatGPT isn't even a search engine, let alone a lawyer.
kevmo314 11mo ago
I don’t get it. I clicked the demo link but there’s nothing to try, only a home page with some AI generated images? Even if this were legal it feels like a pitch for a scam…
- echend 11mo ago
  https://ps.neoclerks.com:8451/player.html?ss=f2ee51d8-2ea3-4a78-90db-70baf228d551&userid=c8e7d662-9880-405d-94d7-492141cd8da0&autoConnect=1&mic=1&KeyboardInput=false&MouseInput=false&TouchInput=false&GamepadInput=false&flow_type=conversational_ai_fast&voice=sage&response_style=balanced&language=auto&tts_service=openai&complexity_mode=auto&enable_body_animation=false&session_timeout_minutes=2592000 https://ps.neoclerks.com:8451/player.html?ss=f2ee51d8-2ea3-4...
- paxys 11mo ago
  AI generated home page. AI generated images. No demo. Comments full of AI-translated English. Either this is a scam or an FBI honeypot.
syspec 11mo ago
Me: I built this insane 3D multilingual AI avatar platform with real-time conversation, full enterprise stack, 47 languages, and Unreal Engine You: Can bypass US Treasury sanctions and open a Stripe account
- defen 11mo ago
  It does pattern match to the Spanish Prisoner scam, with extra FinCEN violations thrown in.
  - DetroitThrow 11mo ago
    He does have a LinkedIn, and his GH user has a real looking GitHub pages site associated with it. Please don't violate US Treasury dep sanctions just to be a founder for a business with 0 customer validation, you might as well be helping a Nigerian prince. Seek counsel with a lawyer versed on this first, rather than the HN comments section or your own exuberance.
  - wbl 11mo ago
    An extra reason for the victim not to go to the cops!
- echend 11mo ago
  Ha, fair. Yeah, the skills mismatch is real. I can build distributed systems with 4-server architecture, but I can't open a Stripe account. That's literally the post. "I'm good at X, terrible at Y (geography), need someone who has Y." If you know anyone who's great at sales but wishes they had a technical co-founder, send them my way :)
  - DetroitThrow 11mo ago
    It's a very unique cofounder pitch! I hope you bootstrap this idea as far as you can. You should encourage any potential founder to talk with a lawyer, though, too!
  - pixl97 11mo ago
DiabloD3 11mo ago
He's Iranian. Github is most likely going to delete his account due to sanctions. Weird to just announce that publicly.
- echend 11mo ago
  You're right, that's a risk. GitHub has deleted Iranian accounts before under OFAC compliance. My calculus: Being transparent about my situation is better than hiding it. If they delete my account, at least I tried. The alternative is pretending I'm somewhere else, which feels worse and creates legal risk for anyone who partners with me. Open to suggestions on better approaches.
- ankit_mishra 11mo ago
  From what I can tell looking at the website they are hoping to have made enough returns by the time it's taken down
hamonrye 11mo ago
[dead]
avandekleut 11mo ago
As a technical founder I empathize with the authors situation and approach, but honestly spending that much time and energy on a product before even getting one sign up is a known failure mode.
- echend 11mo ago
  Fair point - I should have made it clearer. The demo is at https://ps.neoclerks.com:8451/player.html?ss=f2ee51d8-2ea3-4a78-90db-70baf228d551&userid=c8e7d662-9880-405d-94d7-492141cd8da0&autoConnect=1&mic=1&KeyboardInput=false&MouseInput=false&TouchInput=false&GamepadInput=false&flow_type=conversational_ai_fast&voice=sage&response_style=balanced&language=auto&tts_service=openai&complexity_mode=auto&enable_body_animation=false&session_timeout_minutes=2592000&token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJjOGU3ZDY2Mi05ODgwLTQwNWQtOTRkNy00OTIxNDFjZDhkYTAiLCJ1c2VybmFtZSI6ImF2dmEiLCJlbWFpbCI6IiIsInJvbGUiOiJ1c2VyIiwiZXhwIjoxNzYyOTQ0ODg4LCJpYXQiOjE3NjI4NTg0ODgsInR5cGUiOiJhY2Nlc3MifQ.ausQodNXGj63Tj4BcffLMg8GA4GFYcm9LCRP8bD3rEc https://ps.neoclerks.com:8451/player.html?ss=f2ee51d8-2ea3-4... scan the QR code with your phone, and your phone becomes the microphone. The avatar responds on screen. Known limitation: Running on my GTX 1060 in Iran with 4G internet, so international latency might be rough. The code itself handles 100-300ms on proper infrastructure. I get the scam concern given the circumstances. Happy to do a live Zoom walkthrough if you're seriously interested in verifying this is real.
  - TZubiri 11mo ago
    I don't think I need to tell hacker news this, but don't scan that qr code with phone. The only way HN is going to do that is by opening that link with either a js disabled browser and then opening the qr with a sandboxed android emulator.
    - echend 11mo ago
      you can also open a URL with another tab press F12 and open the STT page URL and you have both the avatar and the STT page (where you use it as microphone) on the same computer without the need of phone, this design was to eliminate the need of microphone and setup user base sessions and control it in kiosk like environments
poly2it 11mo ago
Is this the best idea you could've put your time on? Maybe I don't see the vision, but I have no idea who would by this or for what. AI/slop is cheap and luxury brands will only lean further away from it.
- echend 11mo ago
  okay imagine a holographic avatar like in sci-fi movies, do you have the same feelings about that too?
ravenical 11mo ago
Interesting definition of "photorealistic". Link to the site in question: https://neoclerks.com/en/ https://neoclerks.com/en/
- paulddraper 11mo ago
  Seems realistic to me
nickphx 11mo ago
Do people actually want such a service? What part of interacting with a touch screen displaying an animated character, high end or luxury?
- jsheard 11mo ago
  Yeah, this type of blatant corner-cutting seems like the exact opposite of what luxury brands would want to represent them.
  - jerlam 11mo ago
    People will pay more money specifically to _not_ interact with AI, just as they do now when they avoid phone or offshore support. It is already the hallmark of luxury to have a large staff of actual people willing to help you.
- dclowd9901 11mo ago
  I think OP is sitting on some other product here that he hasn't figured out yet. It definitely isn't in the high-end luxury retail space, but it might be in B2C, think Home assistant or something akin.
- echend 11mo ago
  the web site was just a test, this product could be really usefull in some places, I'm still trying to find it, do you guys really have any opinion where such product would be usefull? I thought a lot, I tested with luxury for tech companies or hotels, hospitals, this could be really usefull when it comes to languages
ivraatiems 11mo ago
I am not a lawyer or diplomat or expert on trade, but I can make some general observations from an American/Western perspective: First, the sanctions on Iran are such that any partnership with an Iranian person for business reasons is effectively impossible in the West, without the resources of a multi-million or billion-dollar company to circumvent them. The author says "I am not looking for anyone to bypass sanctions" but that is very obviously exactly what they are asking for. Second, circumventing sanctions is illegal, and people regularly go to prison or are given massive monetary fines for this. OP, I don't question your motives, but you need to understand that people have literally gone to prison and lost their whole livelihoods for doing exactly what you are asking. Therefore, posting this on a Western platform (Github) and advertising it on a Western message board (HN) is unlikely to help. I don't think the author's intentions are poor; I think they may simply not understand the intensity of the legal regime that makes working with them impossible. There is also the matter of Westerners' general opinions on Iran, which - general attitudes of multiculturalism and tolerance nonwithstanding - is typically quite negative. The sanctions didn't come from nowhere. I would recommend the author look into partnerships with persons from countries that are more sympathetic to their situation. The ones with strong tech industries would be Russia, China, and India. Vietnam is another example of a country with some tech industry which also has mostly positive relationships with Western countries, these days. I realize this is not as attractive as the West, but there are good people even in places whose governments I may as a Westerner may not particularly like, and English is a lingua franca the world over. I'd strongly recommend those places as a starting point.
