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.
1,587 solutions
- startupShut down2012
Tell HN: Frustrated and feeling pretty useless at this point.
When my startup last year did terribly, I felt like crap. While it wasn't really a surprise (I kinda knew it was going to happen), it was a pretty painful experience. Having said that, it's nothing compared to what I feel now. I sincerely, truly believed that my current startup had potential to grow but I lost the one chance I had. After failing our startup last year, we picked up on advice from HN- we started over. We finally found something we truly believed in and created our first iPhone App after 6 months. Given that we didn't have any programming or design experience, we worked like hell to really make up for all the areas we were lacking in. Were barely surviving by (we had left our jobs since the last failed startup) and working nonstop because this was THE idea we believed in. One of the startup advice that I hear most often is to create a product that solves a problem of your o
Why it failed: When my startup last year did terribly, I felt like crap. While it wasn't really a surprise (I kinda knew it was going to happen), it was a pretty painful experience. Having said that, it's nothing compared to what I feel now. I sincerely, truly believed that my current startup h
iamjonlee
- startupShut down2011
An Update on my Ask HN - 2223764
A few weeks ago I posted an Ask HN about what to do as my 3 next steps on a startup concept, and now I wanted to provide you with a quick update. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2223764 Based on some of the advice and information I received I decided that imperfect action was better than no action at all, so I went to my local San Diego Ruby meetup. I had some lengthy discussions with some of the folks that I met and concluded that as non-programmer attempting to manage full time hires was not practical and that subcontracting vs. full time was an appropriate next steps. I then asked for recommendations, and along with a trusted and experienced PHP programming friend did some interviewing of the local talent. With the average cost estimates, timelines projections and learning curves - I figured it was time to expand my search rather than risk it with the two person companies that I w
Why it failed: A few weeks ago I posted an Ask HN about what to do as my 3 next steps on a startup concept, and now I wanted to provide you with a quick update. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2223764 Based on some of the advice and information I received I decided that imperfect action was
bks
- startupShut down2011
What the Internet has done for me...
10 weeks ago I took on the challenge of running the entire London Underground for Harry Moseley's charity Help Harry Help Others (HelpHarryHelpOthers.com). I wanted to run 406 miles, travel through all 272 tube stops and complete every single tube line. Most importantly though I wanted to raise £10,000 for Harry's charity, I hope I can raise a £100,000. The internet has changed many things - how we communicate, how we gather information and how we interact. It has also changed the face of charity. Like many of you, I am on Twitter. One year ago it was recommended to me that I follow an 11 year old called Harry Moseley. Twitter comes in for a lot of criticism, some of it is deserved but had it not been for Twitter I would never have learned of Harry Moseley and his story. His story, that was unfolding on Twitter, read like this... Four years ago a 7 year old boy named Harry Moseley compla
Why it failed: 10 weeks ago I took on the challenge of running the entire London Underground for Harry Moseley's charity Help Harry Help Others (HelpHarryHelpOthers.com). I wanted to run 406 miles, travel through all 272 tube stops and complete every single tube line. Most importantly though I
sw1205
- startupShut down2011
Tell HN: How to get back at your start-up husband
“in order for any tech startup to succeed — there must be a strong spouse who is picking up the slack at home, being the emotional rock and feeling the high’s and low’s so deeply that they too are a de facto stakeholder” ~ Jonathon Sposato Wow, I can relate to that quote! Being a startup-spouse for the past 5 years was no walk in the park. After much hard work, blood, sweat and tears my husband sold his start-up business. It seems unreal still, but hey, it was on Techcrunch last week so it must be true! When I look back now, there were quite a few ups and a lot of tough downs, right to the end. The lessons learned though, are more valuable then anything. I’d love to share one of them, from my perspective as an involved spectator. When you’re in a start-up, the perimeters of what is good or bad in business are very vague, because what makes for doing well is very relative. Obvious reasoni
Why it failed: “in order for any tech startup to succeed — there must be a strong spouse who is picking up the slack at home, being the emotional rock and feeling the high’s and low’s so deeply that they too are a de facto stakeholder” ~ Jonathon Sposato Wow, I can relate to that quote! Being a
christeen
- startupShut down2011
Airpush are quite happy to support developers who want to deceive their users.
