The graveyard of good ideas
Solutions that were tried, and what stopped them.
Patents that were rejected or abandoned, products that shut down, projects that went quiet. Borrow the idea, avoid the dead end.
1,395 solutions
- startupShut down2009
Tell HN: I didn't get a job due to a failed startup on my resume
My startup went down the pan due to lack of money (what's new?) I was always told the expereince you get from a failed startup is a good thing. Well, a certain large software company doesn't seem to think so. Apparently, "as an entrepeneur you are obviously a free spirit, not the kind of person that settles well in a normal job, we would never hire people with a failed startup on their resume". Thanks HN. You lied to me about the true cost of a failed startup.
Why it failed: My startup went down the pan due to lack of money (what's new?) I was always told the expereince you get from a failed startup is a good thing. Well, a certain large software company doesn't seem to think so. Apparently, "as an entrepeneur you are obviously a free spirit, not the
zubar
- startupShut down2009
YC Rejected: Please read.
In the coming hours, and days, HN will be seeing submission after submission regarding their YC application decisions. It happens every application period and can become quite annoying. As such, I will address most of the issues many of you will be submitting threads about. "Why did I get rejected?!??" I don't know, many of us don't either. Other than your idea possibly being a pile of garbage, none of us here know as to the exact reasons you got rejected. Sure, pg will, but I doubt he'll write up a critique of your app and post it publicly. If you want to know why you were rejected, email someone at yc to see if they're even willing to give you feedback. "Maybe we should start a YC-rejected group!!!" Go for it. Honestly, it's a big waste of time. Last year someone created RejectedByYC.com, but that seems to have vanished. I don't really know why you'd want to limit yourself to giving/re
Why it failed: In the coming hours, and days, HN will be seeing submission after submission regarding their YC application decisions. It happens every application period and can become quite annoying. As such, I will address most of the issues many of you will be submitting threads about. "Why
kyro
- startupShut down2009
Ask HN: What are your failures?
If you're anything like me you will have several, so maybe just list the one you were most enthusiastic about which didn't work out the way you thought, and what you see now that you didn't then. I'll start. I had a site called becomeatypist.com which taught people to type. I started it because I saw that thousands of people monthly were searching for 'learn to type'. This was back in the day when I was pretty much in a minority (compared to now) who knew about this thing called a keyword search tool - the original one from Goto/Overture before even Google had theirs. This is almost too embarrasing to list, but a large portion of my homepage was an image. Go ahead, laugh. Ironically, I'm almost the polar opposite with my knowledge of seo now, but at the time I was only thinking of usability from a user's perspective, which I thought was the only thing I should worry about focusing on. Be
Why it failed: If you're anything like me you will have several, so maybe just list the one you were most enthusiastic about which didn't work out the way you thought, and what you see now that you didn't then. I'll start. I had a site called becomeatypist.com which taught people to type. I sta
jeromec
- startupShut down2009
Ask HN: HELP Patent troll cruising my industry. What to do?
Ok, this isn't my normal HN username, sorry. Our startup provides web services/apps to a specific industry. Today I received news that one of our main competitors (although larger) just paid a multi-million dollar settlement to a patent troll. I'm no attorney, but reading the abstract of the patent is scary–it's so broad that just about any tech company in our industry could be a target. They sued 2 even larger companies in the early 2000's (patent was filed in 2001, so it seems like they're going down the list of targets based on size. We're profitable and growing well, but not to the point where we'd be "next on the list" ... What should we do?