- echend 11mo ago
  Thank you for this thoughtful response. You're raising legitimate concerns I may not fully understand. Let me clarify my understanding (and please correct me if I'm wrong): My assumption was that a structure like this would be legal: - Partner in US/UK registers their own company - Opens Stripe under their company name - Hires me as a remote contractor (like any distributed team) - I hold equity as a foreign shareholder (which I thought was legal for non-US persons) Is your point that even this structure violates sanctions because I'm Iranian? Or that the risk/complexity makes it impractical for anyone without massive legal resources? I genuinely don't want anyone to break the law. If what I'm proposing is illegal even in the structure above, I need to understand that. Re: Russia/China/India - that's solid advice I hadn't seriously considered. Russia and China have their own complexities, but India makes a lot of sense. Do you know if Indian tech companies face similar restrictions when working with Iranians, or is it more open? I appreciate you taking the time to explain this clearly rather than just dismissing it. If the Western partnership path is genuinely impossible (not just hard), I need to know that.
KomoD 11mo ago
> Go ahead. Talk to the avatar for 2 minutes. Ask it anything in English. Watch how it responds in real-time with synchronized lip movements and natural conversation. There's nothing. > The product works. You just tested it. I didn't, there's nothing to try.
- echend 11mo ago
  You're absolutely right, and I apologize for the confusion. The demo is a single-session system (designed for hotel lobby kiosks where one person uses it at a time). If someone else is talking to the avatar when you visit, you won't see a QR code. Here's a direct link you can try: https://ps.neoclerks.com:8451/player.html?ss=f2ee51d8-2ea3-4a78-90db-70baf228d551&userid=c8e7d662-9880-405d-94d7-492141cd8da0&autoConnect=1&mic=1&KeyboardInput=false&MouseInput=false&TouchInput=false&GamepadInput=false&flow_type=conversational_ai_fast&voice=sage&response_style=balanced&language=auto&tts_service=openai&complexity_mode=auto&enable_body_animation=false&session_timeout_minutes=2592000&token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJjOGU3ZDY2Mi05ODgwLTQwNWQtOTRkNy00OTIxNDFjZDhkYTAiLCJ1c2VybmFtZSI6ImF2dmEiLCJlbWFpbCI6IiIsInJvbGUiOiJ1c2VyIiwiZXhwIjoxNzYyOTQ0ODg4LCJpYXQiOjE3NjI4NTg0ODgsInR5cGUiOiJhY2Nlc3MifQ.ausQodNXGj63Tj4BcffLMg8GA4GFYcm9LCRP8bD3rEc https://ps.neoclerks.com:8451/player.html?ss=f2ee51d8-2ea3-4... If that's busy too, I'm happy to schedule a 15-min private demo. Email: EchenDeligani@gmail.com This single-user limitation is product design (kiosk model) not technical - production handles 10-50 concurrent users per GPU. I should have explained this upfront and provided multiple demo instances for HN traffic. My mistake - learning as I go here.
  - cush 11mo ago
    > You're absolutely right Is this botspam?
    - DetroitThrow 11mo ago
      This one also comes up from foreign language speakers using ChatGPT or Claude to translate their point, and then not trimming the GPTisms.
    - 11mo ago
Aurornis 11mo ago
> Test it first: neoclerks.com/en > Go ahead. Talk to the avatar for 2 minutes. Ask it anything in English. Watch how it responds in real-time with synchronized lip movements and natural conversation. > I'll be here when you get back. As far as I can tell, there is no live demo. There is a button to "book a private demo", but I can't find anything to try. Second: Unfortunately, this is a request to partner with someone who will violate sanctions for this person. Anyone considering entertaining this offer should be very clear on that fact. Acting as a proxy to monetize a business in a sanctioned country is not a position you want to be in. You take the legal risk, the other party gets the proceeds (until sanctions catch up). Any investors looking at this arrangement would nope right out of the conversation as soon as any of this was discovered. Thoughts and feelings about sanctions aside, this is not a position you want to put yourself in. If this is real then I feel sorry for the person, but given that this entire post is a direct ask for someone to violate international sanctions and the content of the website doesn't even match the description (no live demo) I think it's best to flag it. Would be sad if someone on HN felt guilty and got tricked into violating international sanctions over this post.
- echend 11mo ago
  You're absolutely right, and I apologize for the confusion. The demo is a single-session system (designed for hotel lobby kiosks where one person uses it at a time). If someone else is talking to the avatar when you visit, you won't see a QR code. Here's a direct link you can try: https://ps.neoclerks.com:8451/player.html?ss=7591aecb-72d2-4bf5-8606-418597c18b7b&userid=c8e7d662-9880-405d-94d7-492141cd8da0&autoConnect=1&mic=1&KeyboardInput=false&MouseInput=false&TouchInput=false&GamepadInput=false&flow_type=conversational_ai_fast&voice=sage&response_style=balanced&language=auto&tts_service=openai&complexity_mode=auto&enable_body_animation=false&session_timeout_minutes=2592000&token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJjOGU3ZDY2Mi05ODgwLTQwNWQtOTRkNy00OTIxNDFjZDhkYTAiLCJ1c2VybmFtZSI6ImF2dmEiLCJlbWFpbCI6IiIsInJvbGUiOiJ1c2VyIiwiZXhwIjoxNzYyOTQ0ODg4LCJpYXQiOjE3NjI4NTg0ODgsInR5cGUiOiJhY2Nlc3MifQ.ausQodNXGj63Tj4BcffLMg8GA4GFYcm9LCRP8bD3rEc https://ps.neoclerks.com:8451/player.html?ss=7591aecb-72d2-4... If that's busy too, I'm happy to schedule a 15-min private demo. Email: EchenDeligani@gmail.com This single-user limitation is product design (kiosk model) not technical - production handles 10-50 concurrent users per GPU. I should have explained this upfront and provided multiple demo instances for HN traffic. My mistake - learning as I go here.
tomr75 11mo ago
use USD denominated stablecoins on a permissionless blockchain (any layer 2 ethereum network like arbritrum) or a ZK L2 ...
- echend 11mo ago
  Thank you, noted
cantalopes 11mo ago
Man thats a lot of hard work and an impressive peoduct that is in my opinion very competitive in b2b. I wish it works out with the difficult situation
- echend 11mo ago
  means a lot thank you very much
zacksiri 11mo ago
I feel for this guy, I really do. I see comments like "is this a request to bypass sanctions" OR "he's iranian" Let's remind ourselves of the following: - First understand that he didn't choose to be born and raised in Iran. - Second people grow up have families become attached to where they're born it's not easy to just 'pick up and leave' moving to a new country is expensive and extremely difficult especially from countries like Iran. - Third he's building something he believes in which is probably better than most people who live in privileged countries who sit around and do nothing. To me this reads like a plea for help. He's built something and showing it to the world, if someone likes it and wants to fund him / get him out of Iran, so he can pursue his dreams AND have the people who help him benefit along with him. I'm sure he'll be all for that.
- bawolff 11mo ago
  That might all be true, but it doesn't change the reality of the situation. Through no fault of his own, he's in a shitty situation. Failing to acknowledge that helps nobody.
  - zacksiri 11mo ago
    No one is failing to acknowledge that he's in a shitty situation. That's precisely the point of my post. It also doesn't mean he cannot be helped.
- Aurornis 11mo ago