(Airpush are a controversial company that creates ad software that pushes ads to the Android notification bar usually used for new email and message notifications. Often users don't know which app they have to uninstall to get rid of them) Live Chat Transcript: Me: What are your guidelines for notifying end-users about notification area ads? You are now speaking with Lisa of Sales. Lisa: Hello Me: Hi Lisa: Welcome to Airpush Lisa: Are you a developer or advertiser? Me: developer Lisa: Great Lisa: Regarding your question, you can which users will receive your ad and that too how often Lisa: adjust* Me: How does a user know which app is sending the ads? Lisa: It will be reflecting your developer's dashboard once you start listing your apps Me: i.e. User X updates a dozen apps and suddenly starts getting notification ads. How do they know which app is creating them? Me: I'm talking about en
Why it failed: (Airpush are a controversial company that creates ad software that pushes ads to the Android notification bar usually used for new email and message notifications. Often users don't know which app they have to uninstall to get rid of them) Live Chat Transcript: Me: What are your
andybak
- startupShut down2011
Social anxiety is crippling my life, what can I do to stop it?
Apologies if this is not the appropriate place to ask this question, I guess I'm hoping that there are other "introverts" on here that have been in similar circumstances and can offer me advice. I turn 21 in a few months and I currently don't have any close friends and it is really starting to get me down. All through my life I've always been "that quiet person" and I have self-diagnosed myself with some form of moderate social anxiety. I had a large group of friends during high school and somewhat of a social life but I mostly just tagged along with the group and never became close friends with anyone. Following the end of high school I slowly lost contact with these people. My anxiety kept me from making any effort to stay in touch even though I wanted to. It's silly, but my brain processed it like this "if they don't invite me to things I guess they are not interested in hanging out w
Why it failed: Apologies if this is not the appropriate place to ask this question, I guess I'm hoping that there are other "introverts" on here that have been in similar circumstances and can offer me advice. I turn 21 in a few months and I currently don't have any close friends and it is real
anxiousThrowawy
- startupShut down2011
Show HN: I emailed video game companies about breaking into the industry
A few years ago, I emailed a few prominent video game companies (Valve, Bethesda, Infinity Ward, and another I have lost the name to). I asked about how one gets a job in the video game industry. Although I'm no longer on that path, I figured the emails might be useful for anyone interested. Cheers: ----- Thanks for your interest and support of Valve. What does it take to get in to the gaming industry? I can’t give you a concrete answer, but, after speaking with several of employees, I can offer up these suggestions: 1. Hone your analytical skills. As a mental exercise, break down anything around your in life into its base elements. Try to figure out "If this were a game, what would the goal be? What would be my resources?". You can break anything down into meaningful quanta. School, marriage, cars, getting a job...anything could be turned into a game. It's very important for a game desi
Why it failed: A few years ago, I emailed a few prominent video game companies (Valve, Bethesda, Infinity Ward, and another I have lost the name to). I asked about how one gets a job in the video game industry. Although I'm no longer on that path, I figured the emails might be useful for anyone
keiferski
- startupShut down2011
Ask HN: Where do deadpool founders go?
