4 ms·

Just this weekend, I started coding up a tiny "saas product" that I thought about last week. Nobody knows about it, and that certainly has no launch page or aud

by jenius 13y ago

Just this weekend, I started coding up a tiny "saas product" that I thought about last week. Nobody knows about it, and that certainly has no launch page or audience. I got most of it done over the weekend, and really enjoyed putting it together in my favorite stack (sinatra, roots, marionette) and doing some design work, which I don't often get a chance to do. I'll probably launch it late this week or next week. I have no audience, and don't expect massive profits either. I made it mostly because I want it. Since I plan on using it extensively, I honestly don't care if I have huge profits or a gigantic audience. I spent $5 on the domain name, am hosting it along with 10 other sites on a $5/month digital ocean box. I put in some great work this weekend, and am now going to end up with something that will fit nicely into my workflow. It will ship with a decent free plan, and a $5/month pro plan with some expanded capabilities. If one person signs up for the pro plan, that covers the cost of hosting for this site and 9 other sites (bonus!) If 2 people sign up for the pro plan, it's profitable. If zero people sign up, I paid a very small cost for something that's going to be really useful to me. Sometimes I wonder why so many developers gravitate towards huge ideas that they think other people might want rather than starting small, with things that you want. With this little thing I'm making, there's no risk. I've already won.

sejje 13y ago
Because so many developers want to build a business. You've aimed your sights at making $5/month.
- jenius 13y ago
  You can move your sights after they are aimed. Let's start at $5/month then see how it goes : )
bluedevil2k 13y ago
What you've made is just a hobby then, not a business. (Not that there's anything wrong with programming being a hobby - it's more about managing expectations)
- jenius 13y ago
  I don't agree with that either. It starts as a hobby, sure. But if it's doing well, I could definitely keep working and expanding it out. Start small and ship fast.
- amouat 13y ago
  Don't be so dismissive. This could very easily transition into a business. The only real difference is that the author won't feel too much pain if it doesn't make a lot of money.
  - falcolas 13y ago
    Agreed. The custom domain makes it pretty trivial to do initial scaling. This leaves only marketing as the big hurdle to go from small scale to something larger.
    - AznHisoka 13y ago
      Yes, only marketing.
- nmcfarl 13y ago
  I’m not sure - I’ve coded several "micro-businesses". They make small amounts of money, and cost small amounts of money to run, and take almost no time. One for example makes about $500 revenue with $200 expenses and 2 hours a year. It’s profitable, I’m not doing it because I like spending time on it - or I’d spend more time on it. These aren’t traditional businesses, but they sure aren’t hobbies. They are services I think need to exist, and that I can create, without "wasting my time".
  - Oculus 13y ago
    I think the distinction Bluedevil is trying to make is you're going into this SaaS app with no intention of it being hugely profitable or successful. You're scratching an itch and if other people decide to pay you to help scratch their itch as well, then that's just a sweet bonus. In contrast, a business would be going in with the intention of the service/app being successful (profitable or popular). Maybe hobby isn't the best way to describe it, but I agree your way of looking at things is closer to a hobby then a business.
AznHisoka 13y ago
Because we don't want to be stuck in a cubicle until we're 70 years old. That's why.
mcherm 13y ago
So..... what did you make? (The fact that you didn't say shows that you REALLY aren't concerned about marketing! But I'm still curious.)
- jenius 13y ago
  haha fair question. I'll post in on HN as soon as it's done (maybe it will make it to the front page, who knows!), and I'll reply to this comment and let you know - promise : )
nashequilibrium 13y ago
One of the reasons i taught myself to program years ago, was because i wanted the power to make my life easy for myself. I am currently building a semantic supply chain for my ideas, i have being using a few notetaking apps but they do not satisfy my needs because they lack in their ability for me to query, visualize and interlink my ideas. So i was reading a paper on supply chain management and thought maybe i can implement this process for taking my ideas from inception to prototype. This is not a startup and i will use the cheapest hosting i can find, but i am thinking of allowing people to use it in the web and app form. If it gets traction, i will adjust app accordingy, if not i have a cool process to get my ideas out and visualize their process. The bottom line is: "Don't build technology unless you feel the pain of not having it." http://nathanmarz.com/blog/suffering-oriented-programming.html http://nathanmarz.com/blog/suffering-oriented-programming.ht...

by jenius 13y ago

sejje 13y ago

Because so many developers want to build a business. You've aimed your sights at making $5/month.

jenius 13y ago
You can move your sights after they are aimed. Let's start at $5/month then see how it goes : )

bluedevil2k 13y ago

What you've made is just a hobby then, not a business. (Not that there's anything wrong with programming being a hobby - it's more about managing expectations)

jenius 13y ago
I don't agree with that either. It starts as a hobby, sure. But if it's doing well, I could definitely keep working and expanding it out. Start small and ship fast.
amouat 13y ago
Don't be so dismissive. This could very easily transition into a business. The only real difference is that the author won't feel too much pain if it doesn't make a lot of money.
- falcolas 13y ago
  Agreed. The custom domain makes it pretty trivial to do initial scaling. This leaves only marketing as the big hurdle to go from small scale to something larger.
  - AznHisoka 13y ago
    Yes, only marketing.
nmcfarl 13y ago
I’m not sure - I’ve coded several "micro-businesses". They make small amounts of money, and cost small amounts of money to run, and take almost no time. One for example makes about $500 revenue with $200 expenses and 2 hours a year. It’s profitable, I’m not doing it because I like spending time on it - or I’d spend more time on it. These aren’t traditional businesses, but they sure aren’t hobbies. They are services I think need to exist, and that I can create, without "wasting my time".
- Oculus 13y ago
  I think the distinction Bluedevil is trying to make is you're going into this SaaS app with no intention of it being hugely profitable or successful. You're scratching an itch and if other people decide to pay you to help scratch their itch as well, then that's just a sweet bonus. In contrast, a business would be going in with the intention of the service/app being successful (profitable or popular). Maybe hobby isn't the best way to describe it, but I agree your way of looking at things is closer to a hobby then a business.

AznHisoka 13y ago

Because we don't want to be stuck in a cubicle until we're 70 years old. That's why.

mcherm 13y ago

So..... what did you make? (The fact that you didn't say shows that you REALLY aren't concerned about marketing! But I'm still curious.)

jenius 13y ago
haha fair question. I'll post in on HN as soon as it's done (maybe it will make it to the front page, who knows!), and I'll reply to this comment and let you know - promise : )

nashequilibrium 13y ago

One of the reasons i taught myself to program years ago, was because i wanted the power to make my life easy for myself. I am currently building a semantic supply chain for my ideas, i have being using a few notetaking apps but they do not satisfy my needs because they lack in their ability for me to query, visualize and interlink my ideas. So i was reading a paper on supply chain management and thought maybe i can implement this process for taking my ideas from inception to prototype. This is not a startup and i will use the cheapest hosting i can find, but i am thinking of allowing people to use it in the web and app form. If it gets traction, i will adjust app accordingy, if not i have a cool process to get my ideas out and visualize their process. The bottom line is: "Don't build technology unless you feel the pain of not having it." http://nathanmarz.com/blog/suffering-oriented-programming.html http://nathanmarz.com/blog/suffering-oriented-programming.ht...