  Having empathy for people is good. Letting that empathy lead you into violating international sanctions to funnel money to a sanctioned country is decidedly not a good idea. Requesting that other people sign up for Stripe accounts and send you the money in violation of sanctions is bad. The other person risks extreme legal consequences including prison sentences for deliberately and openly violating sanctions. The comments are a warning to anyone who might feel compelled to do what is being asked, without realizing the specific request is a serious legal matter that can come with prison terms measured in decades. > I see comments like "is this a request to bypass sanctions" Did you read the Gist he posted? It was a direct request for someone to help him bypass sanctions.
rubyn00bie 11mo ago
I see a lot of negativity in this thread and I’m not sure why… There are a LOT of folks who prowl HN and some of them obviously have incredible access to resources and connections to figure out a way to accomplish if they were so inclined. Yes there are obvious hurdles for people in “the west,” but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. I think the most obvious question is, would the OP relocate to another country if they were able to get a work visa? If yes, then sufficiently connected people, could absolutely make that happen. It would also immediately fix the issues around export sanctions. That’s in no way saying anyone could make it happen, but I have zero doubt that someone who could prowls HN. There are many ways to having this occur legally, and I think it’s a bit unfair to immediately say this is completely and utterly illegal with no possible way to make it work. If anything, I’d expect the folks who prowl HN to be the exact kind of people to find a way to do it (without violating sanctions or facing jail time). Addendum: I personally think this is cool, but I lack the resources to tackle the immediate problems or help bring it to market. I’d encourage the rest of you to offer meaningfully critiques or advice. Simply shouting “sanctions!” into the ether is neither of those. Those are a given and based on the replies from the OP thus far (which have all been downvoted to hell for no reason) they seem incredibly sincere. They’re just trying to figure out what they even can do and/or what possibilities even exist. Good luck to the OP. This seems like a labor of love and I hope you find a way to make it work.
- Aurornis 11mo ago
  > I see a lot of negativity in this thread and I’m not sure why… Because it's a request for someone to violate sanctions for them. They are specifically asking for someone to set up Stripe, take on the legal risk of violating international sanctions, and forward the money to them. > Yes there are obvious hurdles for people in “the west,” but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. The "it" that is being requested is not about relocation, though. It's a direct ask to violate sanctions to sign up for services that must enforce sanctions.
  - dangus 11mo ago
    And it’s an obvious social engineering scam. Urgency, pleading for empathy, having the most destitute-sounding story of all time. Did he really lose all his life savings to this project? How do we know that?
IlikeKitties 11mo ago
> can't monetize this from Iran: > Stripe, PayPal, Western payment processors (sanctioned) > AWS, GCP, Azure (sanctioned) > Western bank account (sanctioned) > Credit card payments from customers (no processor works here) Good. That's the whole point of economic sanctions.
moomoo11 11mo ago
scam. weaponized empathy.
- echend 11mo ago
  That’s not my intention. I’d like to understand where this is coming from.
ankit_mishra 11mo ago
OP's account was made an hour ago and comments from it are suspiciously fast (and unnecessarily verbose). https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=echend https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=echend This is an obvious scam, I don't know why I wasted this time double checking. Makes me sad that this it the top HN post. Also got me thinking if the technique is so effective here (among more-than-average-scam aware community), I don't want to imagine the success rate on other social media.
- mattm 11mo ago
  The whole Github page feels AI generated too. Working 120 hours per week for 9 months? Give me a break.
  - echend 11mo ago
    This is my website — you might recognize my name from the titles of some movies, too! https://echend.github.io/website/ https://echend.github.io/website/
- echend 11mo ago
  I understand the skepticism completely. How about this: I'll do a live Zoom session where I: - Deploy the entire stack locally - Walk through the code - Show the admin panel, monitoring, databases - Answer any technical questions - Prove this is real Schedule: [pick a time in next 24 hours] Zoom link: [create one] Anyone who's skeptical is welcome to join and grill me. If it's a scam, this should expose it quickly.
  - ankit_mishra 11mo ago
    [flagged]
iambateman 11mo ago
Thanks for sharing this. I can’t legally help you either but your story was meaningful for me. I have a ton of respect for Iranian folks and I hope the relations between our two countries can get better. Best of luck to you.
- echend 11mo ago
  Thank you very much, I appreciate it.
deleted 11mo ago
[deleted]
paxys 11mo ago
> Go ahead. Talk to the avatar for 2 minutes. Ask it anything in English. Watch how it responds in real-time with synchronized lip movements and natural conversation. I'll be here when you get back. Okay, but you linked to a generic landing page with a "Book a private demo" button. So what exactly does your product do? And why should anyone here be interested if you can't as much as post a video of it working?
wseqyrku 11mo ago
For starters, don't generate your pitch, brother.
- echend 11mo ago
  All good, brother
8note 11mo ago
move to canada; drop the iranian citizenship, and become active in anti-IRG groups. youll be all set
- echend 11mo ago
  hahaha, that is an idea! but I rather stay and get back my contry
kazinator 11mo ago
The AI scene is oversaturated. Every last huckster and shill is all AI this and AI that. Just standing out and getting noticed is a problem.
- echend 11mo ago
  I agree to some degree but I started learning about ai 16 years ago in university, there is just two things, it really helps now days for coding and the tech is getting better, about 3 years ago I could not create anything like this about 3 years ago.
caetris24 11mo ago
[dead]
nrhrjrjrjtntbt 11mo ago
Wonder if that is enough to get you a visa to a country where you can then launch?
- echend 11mo ago
  that is a good option :D
mhitza 11mo ago
From some brief research. The EU seem to have less strict sanctions against Iran, specifically for specific entities, people, and services. Telecommunication is one of those services. In theory you could get hired in an EU company that doesn't deal with an US company (for example an EU-only payment provider. If such a thing exists. (One can only hope GNU Taler will be it some day)). Though the compliance requirements might not be easy and cost you a bit to get some layers involved and fill out paperwork together with someone you'd convenie as your partner. I'd pursue this avenue of research further if I'd where you, or another country wherein the US sanctions aren't a real factor. Best of all would be if you'd be able to emigrate and become a resident of a non sanctioned country.
cameldrv 11mo ago
[flagged]
- echend 11mo ago
  https://echend.github.io/website https://echend.github.io/website https://www.linkedin.com/in/echen-deligani/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/echen-deligani/ https://echen.artstation.com/resume https://echen.artstation.com/resume https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9062356/ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9062356/
  - gus_massa 11mo ago
    If you ever post again, I recommend to add: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9062356/ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9062356/ (It looks difficult to fake. You are a human!) https://echend.github.io/website/#works https://echend.github.io/website/#works (A few nice old projects! People like to see a few real projects.) Sorry I can't help. Good luck!
- paxys 11mo ago
  [flagged]
gowld 11mo ago