Why it failed: Ok, this isn't my normal HN username, sorry. Our startup provides web services/apps to a specific industry. Today I received news that one of our main competitors (although larger) just paid a multi-million dollar settlement to a patent troll. I'm no attorney, but reading the abs
tedjedbed
- startupShut down2009
Gaming HN for an Orange Name - A Warning
My name, at the time of posting, is orange. It's kind of nice to be recognized for being upvoted on average, even if I don't make a huge number of comments and will never be on the leaderboard. However, it just feels wrong. I've been unconsciously working on getting a high average for a while, and this will only encourage my unproductive behavior. I sometimes refrain from posting when I know my comment won’t be read or won’t be upvoted. In the spirit of pointing out the full effects of this change, I will now offer a simple list of guidelines so that you too can get your name in orange and feel like a real man/woman/entrepreneur. As for me, I’m with tptacek—opt me out of a colored name. 1. Only post in threads that are on the front page or look sure to get on the front page. If no one will see your comment, no one will upvote you. 2. Don’t post on a front page post that already has more
Why it failed: My name, at the time of posting, is orange. It's kind of nice to be recognized for being upvoted on average, even if I don't make a huge number of comments and will never be on the leaderboard. However, it just feels wrong. I've been unconsciously working on getting a high averag
GavinB
- startupShut down2009
Ask HN: Review our elevator pitch (Stormpulse)
This is based on the Marc Andreessen pitch dissected here: http://venturehacks.com/articles/elevator-pitch ---- Briefly, Stormpulse is intuitive weather display. We tame complex weather data and visualize it in context. Other weather sites begin with maps and add weather data. We craft weather-centered presentations that foster understanding. And we're piloting the world's first human-consensus forecasting system. Check us out at: http://stormpulse.com. We're building Stormpulse to reduce the costs of severe weather, which effects millions worldwide. Our weather maps have regularly appeared on CNN and are displayed on 750+ websites, from media sites such as USA Today and ThomsonReuters to intranets at places like Boeing and the Mayo Clinic. Since August 2008, our site has been visited over 18 million times, with over 60% of those visits coming direct. Hundreds of thousands of those visit
Why it failed: This is based on the Marc Andreessen pitch dissected here: http://venturehacks.com/articles/elevator-pitch ---- Briefly, Stormpulse is intuitive weather display. We tame complex weather data and visualize it in context. Other weather sites begin with maps and add weather data. We
wensing
- startupShut down2009
The RE: 4chan email that is going around AT&T HQ
When the AT&T 4chan episode hit the internet I had posted on HN that I would tell my contact there what is going on. My contact sent me this today. It is the email going around at AT&T HQ explaining what the 4chan episode was all about. I thought it was interesting to see the nature of articles that large corporations choose to send around. ---begin--- AT&T: 4Chan Blocked Over DDoS, Not Content Jordan Golson | Monday, July 27, 2009 | 10:22 AM PT | 3 comments AT&T has finally issued a statement about the company’s unannounced blocking of certain parts of forum site 4Chan. A number of parties blamed AT&T for “censoring” the Internet, presuming that the company had blocked access because of the content on 4Chan, which can range from classless to tasteless to everything in between. In fact, AT&T said it blocked one section of the site to control a distributed-denial-o
Why it failed: When the AT&T 4chan episode hit the internet I had posted on HN that I would tell my contact there what is going on. My contact sent me this today. It is the email going around at AT&T HQ explaining what the 4chan episode was all about. I thought it was interesting to see
3pt14159
- startupShut down2009
Ask HN: I have yet to do the one thing I wish before I die
The thing I want to do is to go back to college full time and major in mathematics. I would like to get a master's/advanced degree in math ("maths" if you are non-US :) ) and while doing so, ponder and study the queen of sciences. I've made it to 41 years old. I am a software engineer, and I'm so-so at it. I self-studied my way to a C++ programming job after working my way from network admin to web developer to programmer to software engineer since 1999. I'm not even all that great at math. But I failed my first programming course back in 1985, but I am now a well-paid professional. I know if I do a math program full time and work really hard, I can at least get to "good". My one true joy is solving problems and I even enjoy figuring out proofs. I have taken enough math courses to know I thoroughly enjoy the subject. But there are no evening programs anywhere near my home to study math.