Background: Fresh out of college, I cofounded a social media startup with another friend. We've been plugging away at it for the last 2 years making all the conceivable mistakes first-time entrepreneurs make. What finally broke the camel's back was actually not money but my realisation one day that we were not capable of executing the plan. There were many reasons for this but to name a few: 1) We were not end users of our product. Dog fooding felt like a chore 2) We caught on to the lean startup/4 steps schools of thought too late and could have saved ourselves a ton of mistakes by just reading the 4 steps 3) Inexperience all through the board from product management to marketing. Bad mentors giving bad advice exacerbated matters So the question is for me is really what next? The context for this question is that I definitely definitely definitely want to be involved in another startup
Why it failed: Background: Fresh out of college, I cofounded a social media startup with another friend. We've been plugging away at it for the last 2 years making all the conceivable mistakes first-time entrepreneurs make. What finally broke the camel's back was actually not money but my reali
Heisenbergg
- startupShut down2011
Ask HN: Help, my $150,000 student debt is ruining my life, and my future
Dear enlightened HN community, I am earnestly seeking as many helpful advice as I can get, pertaining to the painful state of existence I reside in due to ignorant & impulsive college decisions I made about a decade ago. Due to excessive math & science training in high school, I impulsively decided to go to an expensive East Coast Art school to study Art & Design, paid for on entirely borrowed student debt average 40k a year, for 4 years straight. I was extremely financial ignorant at that age, not at all understanding the actual income of those who chooses career in the creative fields. Straight out of school, I got an entry level marketing job offer. At that point, the job offer was so low, that it would leave me starving after my basic necessities, such as apartment & student debts are paid. I chose instead, to do something riskier, and more entrepreneurial straight ou
Why it failed: Dear enlightened HN community, I am earnestly seeking as many helpful advice as I can get, pertaining to the painful state of existence I reside in due to ignorant & impulsive college decisions I made about a decade ago. Due to excessive math & science training in high sc
heavilyindebt
- startupShut down2011
Ask HN: Why not fix JavaScript?
Hello Hackers, I have been learning JavaScript and have observed: 1) Most programmers program using javascript libraries(e.g jQuery), whose syntax is not even vaguely similar to pure javascript which often gives so called jQuery programmers a shock when they attempt to do things in Javascript. I would agrue that less than 1% of so called web programmers can do pure javascript programming. 2) Some Popular web frameworks have resorted to choosing altogether different language that "compiles into Javascript". If its not clear I am talking about Ruby on Rails & Coffee-script. In-short, JavaScript does have not-so-good parts and people are using workarounds to get those bad things to behave nicely. so as a new Developer looking to learn JavaScript. I face this dilemma of choosing between a) Pure Js b)JS libraries C) language that "compiles into Javascript". And what I have observed there
Why it failed: Hello Hackers, I have been learning JavaScript and have observed: 1) Most programmers program using javascript libraries(e.g jQuery), whose syntax is not even vaguely similar to pure javascript which often gives so called jQuery programmers a shock when they attempt to do things
gary4gar
- startupShut down2011
Ask HN: My first startup offer
Hello Hackers, I'm on the edge of taking the plunge into the startup scene. I've received the deets of the offer, now I have to decide. I'm hoping someone can help me run the numbers and figure out if it's a fair offer... There's 3 co-founders. They're a smashing team of folks but none of which will be technical. One has a technical background (and some successful iPhone apps and such), but they're staying on the business end. Those are the only employees right now. There's no product. This is definitely the 'ground floor'. They're raising 750k on a 7M valuation doing capped convertible notes (at a 7M cap). To that end, they've been running small events and have people that have been attending them. Nothing huge but it's a slight glimmer of some market validation. They're recruiting 3 technical engineers to develop v1 of the product. Myself as a backend developer, a PM + UX developer, an
Why it failed: Hello Hackers, I'm on the edge of taking the plunge into the startup scene. I've received the deets of the offer, now I have to decide. I'm hoping someone can help me run the numbers and figure out if it's a fair offer... There's 3 co-founders. They're a smashing team of folks bu
startup_noob
- startupShut down2011
I'm a cargo cult programmer, help me
Hello HN I come to you for help. I went to college and got an Information systems degree, it was a crappy college so the most programming we had was dabbling with arrays and pointers in C, not much Algorithsms & Data Structures, no unix, no Operating Systems and no compilers, and most importantly no problem solving. Half way through college my father died so I had to find a job to make ends meet, somehow i got sucked into the java "enterprise" world where I've been for the past 5 years, glueing API's and frameworks together, with some Javascript and SQL on the side, however on the verge of my 30's, I now have found that I lack the fundamentals of Computer Science, the things every programmer should know: Algo's, Data Structures, Operating Systems an understanding of compilers and being profficient with linux. Eventually I plan on going back to a real University and getting a CS degre
Why it failed: Hello HN I come to you for help. I went to college and got an Information systems degree, it was a crappy college so the most programming we had was dabbling with arrays and pointers in C, not much Algorithsms & Data Structures, no unix, no Operating Systems and no compilers,
jrookie
- startupShut down2011
Warn HN: Lots of Launches Coming
Every cycle we warn startups not to wait till 2 weeks before Demo Day to launch if they can avoid it, because there's always a glut of startups launching then. Every cycle they do anyway. It's now 2 weeks before Demo Day, so there are going to be a lot of new startups launching in the coming week. Please be nice to them. For you their launch may be "yet another YC startup," but for each individual startup this is their big moment.