It's only natural that someone promoting an AI-slop-as-a-service should be suspected to be AI-slop itself. "Meet HAVVA. The new face of luxury brand" 1. The AI couldn't even grammat-check a half-sentence. 2. Who wants to buy from a "luxury brand" that's uncanny valley AI slop? Why are all 3 options, "pay this person $30K+" ? Option 1: Co-Founder Partnership: You invest: $50-80k + handle sales/operations/Stripe access Option 2: Outright Sale + Long-Term Contract: You pay: $60-80k upfront (full code ownership, all IP rights) Option 3: Revenue Share Partnership: You invest: $30-50k upfront + Stripe access + sales/marketing Where's the option "You run my system, and send me X% of the revenue" ?
- echend 11mo ago
  the question is what this product is and what it can do! you should more think of future, maybe at current time is not as good as human but it will get there, and all I'm doing is trying to find the best fit for this.
komali2 11mo ago
Look to the PRC, unfortunately your country exists in a separate world economy from the American hegemony one. Nobody here can help you and in fact I think GitHub and YC may be required to ban your account once they become aware you're Iranian. It's so flagrantly stupid and imo a violation of human rights to so utterly restrict the citizens of both our countries from freely doing business with each other but that's how it is right now.
- echend 11mo ago
  I don't know what to say really but I always said loudly I'm from Iran, and to be honest everything I do is with tech that is out side of Iran, probably Iran never could get any near to such techs in hundred years the way the current goverment is acting. but I like the tech a lot and I'm Iranian :D
gverrilla 11mo ago
Hello friend, Considering this all to be truthful, it seems you have fallen for the startup mythology - I know because I have been there too. Maybe you can make it work, who knows, but the chances are slim - even more because of your nationality. Don't all-in in this, protect yourself and your family. Don't believe those hard-working startup stories, most of them in reality are really luck or contacts, nothing to do with hardwork, quality, strategy, etc. And there's people profiteering over believers like you... I won't even comment on the irony of an iranian citizen asking for help from the Silicon Valley - when did these people help you or your country, ever???????? Best of luck
- echend 11mo ago
  Hi gverrilla, Thank you very much for your advice, living where I live is survival, I will try to do anything I can, but I made this and put a lots of times and effort, I really want to try to get is somewhere, I never thought of out side of Iran, but again paying for LLM in dollar and getting paid in the worse currency in the world will not work
petesergeant 11mo ago
Could you move to UAE and incorporate there? Your wife’s medical qualifications are likely valid, you’ll be close to home, and there are places there it’s possible to live cheaply. As long as it’s a genuine Emirati company rather than a front for an Iranian one, you should be fine?
- echend 11mo ago
  this is exactly one of the best options, but man, Iran is like that kid in school that nobody likes haha, and again I should get visa sponser, but no matter what I'm really carefull moving step by step, I made this and any chance to help me ship this for real clients I will jump on it
g-b-r 11mo ago
Off topic, but I've been wondering for years about people pricing things with a 7 in the end (497$, 597$, 197$...) Every "web marketing" person I ran into does it, it comes from that environment? It's something considered to result in more sales, or maybe a way to signal that you're connected to some web marketing guru?
- echend 11mo ago
  I don't now ask claude :D
renewiltord 11mo ago
Tough. But I suppose it means the sanctions are working. The shortest way out is island nation golden passport plus renunciation of Iranian citizenship plus incorporation in Dubai and then get going. Rough because startup cost is $250k. Well, you have a story to tell a VC. It'll be tough, though. None of the A listers will risk this.
SanjayMehta 11mo ago
OP should try to move to another country. Maybe Dubai.
didip 11mo ago
Anyone can build anything, it’s the selling that is hard. You need runways for momentum to even begin.
- echend 11mo ago
  Agreed
echend 11mo ago
Thank you very much for booking, this way I can manage and share the demo with everyone, as the gpu server is my own local computer. and I have more that 50 request now so please bare with me
echend 11mo ago
but if the email is not valid I can not share the link
IntrepidPig 11mo ago
[flagged]
- echend 11mo ago
  I think this is good that I should prove it, I now about 80 percent of anything in internet now days is fake, but can you find any scam project that offers real test demo (send me email and I send you a link pixelstreaming front-end in which you see real-time streaming and can talk to avatar EchenDeligani@gmail.com) or any zoom call so I can walk you through the project, or any one which specialy focuces on persain language
retrocog 11mo ago
Pivot and find a means to re-purpose the core stack towards a use case that solves problems at an acceptable price point for your local market? Iran has lots of problems to solve...
- echend 11mo ago
  I really thought about it too, but I'm a developer, and most of my life was working with a computer, this is the start for something bigger I hope in future will help my people too.
htx619 11mo ago
[dead]
BrenBarn 11mo ago
I feel for the person, but there's a part of me that also wonders why they spent 18 months on this without first doing a small bit of preparatory due diligence to see what the endgame was going to be.
Tiberium 11mo ago
100-120 hour working weeks sound implausible and very exaggerated. If you are actually working for that long, you should probably stop. Zero customers after 18 months is also not a very good look. """ This is AI-validated, production-grade code. You can verify this yourself: open Claude Code, point it at the repository, ask it to audit for production readiness. It will confirm. """ I'm sorry, but you should seriously reconsider putting up statements like this. If anything, people will be put off by you claiming that the code is production ready because it's been "AI validated" by Claude (which in reality is often extremely shallow, something like GPT-5 in Codex is way more thorough). Also, the project cost estimates of $150k-$220k are also way off because Claude cannot make realistic estimations, and because it wrote most of that code anyway. P.S: We can't 'verify' anything with Claude Code because the repo is closed source. P.P.S: I asked Claude to analyze this blog post, since you wrote the blog post with Claude, and it said: > This is a technical demo looking for a business, not a business looking for a partner. Plus > The entire narrative structure (war, bombs, wife working, mother asking about jobs, crypto hack) is designed to generate sympathy and urgency. This is a sales technique, not business due diligence.
- echend 11mo ago
  the facts all are true, the way AI helped me compose it to make it like movie I really see it not as manipulation, just a good story telling.
- echend 11mo ago
  you might also know that LLM works on probability so if you ask it again it might reponce something else. but use claude for coding its amazing, I started to code 22 years ago, belive me not using AI for coding its like going back to when poeple used horses instead of cars. but if you are interested send me an email (echendeligani@gmail.com) and I will share you the link to talk to the avatar and test it. or book a private demo at website NeoClerks.com/en with proper email so I can send you the link
analog8374 11mo ago
[flagged]
- deleted 11mo ago
  [deleted]
Incipient 11mo ago
>from luxury hotels to flagship boutiques and fine art institutions. Also if I'm going to a luxury hotel, I sure as heck want to speak to a real damn person.
- echend 11mo ago
  noted, I think I'm missing that the real people in US are not what is in the news, imagine just being in tech news and AI 24/7, but again that was a test, mainly for my local areas, and definitly now I know not for the US
nodomain 11mo ago
Not sure if this raises trust. „Final months: Claude consistently said "deploy immediately, production-ready"“
satisfice 11mo ago
You don’t explain your test strategy. “188 automated tests” means absolutely nothing.