Why it failed: The thing I want to do is to go back to college full time and major in mathematics. I would like to get a master's/advanced degree in math ("maths" if you are non-US :) ) and while doing so, ponder and study the queen of sciences. I've made it to 41 years old. I am a software eng
blacktastic
- startupShut down2009
Ask HN: what unwanted domain names are you sitting on?
While thinking of ever more imaginative ways to punish domain squatters following yet another abandoned hunt for a domain-cum-product name, I finally became aware of the irony that I am sitting on a few decent domain names that I'm not using. Then, I wondered, if one of the parked domains I've come across recently is held just by someone like me, not maliciously or out for profit, but just as a by-product of a non-startup startup, an abandoned weekend hackery project or whatever really. So, rather than set up www.domainnameswap.com (partly because the name is parked ;o) ), how about a thread where we have a rummage down the back of the sofa and throw in any parked domains we'd be willing to give/swap away. If there's a match up, the relevant poster is contactable via their HN profile. [Note: this idea may tank, but it's got to be worth a try. My fingers are being worn shorter with each f
Why it failed: While thinking of ever more imaginative ways to punish domain squatters following yet another abandoned hunt for a domain-cum-product name, I finally became aware of the irony that I am sitting on a few decent domain names that I'm not using. Then, I wondered, if one of the parke
stevejalim
- startupShut down2009
Tell HN: How to ban url shorteners from linking to your site
This is just an idea I'm going to throw out there. It seems a bit odd to suggest it because any link is a good link, right? Maybe not. Anyway, something like this in a bit of javascript would prevent people from linking to your site using a url shortener: <script> if (document.referrer.indexOf('bit.ly') > 0 || document.referrer.indexOf('someothershortener')>0) document.location.href='http://yoursite.com/noshortener.html'; </script> Put in that noshortener.html some content that will tell people why you don't allow shorteners to your content, here are some suggestions: 1) You want to know where your visitors are coming from and shorteners steal the real referrer. 2) Shorteners are a layer of indirection that could be modified beyond the user of the shortener's discretion to do something like digg is doing now 3) If the shortener goes away, the link to the content i
Why it failed: This is just an idea I'm going to throw out there. It seems a bit odd to suggest it because any link is a good link, right? Maybe not. Anyway, something like this in a bit of javascript would prevent people from linking to your site using a url shortener: <script> if (doc
pj
- startupShut down2009
Ask YC: Feedback for our new startup
The site is bidboxr.com We're getting ready to launch and since I've enjoyed so many of the articles posted here I thought it would be great to get some feedback from the YC community. Bidboxr.com is a unique blend of online advertising and online auctions. Instead of simply providing a site where sellers list items and bidders bid on those items, we've created an interactive ad banner that bring auctions to the bidders. One of our major goals when we created bidboxr.com was to provide online entrepreneurs/startups with a profitable source of revenue. Think of it like Google's adwords/adsense model, but we're using interactive auctions instead of static ads. The auctions are relevant to the content of the page, so it's designed to draw users who are interested in that particular content. Imagine reading a blog post about a digital camera and looking at an ad on the side of the page showi
Why it failed: The site is bidboxr.com We're getting ready to launch and since I've enjoyed so many of the articles posted here I thought it would be great to get some feedback from the YC community. Bidboxr.com is a unique blend of online advertising and online auctions. Instead of simply prov
tyohn
- startupShut down2009
Ask HN: What is your policy on IE6 development?
