studiofellow

12 ms·

91.
by studiofellow 15y ago
Spec work and crowdsourcing are bad for the tech industry. http://www.no-spec.com/info-for-businesses/
92.
by studiofellow 15y ago
Many others have said this, but another way to make sure you don't fail at launch is to market before you write a single line of code. Start by building an email list. Plus, then you'll know where to find that first customer/co-founder as d
93.
by studiofellow 15y ago
Great content. Lots to digest here. Although, I am sad to see him recommending 99designs.
94.
by studiofellow 15y ago
Completely agree that is the perception, even if the net effect is less time spent working. And to be honest, I'm sure in some cases it would cause more work.
95.
by studiofellow 15y ago
Honestly, your success throws me for a loop—it's the exact opposite of what I've encountered. Every teacher I speak with objects to the very idea of paying for software—without even seeing the app. In another comment, I wrote this about Bin
96.
by studiofellow 15y ago
Thanks for the clarification. Appreciate it.
97.
by studiofellow 15y ago
Sorry, still learning the HN ground rules. No more one word comments.
98.
by studiofellow 15y ago
Right, but the problem is what do you do if you have no one to observe? That's where Running Lean makes sense to me. Start with highly structured interview scripts and hypotheses, and piece together data by limiting the possible set of answ
99.
by studiofellow 15y ago
What you're describing with users vs customers is pretty standard in education. My approach was that teachers would be both customer and user. I probably did confuse the two a bit in my post. To clarify, my point is that teachers are bad cu
100.
by studiofellow 15y ago
When I wrote the post, I realized there was a danger in that. I think the wording I landed on is blunt but fair. I still really don't think it's an issue of "those stupid teachers that didn't realize how great my software was." ( However if
101.
by studiofellow 15y ago
Yep, I totally fell for it. The Running Lean book I linked in the post was really helpful to me on that point.
102.
by studiofellow 15y ago
Exactly.
103.
by studiofellow 15y ago
I left this out of the post, but my wife, father, and sister-in-law are all educators. I am a huge supporter of teachers. That's why I got into this in the first place. You shouldn't have to pay for your keyboard, but maybe books to keep yo
104.
by studiofellow 15y ago
A couple of your points are narrow-minded. I have to live in the bay area, work on a team, and work on it full time to build a viable business? Come on, there are other paths to success. Your points about domain expertise, and working on a
105.
by studiofellow 15y ago
My attempt at a story was taking a stance in the ongoing education reform controversy. It earned me the chance to write the post for GOOD, and got the one blogger to cover my app. That one guest post got me all 10 of my paying users. Story
106.
by studiofellow 15y ago
You're right. Next time around, I'm starting with a landing page and email list, and I'm only coding if I get a decent level of interest. I spent way too much time on this without knowing if I was on target.
107.
by studiofellow 15y ago
My startup failed because I built it for the wrong people. I didn't mention this in the post, but I did approach schools in my area and offered a free pilot program. After a couple days of emails and cold calling I couldn't get a single tak
108.
by studiofellow 15y ago
This is exactly what I thought when I launched. A year later, 30 users is looking a lot less realistic. The $150/mo isn't a big deal. I'd just rather focus my efforts on something else that is more likely to succeed.
109.
by studiofellow 15y ago
I'm familiar with the Bingo Card guy (Patrick McKenzie). I read his blog. What he's accomplished is definitely impressive. I think the difference is that he's providing something teachers already use, need, and look for, as opposed to a "ne
110.
by studiofellow 15y ago
What business model would you suggest? No business model or creative monetization strategy is going to change the audience's predisposition against paying. I'm a bootstrapper looking to build a profitable business, not someone chasing an ac
111.
by studiofellow 15y ago
It's fair to say validation and feedback from peers is a valid reason too, not just ego.
112.
by studiofellow 15y ago
I'm curious: does the term "bootstrapped" apply only to how you begin the business, or to the entire history? I tend to read it that way, but I can see where others might disagree.
113.
by studiofellow 15y ago
Not like the plague, but it shouldn't be first priority. On that point, I think we're saying the same thing. I'd argue the end goals you mentioned can be harmful to the startup itself (not to mention the tech community), but that's a differ
114.
by studiofellow 15y ago
I think the main reason to share numbers is to encourage others starting businesses. I don't care at all when someone says they make millions. But when I see someone who started out by making $100 a month and grew from there, I can learn fr
115.
by studiofellow 15y ago
Fair point about 37signals, but remember they didn't start with the popular blog, books, and framework. it took years to get to that point. Everyone starts somewhere. That said, I've noticed some of the advice (mostly about marketing) doesn
116.
by studiofellow 15y ago
It is news, and I'd love to read about those kinds of businesses. Someone should start a blog about that.
117.
by studiofellow 15y ago
That's completely true, but I think you missed the point. Most startups still focus on finding funding. People seem to think that's the right way to do it, maybe because that's all you read about on tech blogs.
118.
by studiofellow 15y ago
How can a web designer understand the constraints of the web without knowing how to code? They can look at other web sites and accumulate knowledge and "best practices," but even then there is a lack of fundamental understanding. Web design
119.
by studiofellow 15y ago
Your point is you look for well-rounded designers, not just designers who can code. Knowledge of code is one thing that makes a designer well-rounded, in addition to the other points you mentioned. I don't think anyone is saying photoshop a
120.
by studiofellow 15y ago
I'm a single founder, and while I haven't found success with my first app, I've definitely noticed some unique challenges. First, designing and building an app by myself is different than anything else I've done in my career. It's incredibl

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