167 points by echend 11mo ago

ahmadss 11mo ago

why enterprise? why not consumer? can you monetize via crypto?

malfist 11mo ago
Are you really suggesting crypto so people can bypass sanctions?
- tbrownaw 11mo ago
  Isn't evading pesky legal restrictions pretty much the entire point of cryptocoins? Sanctions, capital controls, banned substances, ransoms ...
- system2 11mo ago
  Yes? Isn't it the purpose of crypto to avoid centralized restrictions? The person can still pay taxes by declaring it. Either way, when he turns crypto into fiat, he will have to explain its origin to his government and eventually pay taxes.
- 8note 11mo ago
  dont ask dont tell a major crypto usecase is terrorist financing/sanctions avoidance
echend 11mo ago
Great question. Why enterprise: B2B customers pay $500-5000/month. Consumer would be $10-50/month. I need fewer customers to survive. Why not crypto: Tried that. B2B accounting departments won't pay recurring subscriptions in Bitcoin. Too volatile, compliance issues. Consumer crypto payments might work but harder to scale. The honest answer: I built what I knew how to build (enterprise infrastructure) without validating the market first. Classic founder mistake (see avandekleut's comment above - they're right).

lykahb 11mo ago

Is this a request to bypass the sanctions?

worik 11mo ago
Yes. Good.
echend 11mo ago
No, I'm not asking anyone to bypass sanctions. I'm looking for a partner/co-founder OUTSIDE Iran who would: - Register a US/UK company (legally) - Open their own Stripe account (under their name/company) - I work as a remote contractor/technical co-founder (legal, like any distributed team) This is the same model as any international startup with founders in different countries. I'm not hiding my location - I'm openly saying "I'm in Iran, need a partner elsewhere." If this violates HN guidelines, mods can remove it. Not trying to do anything illegal.
- Aurornis 11mo ago
  > No, I'm not asking anyone to bypass sanctions. > I'm looking for a partner/co-founder OUTSIDE Iran who would: - Register a US/UK company (legally) - Open their own Stripe account (under their name/company) - I work as a remote contractor/technical co-founder (legal, like any distributed team) This is a clear and direct sanctions violation. What you are requesting is very illegal.
  - cellis 11mo ago
    ChatGPT does not offer a clear indication that it is blatantly illegal, though the amount of legal risk is high enough that it might as well be.
    - MrMorden 11mo ago
      ChatGPT isn't even a search engine, let alone a lawyer.

kevmo314 11mo ago

I don’t get it. I clicked the demo link but there’s nothing to try, only a home page with some AI generated images? Even if this were legal it feels like a pitch for a scam…

echend 11mo ago
https://ps.neoclerks.com:8451/player.html?ss=f2ee51d8-2ea3-4a78-90db-70baf228d551&userid=c8e7d662-9880-405d-94d7-492141cd8da0&autoConnect=1&mic=1&KeyboardInput=false&MouseInput=false&TouchInput=false&GamepadInput=false&flow_type=conversational_ai_fast&voice=sage&response_style=balanced&language=auto&tts_service=openai&complexity_mode=auto&enable_body_animation=false&session_timeout_minutes=2592000 https://ps.neoclerks.com:8451/player.html?ss=f2ee51d8-2ea3-4...
paxys 11mo ago
AI generated home page. AI generated images. No demo. Comments full of AI-translated English. Either this is a scam or an FBI honeypot.

syspec 11mo ago

Me: I built this insane 3D multilingual AI avatar platform with real-time conversation, full enterprise stack, 47 languages, and Unreal Engine You: Can bypass US Treasury sanctions and open a Stripe account

defen 11mo ago
It does pattern match to the Spanish Prisoner scam, with extra FinCEN violations thrown in.
- DetroitThrow 11mo ago
  He does have a LinkedIn, and his GH user has a real looking GitHub pages site associated with it. Please don't violate US Treasury dep sanctions just to be a founder for a business with 0 customer validation, you might as well be helping a Nigerian prince. Seek counsel with a lawyer versed on this first, rather than the HN comments section or your own exuberance.
- wbl 11mo ago
  An extra reason for the victim not to go to the cops!
echend 11mo ago
Ha, fair. Yeah, the skills mismatch is real. I can build distributed systems with 4-server architecture, but I can't open a Stripe account. That's literally the post. "I'm good at X, terrible at Y (geography), need someone who has Y." If you know anyone who's great at sales but wishes they had a technical co-founder, send them my way :)
- DetroitThrow 11mo ago
  It's a very unique cofounder pitch! I hope you bootstrap this idea as far as you can. You should encourage any potential founder to talk with a lawyer, though, too!
- pixl97 11mo ago

DiabloD3 11mo ago

He's Iranian. Github is most likely going to delete his account due to sanctions. Weird to just announce that publicly.

echend 11mo ago
You're right, that's a risk. GitHub has deleted Iranian accounts before under OFAC compliance. My calculus: Being transparent about my situation is better than hiding it. If they delete my account, at least I tried. The alternative is pretending I'm somewhere else, which feels worse and creates legal risk for anyone who partners with me. Open to suggestions on better approaches.
ankit_mishra 11mo ago
From what I can tell looking at the website they are hoping to have made enough returns by the time it's taken down

hamonrye 11mo ago

[dead]

avandekleut 11mo ago

As a technical founder I empathize with the authors situation and approach, but honestly spending that much time and energy on a product before even getting one sign up is a known failure mode.

echend 11mo ago
Fair point - I should have made it clearer. The demo is at https://ps.neoclerks.com:8451/player.html?ss=f2ee51d8-2ea3-4a78-90db-70baf228d551&userid=c8e7d662-9880-405d-94d7-492141cd8da0&autoConnect=1&mic=1&KeyboardInput=false&MouseInput=false&TouchInput=false&GamepadInput=false&flow_type=conversational_ai_fast&voice=sage&response_style=balanced&language=auto&tts_service=openai&complexity_mode=auto&enable_body_animation=false&session_timeout_minutes=2592000&token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJjOGU3ZDY2Mi05ODgwLTQwNWQtOTRkNy00OTIxNDFjZDhkYTAiLCJ1c2VybmFtZSI6ImF2dmEiLCJlbWFpbCI6IiIsInJvbGUiOiJ1c2VyIiwiZXhwIjoxNzYyOTQ0ODg4LCJpYXQiOjE3NjI4NTg0ODgsInR5cGUiOiJhY2Nlc3MifQ.ausQodNXGj63Tj4BcffLMg8GA4GFYcm9LCRP8bD3rEc https://ps.neoclerks.com:8451/player.html?ss=f2ee51d8-2ea3-4... scan the QR code with your phone, and your phone becomes the microphone. The avatar responds on screen. Known limitation: Running on my GTX 1060 in Iran with 4G internet, so international latency might be rough. The code itself handles 100-300ms on proper infrastructure. I get the scam concern given the circumstances. Happy to do a live Zoom walkthrough if you're seriously interested in verifying this is real.
- TZubiri 11mo ago
  I don't think I need to tell hacker news this, but don't scan that qr code with phone. The only way HN is going to do that is by opening that link with either a js disabled browser and then opening the qr with a sandboxed android emulator.
  - echend 11mo ago
    you can also open a URL with another tab press F12 and open the STT page URL and you have both the avatar and the STT page (where you use it as microphone) on the same computer without the need of phone, this design was to eliminate the need of microphone and setup user base sessions and control it in kiosk like environments

poly2it 11mo ago

Is this the best idea you could've put your time on? Maybe I don't see the vision, but I have no idea who would by this or for what. AI/slop is cheap and luxury brands will only lean further away from it.

echend 11mo ago
okay imagine a holographic avatar like in sci-fi movies, do you have the same feelings about that too?

ravenical 11mo ago

Interesting definition of "photorealistic". Link to the site in question: https://neoclerks.com/en/ https://neoclerks.com/en/

paulddraper 11mo ago
Seems realistic to me

nickphx 11mo ago

Do people actually want such a service? What part of interacting with a touch screen displaying an animated character, high end or luxury?