With the release of IE9 it's becoming clear that without a solid up-front discussion with clients about browser compatibility, they may expect their website to work in four versions of Internet Explorer. For some sites this is fairly easy, and a couple of star hacks in the CSS will make it usable in IE6, but for clients who want the latest and greatest, sometimes IE6 compatibility isn't really realistic, or else just very tedious and time consuming. It seems to me there are a few of ways to deal with this problem, but I'm not totally happy with any approach. 1) List IE6 development as a separate line item, with a cost beside it that the client can opt to go for or not. The problem with this is they could take that estimate to another company who might say "well our websites work in EVERY browser, no extra charge", whether or not that's actually true. 2) Tell clients up front that if they
Why it failed: With the release of IE9 it's becoming clear that without a solid up-front discussion with clients about browser compatibility, they may expect their website to work in four versions of Internet Explorer. For some sites this is fairly easy, and a couple of star hacks in the CSS wi
omgsean
- startupShut down2009
Ask HN: Am I crazy?
So I just graduated college in the spring and I have about $1500 in savings that I could spend on the deposit + rent/moving expenses for an apartment somewhere and continue looking for a job, but something in me is telling me there's a better way. I have a plan, but I want to see if you guys think I'm crazy (If HN thinks it's too out there, then I know I'm off-base) or if I'm going to need more money or what. I have known for some time that there's something different in the brain of an entrepreneur that changes the way they see the world, and I want to find out what that is. So I want to set out to find entrepreneurs, either through appointment or serendipity, and spend a little time with them. Just get to know how they decided to do what they do, what keeps them going, what their hopes and dreams are, etc. I posit that there's commonalities to be found there and a lot of insight to be
Why it failed: So I just graduated college in the spring and I have about $1500 in savings that I could spend on the deposit + rent/moving expenses for an apartment somewhere and continue looking for a job, but something in me is telling me there's a better way. I have a plan, but I want to see
amohr
- startupShut down2009
Ask YC/PG: Quantitative success of YC so far?
The story on Fool.com about YC being a force to be reckoned with got me thinking about whether the data backs that up. I'm not disagreeing, just curious. YC has funded a lot of startups and it would be interesting to know roughly what percentage have failed, become profitable, exited, etc. How does this compare to other venture portfolios? If it's still too early to tell, at what point will you have enough data to know if you're earning an acceptable return? Perhaps this data is already available somewhere? PS - One of the things about the article that bugged me is that they seemed to equate $$ raised with success. That's not really what I'm looking for.
Why it failed: The story on Fool.com about YC being a force to be reckoned with got me thinking about whether the data backs that up. I'm not disagreeing, just curious. YC has funded a lot of startups and it would be interesting to know roughly what percentage have failed, become profitable, ex
ryanwaggoner
- startupShut down2009
What should I choose, PhD or startup?
Recently, I was asked by a professor to advice his student, whether to pursue his idea/startup (a chemical product, he invented) or go for a Ph.D. degree in chemistry eng.. The professor chose to ask me, because I both have a PhD degree and multiple startup experience. In my answer I didn't focus so much on the basics (business plan etc.), figuring he already knows most of this, but more on how to choose. Do you like/agree with my answer ? ------ Hello, The pros of a PhD degree: A PhD degree does sometimes give you access and credibility to venture into bigger ideas. However, there is no guarantees. You could choose to finish your PhD degree and enter or found a highfuelled venture later on, such as those founded by www.kpcb.com or www.sequoiacap.com (these are most successfull and well-known ones, there are of course many smaller). Personally, it might give you the aptitude to write bet
Why it failed: Recently, I was asked by a professor to advice his student, whether to pursue his idea/startup (a chemical product, he invented) or go for a Ph.D. degree in chemistry eng.. The professor chose to ask me, because I both have a PhD degree and multiple startup experience. In my answ
teralaser
- startupShut down2009
Ask HN: Tips for coming up with a new web startup name
We are planning to launch a new startup in the next few months but are having difficulty finding an available domain name. What process do you go through when trying to come up with a name for your startup?
Why it failed: We are planning to launch a new startup in the next few months but are having difficulty finding an available domain name. What process do you go through when trying to come up with a name for your startup?
hamgav
- startupShut down2009
HN Meta: A Eulogy of Sorts.