Why it failed: Every cycle we warn startups not to wait till 2 weeks before Demo Day to launch if they can avoid it, because there's always a glut of startups launching then. Every cycle they do anyway. It's now 2 weeks before Demo Day, so there are going to be a lot of new startups launching i
pg
- startupShut down2011
How we fed ourselves for a year & sold a startup...with only 300 lines of code
Hello Hacker News, I’ve been reading HN for a long time now and love the way the community shares thoughts with each other. I haven’t done anything extraordinary or extremely successful, but I want to chip in to the community with this experience that I find pretty interesting. A year ago, I moved to San Francisco from rural Missouri hoping to join the start-up world. At the same time, I met a friend, Zac, who also just moved to the bay area around that time but had left his job to pursue something more interesting. We decided to become partners and start hacking stuff together. Since we were new to the city and we didn’t know any one, we decided to build a mobile app that lets people use their phone to read the profiles of others nearby. It was supposed to help people “break the ice” and meet new people. This was our first startup. We coded the product in a week and pushed the product l
Why it failed: Hello Hacker News, I’ve been reading HN for a long time now and love the way the community shares thoughts with each other. I haven’t done anything extraordinary or extremely successful, but I want to chip in to the community with this experience that I find pretty interesting. A
felixchan
- startupShut down2011
A remarkable email exchange with a developer who cares
EDIT: I realise the below isn't exactly readable so I posted a formatted version here: http://andrewsplastic.tumblr.com/ I recently installed a Chrome extension that didn't do exactly what I wanted. I uninstalled it and promptly forgot about it until the following email exchange happened: FROM BEN COE, THE CO-FOUNDER OF THE EXTENSION ATTACHMENTS.ME: Hey Andrew, Ben here. I'm one of the cofounders of Attachments.me: I've been reaching out to some of the people who signup for our service, I'd love to know how things are going for you. Any feedback you can provide about how the service is working for you so far, would be awesome. Also, I'd love to hear any suggestions you have for the product. Thanks for taking the time to try us out :) Cheers, Ben Coe MY REPLY: Hey Ben, Thanks for getting in touch. I uninstalled it. All I really needed was my attachments to appear on the right of the email
Why it failed: EDIT: I realise the below isn't exactly readable so I posted a formatted version here: http://andrewsplastic.tumblr.com/ I recently installed a Chrome extension that didn't do exactly what I wanted. I uninstalled it and promptly forgot about it until the following email exchange
andrewfelix
- startupShut down2011
Ask HN: Pharmaceutical BigCo wants to acquire my iPad app. Advice?
Hey HN, throwaway account here. My partner and I created an iPad app and it's been pretty successful (especially considering it was only a 4 week investment). The app is in the top 100 US & China, covered by NYT, ABC, Gizmodo, etc. Now a BigCo Pharmaceutical is asking to buy the app (not the company), code and all. They want to rebrand it and re-release it as one of their products. We are an LLC, but we didn't take any funding, so we don't have any "advisors" as such. We're technicians, not lawyers, and we are more or less clueless on the best way to go about negotiating (and closing) this deal. What advice can you give us on negotiating? Are there any HNers out there that have been through this sort of mini-acquisition before that are willing to reach out to us? (please comment and I'll ping you via my normal account). Have any good links to read? A few details you might want to kno
Why it failed: Hey HN, throwaway account here. My partner and I created an iPad app and it's been pretty successful (especially considering it was only a 4 week investment). The app is in the top 100 US & China, covered by NYT, ABC, Gizmodo, etc. Now a BigCo Pharmaceutical is asking to buy
luckyclueless
- startupShut down2011
Tell HN: I've decided to give my software away for free
Hi HN, About 6 weeks ago, I launched a new piece of social networking software named Kwolla. Kwolla lets you create your own social network platform. Sales were initially very good, but they've since dwindled. I'm working on a much newer version of the software and also trying to find a way to monetize it. During that time, I've decided to at least give it away free so hopefully some people can get use out of it. I plan on having a full post-mortem on my blog - http://blog.leftnode.com giving more information about future releases and the results of giving my software away free. If you're interested, head on over to http://kwolla.com and download a copy.