jsheard 11mo ago
Yeah, this type of blatant corner-cutting seems like the exact opposite of what luxury brands would want to represent them.
- jerlam 11mo ago
  People will pay more money specifically to _not_ interact with AI, just as they do now when they avoid phone or offshore support. It is already the hallmark of luxury to have a large staff of actual people willing to help you.
dclowd9901 11mo ago
I think OP is sitting on some other product here that he hasn't figured out yet. It definitely isn't in the high-end luxury retail space, but it might be in B2C, think Home assistant or something akin.
echend 11mo ago
the web site was just a test, this product could be really usefull in some places, I'm still trying to find it, do you guys really have any opinion where such product would be usefull? I thought a lot, I tested with luxury for tech companies or hotels, hospitals, this could be really usefull when it comes to languages

ivraatiems 11mo ago

I am not a lawyer or diplomat or expert on trade, but I can make some general observations from an American/Western perspective: First, the sanctions on Iran are such that any partnership with an Iranian person for business reasons is effectively impossible in the West, without the resources of a multi-million or billion-dollar company to circumvent them. The author says "I am not looking for anyone to bypass sanctions" but that is very obviously exactly what they are asking for. Second, circumventing sanctions is illegal, and people regularly go to prison or are given massive monetary fines for this. OP, I don't question your motives, but you need to understand that people have literally gone to prison and lost their whole livelihoods for doing exactly what you are asking. Therefore, posting this on a Western platform (Github) and advertising it on a Western message board (HN) is unlikely to help. I don't think the author's intentions are poor; I think they may simply not understand the intensity of the legal regime that makes working with them impossible. There is also the matter of Westerners' general opinions on Iran, which - general attitudes of multiculturalism and tolerance nonwithstanding - is typically quite negative. The sanctions didn't come from nowhere. I would recommend the author look into partnerships with persons from countries that are more sympathetic to their situation. The ones with strong tech industries would be Russia, China, and India. Vietnam is another example of a country with some tech industry which also has mostly positive relationships with Western countries, these days. I realize this is not as attractive as the West, but there are good people even in places whose governments I may as a Westerner may not particularly like, and English is a lingua franca the world over. I'd strongly recommend those places as a starting point.

echend 11mo ago
Thank you for this thoughtful response. You're raising legitimate concerns I may not fully understand. Let me clarify my understanding (and please correct me if I'm wrong): My assumption was that a structure like this would be legal: - Partner in US/UK registers their own company - Opens Stripe under their company name - Hires me as a remote contractor (like any distributed team) - I hold equity as a foreign shareholder (which I thought was legal for non-US persons) Is your point that even this structure violates sanctions because I'm Iranian? Or that the risk/complexity makes it impractical for anyone without massive legal resources? I genuinely don't want anyone to break the law. If what I'm proposing is illegal even in the structure above, I need to understand that. Re: Russia/China/India - that's solid advice I hadn't seriously considered. Russia and China have their own complexities, but India makes a lot of sense. Do you know if Indian tech companies face similar restrictions when working with Iranians, or is it more open? I appreciate you taking the time to explain this clearly rather than just dismissing it. If the Western partnership path is genuinely impossible (not just hard), I need to know that.

KomoD 11mo ago

> Go ahead. Talk to the avatar for 2 minutes. Ask it anything in English. Watch how it responds in real-time with synchronized lip movements and natural conversation. There's nothing. > The product works. You just tested it. I didn't, there's nothing to try.

echend 11mo ago
You're absolutely right, and I apologize for the confusion. The demo is a single-session system (designed for hotel lobby kiosks where one person uses it at a time). If someone else is talking to the avatar when you visit, you won't see a QR code. Here's a direct link you can try: https://ps.neoclerks.com:8451/player.html?ss=f2ee51d8-2ea3-4a78-90db-70baf228d551&userid=c8e7d662-9880-405d-94d7-492141cd8da0&autoConnect=1&mic=1&KeyboardInput=false&MouseInput=false&TouchInput=false&GamepadInput=false&flow_type=conversational_ai_fast&voice=sage&response_style=balanced&language=auto&tts_service=openai&complexity_mode=auto&enable_body_animation=false&session_timeout_minutes=2592000&token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJjOGU3ZDY2Mi05ODgwLTQwNWQtOTRkNy00OTIxNDFjZDhkYTAiLCJ1c2VybmFtZSI6ImF2dmEiLCJlbWFpbCI6IiIsInJvbGUiOiJ1c2VyIiwiZXhwIjoxNzYyOTQ0ODg4LCJpYXQiOjE3NjI4NTg0ODgsInR5cGUiOiJhY2Nlc3MifQ.ausQodNXGj63Tj4BcffLMg8GA4GFYcm9LCRP8bD3rEc https://ps.neoclerks.com:8451/player.html?ss=f2ee51d8-2ea3-4... If that's busy too, I'm happy to schedule a 15-min private demo. Email: EchenDeligani@gmail.com This single-user limitation is product design (kiosk model) not technical - production handles 10-50 concurrent users per GPU. I should have explained this upfront and provided multiple demo instances for HN traffic. My mistake - learning as I go here.
- cush 11mo ago
  > You're absolutely right Is this botspam?
  - DetroitThrow 11mo ago
    This one also comes up from foreign language speakers using ChatGPT or Claude to translate their point, and then not trimming the GPTisms.
  - 11mo ago

Aurornis 11mo ago

> Test it first: neoclerks.com/en > Go ahead. Talk to the avatar for 2 minutes. Ask it anything in English. Watch how it responds in real-time with synchronized lip movements and natural conversation. > I'll be here when you get back. As far as I can tell, there is no live demo. There is a button to "book a private demo", but I can't find anything to try. Second: Unfortunately, this is a request to partner with someone who will violate sanctions for this person. Anyone considering entertaining this offer should be very clear on that fact. Acting as a proxy to monetize a business in a sanctioned country is not a position you want to be in. You take the legal risk, the other party gets the proceeds (until sanctions catch up). Any investors looking at this arrangement would nope right out of the conversation as soon as any of this was discovered. Thoughts and feelings about sanctions aside, this is not a position you want to put yourself in. If this is real then I feel sorry for the person, but given that this entire post is a direct ask for someone to violate international sanctions and the content of the website doesn't even match the description (no live demo) I think it's best to flag it. Would be sad if someone on HN felt guilty and got tricked into violating international sanctions over this post.

echend 11mo ago
You're absolutely right, and I apologize for the confusion. The demo is a single-session system (designed for hotel lobby kiosks where one person uses it at a time). If someone else is talking to the avatar when you visit, you won't see a QR code. Here's a direct link you can try: https://ps.neoclerks.com:8451/player.html?ss=7591aecb-72d2-4bf5-8606-418597c18b7b&userid=c8e7d662-9880-405d-94d7-492141cd8da0&autoConnect=1&mic=1&KeyboardInput=false&MouseInput=false&TouchInput=false&GamepadInput=false&flow_type=conversational_ai_fast&voice=sage&response_style=balanced&language=auto&tts_service=openai&complexity_mode=auto&enable_body_animation=false&session_timeout_minutes=2592000&token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJjOGU3ZDY2Mi05ODgwLTQwNWQtOTRkNy00OTIxNDFjZDhkYTAiLCJ1c2VybmFtZSI6ImF2dmEiLCJlbWFpbCI6IiIsInJvbGUiOiJ1c2VyIiwiZXhwIjoxNzYyOTQ0ODg4LCJpYXQiOjE3NjI4NTg0ODgsInR5cGUiOiJhY2Nlc3MifQ.ausQodNXGj63Tj4BcffLMg8GA4GFYcm9LCRP8bD3rEc https://ps.neoclerks.com:8451/player.html?ss=7591aecb-72d2-4... If that's busy too, I'm happy to schedule a 15-min private demo. Email: EchenDeligani@gmail.com This single-user limitation is product design (kiosk model) not technical - production handles 10-50 concurrent users per GPU. I should have explained this upfront and provided multiple demo instances for HN traffic. My mistake - learning as I go here.

tomr75 11mo ago

use USD denominated stablecoins on a permissionless blockchain (any layer 2 ethereum network like arbritrum) or a ZK L2 ...