What a sad day. I've always thought that this community was something different. I love coming here; the intelligence; the discussion; the connectedness. I don't personally know a single one of you, but I've admired many of you in your ability to form smart and reasoned arguments about many things. Today however, you've shown me something else. Today I learned that you're not much more than any other community, despite your qualities. Today I learned that the same thing that destroyed reddit will likely destroy you - that as the site grows, the community fragments, cliques form, and conflict begins. In this race to assert opinion, good people withdraw and are replaced by those of lessor quality. The whole thing slides downhill like some sort of slow moving train wreck. It seems that despite the best intentions, communities naturally self destruct. I was hoping that pg would be able to cr
Why it failed: What a sad day. I've always thought that this community was something different. I love coming here; the intelligence; the discussion; the connectedness. I don't personally know a single one of you, but I've admired many of you in your ability to form smart and reasoned arguments
run4yourlives
- startupShut down2008
Using Dropbox to Track Bugs
Being a tiny startup looking for ways to save money, we discovered the best, cheapest bug tracking software out there. It's dropbox (or dropbugz). Simply make a folder called "bugs" in your dropbox and put a "done" directory in it. -Each bug is a .txt file whose name is the description of the bug. -Dropbox keeps track of who creates / edits files so if someone botches a description you can always figure out who wrote it up and when. (Unix does a decent job of this too.) -You can assign bugs by putting "#fixer_name" at the top of the file and grepping for "#fixer_name" on the command line. -When bugs are done you move them to the "done" folder. If you duplicate a title it overwrites, but dropbox has your back w/ revision edits. -You can preform any sort of command line voodoo to slice and dice your bugs. -You know when bugs are posted or fixed through the dropbox notifications. -You never
Why it failed: Being a tiny startup looking for ways to save money, we discovered the best, cheapest bug tracking software out there. It's dropbox (or dropbugz). Simply make a folder called "bugs" in your dropbox and put a "done" directory in it. -Each bug is a .txt file whose name is the descr
uuilly
- startupShut down2008
Ask YC: Ethical Question, possible fraud
Background Info: I am a coder at an angel backed startup.. we have a couple paying customers and a handful of full time employees including a few founders. I started a few months ago after i saw an ad for the job, I did not know the founders previously, the company has been around for about 2 years. We sell software to fairly large corporations. Ethical Dilemma: The past couple weeks, I have overheard the founder of the company exagerrate/lie about key facts of our company to potential customers. ie. claiming that we have 20 customers worldwide. claiming the we have multiple offices. and 2-3 times the employees that we actually have. claiming that certain parts of the software are in use by other customers when these parts have never been used in production.. not positive about this but possibly misrepresenting investment incoming money as sales in financial due diligence documents or at
Why it failed: Background Info: I am a coder at an angel backed startup.. we have a couple paying customers and a handful of full time employees including a few founders. I started a few months ago after i saw an ad for the job, I did not know the founders previously, the company has been aroun
nobodynew
- startupShut down2008
Ask HN: The curse of the green card: entrepreneurship for immigrants?
Background: I am from India. I have a PhD in engineering (Berkeley) and a steady full time job at a tech company in the valley. I work on an H1B visa and my green card application has been filed (EB2, pending AOS, received EAD). Problem: I’ve been hacking at a startup concept for a few months now. We (my "co-founders" are also immigrants) are now at a point where we have a well functioning product and eager customers. The only thing that is preventing us from going live is incorporation (which gives us the ability to accept payments, liability protection, IP, etc). Being temporary immigrant workers on an H1B we can incorporate and "own" a company ... but CANNOT WORK for it. o How do immigrants handle such a quandary? o Yes, I can own a large % of equity, but I can’t write a single line of code... because that would technically be "working" for the company and could increase the value of
Why it failed: Background: I am from India. I have a PhD in engineering (Berkeley) and a steady full time job at a tech company in the valley. I work on an H1B visa and my green card application has been filed (EB2, pending AOS, received EAD). Problem: I’ve been hacking at a startup concept for
stevesmith155
- startupShut down2008
Ask YC: Competitor flying under us...