Why it failed: Hi HN, About 6 weeks ago, I launched a new piece of social networking software named Kwolla. Kwolla lets you create your own social network platform. Sales were initially very good, but they've since dwindled. I'm working on a much newer version of the software and also trying to
leftnode
- startupShut down2011
Ask HN: I just wasted 4 years of my life. Now what?
Hi HN, this is a long one - grab your popcorn. [Removed some background info due to length, but the gist was that I’ve had the entrepreneurial bug for as long as I can remember] I just graduated from the General Engineering program [1] at the University of Illinois in December, and I can tell you that my time spent at UIUC was absolutely horrible. Year after year, I was told things would get better- “These are just weed out classes, don’t worry. Things get better after this.” Year after year, things stayed the same. In four years, I never felt inspired or motivated. I tried switching majors, but was strongly advised against it due to a weak job market in the target field (industrial design). I couldn’t drop out or start over, because upwards of $100,000 was on the table for my education. I was surrounded my classmates who didn’t give a shit about engineering or learning – their priority
Why it failed: Hi HN, this is a long one - grab your popcorn. [Removed some background info due to length, but the gist was that I’ve had the entrepreneurial bug for as long as I can remember] I just graduated from the General Engineering program [1] at the University of Illinois in December, a
guynamedloren
- startupShut down2011
Ask HN: Can I help you be more awesome today? (No strings. Inquire within.)
Hi again! I'm back for another "No Strings" session. I like this community a lot and want to see if there's anything I can do to make you a little more successful. There are no strings attached. (Hense, the name.) To give you an idea of what I might be able to help you with, let me tell you a few things I've done to help others... - I've helped consult with non-developers about their idea to help them understand what it'll take to implement, - I'm currently building the control panel (front and back-end) of an embedded (ARM-based) wifi access point, - I'm planning educational workshops for our community to learn (cram) on different technologies and how they can be quickly used for different benefits, - I read approximately 600+ different articles, blog entries, and stories each month about what the tech world is doing. (I'm pretty informed!) - I understand good design from bad design. Ae
Why it failed: Hi again! I'm back for another "No Strings" session. I like this community a lot and want to see if there's anything I can do to make you a little more successful. There are no strings attached. (Hense, the name.) To give you an idea of what I might be able to help you with, let
mikegreenberg
- startupShut down2011
Ask HN: Review my startup, Beansight.com
Hi Everyone, One of my friend told me that I can get great feedbacks with Ask HN to improve my startups. So let's ask you. I'am working working on a new website where people can share predictions and be rewarded for good ones. On Beansight you can share and record your predictions about what it’s going to happen. You can also read other members predictions and agree or disagree with them. Most important, you can also write comments to argue your position. If members make good predictions, they will earn credibility points and if they earn a lot of them, they will become an expert on Beansight. So they will be able to use their Beansight profile to prove their expertise. We're planning on launching a lot of new features in the coming months, but we've gotten to a point where we'd really appreciate some feedback for improving effect. We are particularly looking for feedback about the UI. T
Why it failed: Hi Everyone, One of my friend told me that I can get great feedbacks with Ask HN to improve my startups. So let's ask you. I'am working working on a new website where people can share predictions and be rewarded for good ones. On Beansight you can share and record your prediction
Oyinko
- startupShut down2011
Offer HN: Free in-house mobile ad exchange