echend 11mo ago
Thank you, noted

cantalopes 11mo ago

Man thats a lot of hard work and an impressive peoduct that is in my opinion very competitive in b2b. I wish it works out with the difficult situation

echend 11mo ago
means a lot thank you very much

zacksiri 11mo ago

I feel for this guy, I really do. I see comments like "is this a request to bypass sanctions" OR "he's iranian" Let's remind ourselves of the following: - First understand that he didn't choose to be born and raised in Iran. - Second people grow up have families become attached to where they're born it's not easy to just 'pick up and leave' moving to a new country is expensive and extremely difficult especially from countries like Iran. - Third he's building something he believes in which is probably better than most people who live in privileged countries who sit around and do nothing. To me this reads like a plea for help. He's built something and showing it to the world, if someone likes it and wants to fund him / get him out of Iran, so he can pursue his dreams AND have the people who help him benefit along with him. I'm sure he'll be all for that.

bawolff 11mo ago
That might all be true, but it doesn't change the reality of the situation. Through no fault of his own, he's in a shitty situation. Failing to acknowledge that helps nobody.
- zacksiri 11mo ago
  No one is failing to acknowledge that he's in a shitty situation. That's precisely the point of my post. It also doesn't mean he cannot be helped.
Aurornis 11mo ago
Having empathy for people is good. Letting that empathy lead you into violating international sanctions to funnel money to a sanctioned country is decidedly not a good idea. Requesting that other people sign up for Stripe accounts and send you the money in violation of sanctions is bad. The other person risks extreme legal consequences including prison sentences for deliberately and openly violating sanctions. The comments are a warning to anyone who might feel compelled to do what is being asked, without realizing the specific request is a serious legal matter that can come with prison terms measured in decades. > I see comments like "is this a request to bypass sanctions" Did you read the Gist he posted? It was a direct request for someone to help him bypass sanctions.

rubyn00bie 11mo ago

I see a lot of negativity in this thread and I’m not sure why… There are a LOT of folks who prowl HN and some of them obviously have incredible access to resources and connections to figure out a way to accomplish if they were so inclined. Yes there are obvious hurdles for people in “the west,” but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. I think the most obvious question is, would the OP relocate to another country if they were able to get a work visa? If yes, then sufficiently connected people, could absolutely make that happen. It would also immediately fix the issues around export sanctions. That’s in no way saying anyone could make it happen, but I have zero doubt that someone who could prowls HN. There are many ways to having this occur legally, and I think it’s a bit unfair to immediately say this is completely and utterly illegal with no possible way to make it work. If anything, I’d expect the folks who prowl HN to be the exact kind of people to find a way to do it (without violating sanctions or facing jail time). Addendum: I personally think this is cool, but I lack the resources to tackle the immediate problems or help bring it to market. I’d encourage the rest of you to offer meaningfully critiques or advice. Simply shouting “sanctions!” into the ether is neither of those. Those are a given and based on the replies from the OP thus far (which have all been downvoted to hell for no reason) they seem incredibly sincere. They’re just trying to figure out what they even can do and/or what possibilities even exist. Good luck to the OP. This seems like a labor of love and I hope you find a way to make it work.

Aurornis 11mo ago
> I see a lot of negativity in this thread and I’m not sure why… Because it's a request for someone to violate sanctions for them. They are specifically asking for someone to set up Stripe, take on the legal risk of violating international sanctions, and forward the money to them. > Yes there are obvious hurdles for people in “the west,” but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. The "it" that is being requested is not about relocation, though. It's a direct ask to violate sanctions to sign up for services that must enforce sanctions.
- dangus 11mo ago
  And it’s an obvious social engineering scam. Urgency, pleading for empathy, having the most destitute-sounding story of all time. Did he really lose all his life savings to this project? How do we know that?

IlikeKitties 11mo ago

> can't monetize this from Iran: > Stripe, PayPal, Western payment processors (sanctioned) > AWS, GCP, Azure (sanctioned) > Western bank account (sanctioned) > Credit card payments from customers (no processor works here) Good. That's the whole point of economic sanctions.

moomoo11 11mo ago

scam. weaponized empathy.

echend 11mo ago
That’s not my intention. I’d like to understand where this is coming from.

ankit_mishra 11mo ago

OP's account was made an hour ago and comments from it are suspiciously fast (and unnecessarily verbose). https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=echend https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=echend This is an obvious scam, I don't know why I wasted this time double checking. Makes me sad that this it the top HN post. Also got me thinking if the technique is so effective here (among more-than-average-scam aware community), I don't want to imagine the success rate on other social media.

mattm 11mo ago
The whole Github page feels AI generated too. Working 120 hours per week for 9 months? Give me a break.
- echend 11mo ago
  This is my website — you might recognize my name from the titles of some movies, too! https://echend.github.io/website/ https://echend.github.io/website/
echend 11mo ago
I understand the skepticism completely. How about this: I'll do a live Zoom session where I: - Deploy the entire stack locally - Walk through the code - Show the admin panel, monitoring, databases - Answer any technical questions - Prove this is real Schedule: [pick a time in next 24 hours] Zoom link: [create one] Anyone who's skeptical is welcome to join and grill me. If it's a scam, this should expose it quickly.
- ankit_mishra 11mo ago
  [flagged]

iambateman 11mo ago

Thanks for sharing this. I can’t legally help you either but your story was meaningful for me. I have a ton of respect for Iranian folks and I hope the relations between our two countries can get better. Best of luck to you.

echend 11mo ago
Thank you very much, I appreciate it.

deleted 11mo ago

[deleted]

paxys 11mo ago

> Go ahead. Talk to the avatar for 2 minutes. Ask it anything in English. Watch how it responds in real-time with synchronized lip movements and natural conversation. I'll be here when you get back. Okay, but you linked to a generic landing page with a "Book a private demo" button. So what exactly does your product do? And why should anyone here be interested if you can't as much as post a video of it working?

wseqyrku 11mo ago

For starters, don't generate your pitch, brother.

echend 11mo ago
All good, brother

8note 11mo ago

move to canada; drop the iranian citizenship, and become active in anti-IRG groups. youll be all set

echend 11mo ago
hahaha, that is an idea! but I rather stay and get back my contry

kazinator 11mo ago

The AI scene is oversaturated. Every last huckster and shill is all AI this and AI that. Just standing out and getting noticed is a problem.

echend 11mo ago
I agree to some degree but I started learning about ai 16 years ago in university, there is just two things, it really helps now days for coding and the tech is getting better, about 3 years ago I could not create anything like this about 3 years ago.

caetris24 11mo ago

[dead]

nrhrjrjrjtntbt 11mo ago

Wonder if that is enough to get you a visa to a country where you can then launch?

echend 11mo ago
that is a good option :D

mhitza 11mo ago

From some brief research. The EU seem to have less strict sanctions against Iran, specifically for specific entities, people, and services. Telecommunication is one of those services. In theory you could get hired in an EU company that doesn't deal with an US company (for example an EU-only payment provider. If such a thing exists. (One can only hope GNU Taler will be it some day)). Though the compliance requirements might not be easy and cost you a bit to get some layers involved and fill out paperwork together with someone you'd convenie as your partner. I'd pursue this avenue of research further if I'd where you, or another country wherein the US sanctions aren't a real factor. Best of all would be if you'd be able to emigrate and become a resident of a non sanctioned country.