DISCLAIMER: This is kinda long, but if you take the time to read it I will buy you a karma lollipop. I remember distinctly reading one of PG's maxims: Never let anybody fly underneath you. And we never have. We are a low cost provider of a hotly demanded product that appeals to public/overnment clients. These particular entities usually pay anywhere between $100K and $20M to have this type of system installed, and can pay ongoing fees anywhere from $500 a month to $500K a year, depending on the size of the organization being outfitted. Suffice it to say that there is a huge market for this product...many many of these organizations all dying to have the product. We have done well with well over $500K in revenue in <2 years, no funding, and a win in a big name startup contest that netted us $100K in cash and prizes out of 250 entrants we competed against. There are about 6 competitors
Why it failed: DISCLAIMER: This is kinda long, but if you take the time to read it I will buy you a karma lollipop. I remember distinctly reading one of PG's maxims: Never let anybody fly underneath you. And we never have. We are a low cost provider of a hotly demanded product that appeals to p
theyoungceo
- startupShut down2008
My side project: an open-sourced comedy community
Hi everyone, I just launched a side project I've been working on for the last month or so ... it's fairly simple, but I'd love your thoughts. http://www.ChompChompDead.com --> it's roughly what happens when you get eaten by a shark. We like to think of it as open-sourced comedy. Anyways, there's a cast of 10 members who submit articles that are rated by the public. At the end of each week, the lowest rated cast member gets demoted, while the funniest member of the community is promoted. Basically, this is one of those 'life is too short' kind of initiatives. I just love writing and reading comedy, nothing existed like this before, I knew I could build it... so I did. I'm not really expecting to profit off of it -- I merely wanted it to exist. I'm launching it with the help of a bunch of screenwriters and comics I know. It's amazing how much the creative world doesn't understand about
Why it failed: Hi everyone, I just launched a side project I've been working on for the last month or so ... it's fairly simple, but I'd love your thoughts. http://www.ChompChompDead.com --> it's roughly what happens when you get eaten by a shark. We like to think of it as open-sourced come
parker
- startupShut down2008
Ask YC: prove commitment within two months?
I am worried that my CV doesn't really mark me as the ideal founder. It seems to me I wasted so much time in my life (35 years old now), and even the projects I finished successfully (most I didn't finish) usually took too long, and did not reach the scope I was hoping for. In essence, there are not many achievements I am really proud about. It might just be my personal assessment, but still (agents love my Java consulting CV, but it doesn't mean anything to me). I have even publicly admitted to burnout syndromes on HN - big red flag? My karma also shows that I procrastinate a lot... Anyway, I wonder about your opinions: is it possible to turn around that impression within two months, which is the time I could hopefully dedicate to preparing the next YC application? I suppose the obvious path to take is to work on a demo day and night, and anyway, giving up is not an option (I might just
Why it failed: I am worried that my CV doesn't really mark me as the ideal founder. It seems to me I wasted so much time in my life (35 years old now), and even the projects I finished successfully (most I didn't finish) usually took too long, and did not reach the scope I was hoping for. In es
Tichy
- startupShut down2008
Ask YC: Hiring a Freelancer with High Rates
I'm about to hire a guy to add to the team who currently lives in the world of high-end, expensive freelancing. Salary isn't very flexible since we're working on somewhat of a budget, and remaining conservative with our funds. Currently his hourly rates are above what we're capable of meeting, but he remained optimistic about negotiations. Have any of you gone through a circumstance like this, and if so what were your experiences in the long run?
Why it failed: I'm about to hire a guy to add to the team who currently lives in the world of high-end, expensive freelancing. Salary isn't very flexible since we're working on somewhat of a budget, and remaining conservative with our funds. Currently his hourly rates are above what we're capab
iamdave