scubakid

5 ms·

1. 31.▲
   by scubakid 1y ago

   oh neat! I was surprised how long their lifespan is -- my fiancé has had ours for over 20 years... although for some reason his allegiance flipped a few years ago, and now he only flies to me, not her.
2. 32.▲
   by scubakid 1y ago

   thanks! consistently putting in those hours wasn't easy. it became the only time in life I've had elevated blood pressure. but you're right that I probably wouldn't have gotten here without burning the candle at both end
3. 33.▲
   by scubakid 1y ago

   sounds like that would also mean overhauling the data model to track individual positions within every account, not just balances? and then folks would expect every account's asset allocation to be automatically derived from those posi
4. 34.▲
   by scubakid 1y ago

   Word-of-mouth growth sounds like a good sign. And depending on your goals, sometimes building a defensible niche business, maximizing ARPU, and minimizing churn can be better than chasing the mass market. Could something like a referral pro
5. 35.▲
   by scubakid 1y ago

   There are many frameworks and approaches, but here are two of my filtering criteria: 1. I don't start a project unless it's something I deeply want to exist for my own personal use. That way I know there's at least one person
6. 36.▲
   by scubakid 1y ago

   Are your existing customers vocal about what they love or wish you'd add? Do you know how they found you and what made them choose you over competitors? Is there a niche/segment within your larger TAM with a specific pain point yo
7. 37.▲
   by scubakid 1y ago

   Neat, someday I'd like to see the Azores. I've heard good things. FYI if you click on a destination name, it's currently throwing a 500 error.
8. 38.▲
   by scubakid 1y ago

   I was definitely fortunate to attempt this in a compatible stage of life (no kids yet). I'd like to think there will still be room for craft/creation if I become a parent someday. But I doubt this level of sustained focus (obsessi
9. 39.▲
   by scubakid 1y ago

   Thanks! It's interesting how easy it is to move the goalposts on product vision. It has come such a long way since the beginning, but I still wake up every day thinking about how much more I feel compelled to build.
10. 40.▲
    by scubakid 1y ago

    Ah so with this business model there was minimal impact to existing customers? That's fortunate. Out of curiosity, what kind of transactional product has a substantial production database that would be daunting to re-build in a 4-6 mo
11. 41.▲
    by scubakid 1y ago

    Thanks so much, that means a lot. It's challenging when time and life pull you in so many directions. Wishing you and your kids all the best. When you jump back in, I'll be rooting for you.
12. 42.▲
    by scubakid 1y ago

    What career path did you pursue instead, and how does that fit into the framework of your life and goals? Do you ever wonder if you could have bounced around enough to find a CS role that might enhance rather than corrupt your passion? Or
13. 43.▲
    by scubakid 1y ago

    That's an impressive number of years to stick with a product you questioned. Probably 2x longer than Google would have maintained it lol (who says products by indie devs always have higher long-term support risk?!) I'm really happ
14. 44.▲
    by scubakid 1y ago

    The way I see it, persistent founders keep looking for evidence and adapt / adjust course based on what they learn. Stubborn ones just keep going, even when there are clear signals that it's time to step back and refocus.
15. 45.▲
    by scubakid 1y ago

    thanks! I'm not a fast blog post writer, and sometimes feel guilty taking time away from building to draft updates like this (took me a couple days to write and rewrite this one). glad to hear it turned out to be a decent read.
16. 46.▲
    by scubakid 1y ago

    how do you define PMF? I keep hearing conflicting definitions. Seems like any time someone declares they've found it, there's another who jumps in to explain why they technically haven't yet.
17. 47.▲
    by scubakid 1y ago

    Funny thing is he's my fiancé's bird, which she's had for 20 years, but somehow the only person he likes now is me. Kind of a bummer for her. But he's happy I guess haha
18. 48.▲
    by scubakid 1y ago

    haha yep it all traces back to designing that android app for solving cryptograms XD
19. 49.▲
    by scubakid 1y ago

    Thanks Ozzie, that means a lot coming from you. Building successfully in this space requires a passion for it, and that really comes through with the work you and your team are doing too.
20. 50.▲
    by scubakid 1y ago

    What ecosystem was she in before?
21. 51.▲
    by scubakid 1y ago

    In terms of scale/footprint, roughly how many articles did it take to achieve that critical mass of content? And yeah, with the state of AI tooling, I think junior engineers, assistants, new grads, etc, may currently have the most to w
22. 52.▲
    by scubakid 1y ago

    Congrats on 350k downloads, sounds like you had a good year! You mentioned SEO finally kicking in. Do you attribute that to anything in particular? Any strategic changes you made? Also curious how you incorporate AI tools into your workflow
23. 53.▲
    by scubakid 1y ago

    after that first Show HN back in 2021, the majority of our growth has been product-led and word-of-mouth. some bloggers and thought leaders in the financial independence space also found the tool and shared it in the early years, which help
24. 54.▲
    by scubakid 1y ago

    Thanks! Initially I had been looking around for an existing tool to use myself, so I knew there was at least one person out there willing to pay for something like this. And r/financialindependence has 2.3m members, so I hoped there mi
25. 55.▲
    by scubakid 1y ago

    I'm glad to hear you have a workflow for updating current finances that's already serving you well. I do plan to add a lot more automation/integration options, it's just always a question of where to invest my time to de
26. 56.▲
    by scubakid 1y ago

    I've only published a small handful of things with a buy button, and all of them were things I used myself. I got into coding in middle school learning how to make simple 2D games to play with friends, and the vast majority of my perso
27. 57.▲
    by scubakid 1y ago

    I'm grateful to hear it's made such a difference for you, and that early support back in 2021 means more than you know. In the down months and challenging times, it's the encouragement from early adopters like you that kept m
28. 58.▲
    by scubakid 1y ago

    I think there may be a few wrinkles in the nl tax code that are tricky to capture with the current framework, but it has been a goal from the beginning to be as inclusive as possible for international scenario modeling. I'm continually
29. 59.▲
    by scubakid 1y ago

    Those conversations got me thinking about a lot of the right things early on. Really appreciate your encouragement and belief back then!
30. 60.▲
    by scubakid 1y ago

    aww thanks, glad to hear it resonates. it seems like every founder has their own version of that rollercoaster. which moments from yours do you feel you learned the most from?