Hi HN, Offer: Free in-house-ads for your apps in my mobile apps in exchange for some in-house-ads in your mobile apps. Details: I am starting to release several small ad-supported iPhone apps in which I can run in-house ads to advertise anything I want. So far, I have been using them to cross promote my other apps, and they get a high click-through rate. The problem is, there are not too many, so users end up seeing the same ads over and over. Variety is the spice of life, so I am willing to show in-house ads for your mobile apps in exchange for ads in your apps. Yes, this is like the banner link exchange systems of the wild-west-web. Right now I will only consider apps that are native iOS apps, or mobile web apps optimized for iPhone/iPad browsers. I have no idea what interest in this offer will be like, so I can't promise to accept everyone that wants it, but I will write you an email
Why it failed: Hi HN, Offer: Free in-house-ads for your apps in my mobile apps in exchange for some in-house-ads in your mobile apps. Details: I am starting to release several small ad-supported iPhone apps in which I can run in-house ads to advertise anything I want. So far, I have been using
jazzychad
- startupShut down2011
Ask HN: I'm considering taking over my family's business and need advice
HN, I need some advice, but first I must give a bit of a back story. Apologies if it is a bit long. I’m also posting this from a throwaway account for privacy reasons, but I am an avid HNer and greatly respect the advice that so many people give freely within the community. If anyone thinks they have particularly good insights into this situation and would be willing to take some time to chat please send me a message at throwaway1445@gmail.com In 1996 my dad sold his shares of a software product and used the money to bootstrap the development of a business software application in a field that barely existed at the time, but has exploded since then. Here are some relevant facts about the business 15 years later: - Enterprise SaaS application - Annual revenue in the mid to high 6 figures. - Five employees counting both of my parents (my mom is the other co-founder of the business) - Locate
Why it failed: HN, I need some advice, but first I must give a bit of a back story. Apologies if it is a bit long. I’m also posting this from a throwaway account for privacy reasons, but I am an avid HNer and greatly respect the advice that so many people give freely within the community. If an
throwaway1445
- startupShut down2011
Show HN: The Final Days of a Failed Startup
http://lookingbackaretrospective.posterous.com I've posted this before while it was still in progress, but the final chapter has been added, and so I wanted to submit it one final time, for people to be able to read the work in it's entirety. This is the true story of one developers life while he worked for a start-up that never got more than a few feet off of the ground before a pitiful crash and burn. It spans nearly 4 years, and focuses mainly on the people and events that helped to define the work. It's very much a personal memoir, and not at all a dive into what kind of role our stack played in things. I would appreciate any questions, comments, or criticism that people may have, and would like to thank everyone who took the time to read this. It was incredibly cathartic to go through the process of writing this all down, and it was great to know that there were people out there enj
Why it failed: http://lookingbackaretrospective.posterous.com I've posted this before while it was still in progress, but the final chapter has been added, and so I wanted to submit it one final time, for people to be able to read the work in it's entirety. This is the true story of one develop
manuscreationis
- startupShut down2011
Plea HN: perfectionism is ruining my life
I've been lurking on HN for about two years. I'm posting this here because I'm not sure where else to turn and there are a bunch of smart people here who may be able to help. I'm in my late 20s and I feel stuck. I had a lot of issues growing up and thankfully was able to work through most of them with the help of a very caring school counsellor. I never went to college and spent a few years drifting between dead end jobs. I currently work in (tele) sales. I taught myself to program as a teenager on an old Commodore Amiga. Since then I've learned a number of different languages on a few different platforms. Over the years I've started countless projects - more than I can remember. The thing is - I never finish them. I either spend weeks or months refactoring and rewriting the code or more commonly, I finish writing the code then give up when it comes to designing, documenting and polishin
Why it failed: I've been lurking on HN for about two years. I'm posting this here because I'm not sure where else to turn and there are a bunch of smart people here who may be able to help. I'm in my late 20s and I feel stuck. I had a lot of issues growing up and thankfully was able to work thr
introuble