cameldrv 11mo ago

[flagged]

echend 11mo ago
https://echend.github.io/website https://echend.github.io/website https://www.linkedin.com/in/echen-deligani/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/echen-deligani/ https://echen.artstation.com/resume https://echen.artstation.com/resume https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9062356/ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9062356/
- gus_massa 11mo ago
  If you ever post again, I recommend to add: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9062356/ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9062356/ (It looks difficult to fake. You are a human!) https://echend.github.io/website/#works https://echend.github.io/website/#works (A few nice old projects! People like to see a few real projects.) Sorry I can't help. Good luck!
paxys 11mo ago
[flagged]

gowld 11mo ago

It's only natural that someone promoting an AI-slop-as-a-service should be suspected to be AI-slop itself. "Meet HAVVA. The new face of luxury brand" 1. The AI couldn't even grammat-check a half-sentence. 2. Who wants to buy from a "luxury brand" that's uncanny valley AI slop? Why are all 3 options, "pay this person $30K+" ? Option 1: Co-Founder Partnership: You invest: $50-80k + handle sales/operations/Stripe access Option 2: Outright Sale + Long-Term Contract: You pay: $60-80k upfront (full code ownership, all IP rights) Option 3: Revenue Share Partnership: You invest: $30-50k upfront + Stripe access + sales/marketing Where's the option "You run my system, and send me X% of the revenue" ?

echend 11mo ago
the question is what this product is and what it can do! you should more think of future, maybe at current time is not as good as human but it will get there, and all I'm doing is trying to find the best fit for this.

komali2 11mo ago

Look to the PRC, unfortunately your country exists in a separate world economy from the American hegemony one. Nobody here can help you and in fact I think GitHub and YC may be required to ban your account once they become aware you're Iranian. It's so flagrantly stupid and imo a violation of human rights to so utterly restrict the citizens of both our countries from freely doing business with each other but that's how it is right now.

echend 11mo ago
I don't know what to say really but I always said loudly I'm from Iran, and to be honest everything I do is with tech that is out side of Iran, probably Iran never could get any near to such techs in hundred years the way the current goverment is acting. but I like the tech a lot and I'm Iranian :D

gverrilla 11mo ago

Hello friend, Considering this all to be truthful, it seems you have fallen for the startup mythology - I know because I have been there too. Maybe you can make it work, who knows, but the chances are slim - even more because of your nationality. Don't all-in in this, protect yourself and your family. Don't believe those hard-working startup stories, most of them in reality are really luck or contacts, nothing to do with hardwork, quality, strategy, etc. And there's people profiteering over believers like you... I won't even comment on the irony of an iranian citizen asking for help from the Silicon Valley - when did these people help you or your country, ever???????? Best of luck

echend 11mo ago
Hi gverrilla, Thank you very much for your advice, living where I live is survival, I will try to do anything I can, but I made this and put a lots of times and effort, I really want to try to get is somewhere, I never thought of out side of Iran, but again paying for LLM in dollar and getting paid in the worse currency in the world will not work

petesergeant 11mo ago

Could you move to UAE and incorporate there? Your wife’s medical qualifications are likely valid, you’ll be close to home, and there are places there it’s possible to live cheaply. As long as it’s a genuine Emirati company rather than a front for an Iranian one, you should be fine?

echend 11mo ago
this is exactly one of the best options, but man, Iran is like that kid in school that nobody likes haha, and again I should get visa sponser, but no matter what I'm really carefull moving step by step, I made this and any chance to help me ship this for real clients I will jump on it

g-b-r 11mo ago

Off topic, but I've been wondering for years about people pricing things with a 7 in the end (497$, 597$, 197$...) Every "web marketing" person I ran into does it, it comes from that environment? It's something considered to result in more sales, or maybe a way to signal that you're connected to some web marketing guru?

echend 11mo ago
I don't now ask claude :D

renewiltord 11mo ago

Tough. But I suppose it means the sanctions are working. The shortest way out is island nation golden passport plus renunciation of Iranian citizenship plus incorporation in Dubai and then get going. Rough because startup cost is $250k. Well, you have a story to tell a VC. It'll be tough, though. None of the A listers will risk this.

SanjayMehta 11mo ago

OP should try to move to another country. Maybe Dubai.

didip 11mo ago

Anyone can build anything, it’s the selling that is hard. You need runways for momentum to even begin.

echend 11mo ago
Agreed

echend 11mo ago

Thank you very much for booking, this way I can manage and share the demo with everyone, as the gpu server is my own local computer. and I have more that 50 request now so please bare with me

echend 11mo ago

but if the email is not valid I can not share the link

IntrepidPig 11mo ago

[flagged]

echend 11mo ago
I think this is good that I should prove it, I now about 80 percent of anything in internet now days is fake, but can you find any scam project that offers real test demo (send me email and I send you a link pixelstreaming front-end in which you see real-time streaming and can talk to avatar EchenDeligani@gmail.com) or any zoom call so I can walk you through the project, or any one which specialy focuces on persain language

retrocog 11mo ago

Pivot and find a means to re-purpose the core stack towards a use case that solves problems at an acceptable price point for your local market? Iran has lots of problems to solve...

echend 11mo ago
I really thought about it too, but I'm a developer, and most of my life was working with a computer, this is the start for something bigger I hope in future will help my people too.

htx619 11mo ago

[dead]

BrenBarn 11mo ago

I feel for the person, but there's a part of me that also wonders why they spent 18 months on this without first doing a small bit of preparatory due diligence to see what the endgame was going to be.

Tiberium 11mo ago

100-120 hour working weeks sound implausible and very exaggerated. If you are actually working for that long, you should probably stop. Zero customers after 18 months is also not a very good look. """ This is AI-validated, production-grade code. You can verify this yourself: open Claude Code, point it at the repository, ask it to audit for production readiness. It will confirm. """ I'm sorry, but you should seriously reconsider putting up statements like this. If anything, people will be put off by you claiming that the code is production ready because it's been "AI validated" by Claude (which in reality is often extremely shallow, something like GPT-5 in Codex is way more thorough). Also, the project cost estimates of $150k-$220k are also way off because Claude cannot make realistic estimations, and because it wrote most of that code anyway. P.S: We can't 'verify' anything with Claude Code because the repo is closed source. P.P.S: I asked Claude to analyze this blog post, since you wrote the blog post with Claude, and it said: > This is a technical demo looking for a business, not a business looking for a partner. Plus > The entire narrative structure (war, bombs, wife working, mother asking about jobs, crypto hack) is designed to generate sympathy and urgency. This is a sales technique, not business due diligence.

echend 11mo ago
the facts all are true, the way AI helped me compose it to make it like movie I really see it not as manipulation, just a good story telling.
echend 11mo ago
you might also know that LLM works on probability so if you ask it again it might reponce something else. but use claude for coding its amazing, I started to code 22 years ago, belive me not using AI for coding its like going back to when poeple used horses instead of cars. but if you are interested send me an email (echendeligani@gmail.com) and I will share you the link to talk to the avatar and test it. or book a private demo at website NeoClerks.com/en with proper email so I can send you the link

analog8374 11mo ago

[flagged]

deleted 11mo ago
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Incipient 11mo ago

>from luxury hotels to flagship boutiques and fine art institutions. Also if I'm going to a luxury hotel, I sure as heck want to speak to a real damn person.

echend 11mo ago
noted, I think I'm missing that the real people in US are not what is in the news, imagine just being in tech news and AI 24/7, but again that was a test, mainly for my local areas, and definitly now I know not for the US

nodomain 11mo ago

Not sure if this raises trust. „Final months: Claude consistently said "deploy immediately, production-ready"“

satisfice 11mo ago

You don’t explain your test strategy. “188 automated tests” means absolutely nothing.