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.
796 solutions
- startupShut down2023
Ask HN: My startup failed, now what?
I was a non-tech cofounder of a hard tech startup that raised a seed round of 500K. The startup failed for a bunch of reasons unrelated to this topic after 2 years of existence. Now I need to get a job, and I have no idea what kind of job I am qualified to get in the tech world. Before the startup I have one brief business development stint but nothing major, and a degree from a prestigious university. I don't even know where to start regarding what positions I can get? I can certainly try business development again, but I want to be more involved in the product.
Why it failed: I was a non-tech cofounder of a hard tech startup that raised a seed round of 500K. The startup failed for a bunch of reasons unrelated to this topic after 2 years of existence. Now I need to get a job, and I have no idea what kind of job I am qualified to get in the tech world.
quotz
- startupShut down2023
Ask HN: Is it a bad time to apply to FAANG companies?
I am a back-end software engineer with about 6 years of experience. I used to avoid applying to big tech companies in the past, because I didn't have enough time for a proper coding interview preparation and I preferred companies who hired based on my past projects and verbal assessment. However, I recently quit my last job and for the first time in my life I concentrated fully on my preparation for big tech. Ironically, there are news being constantly published about large layoffs at all major tech companies. Is it still possible to land a job in FAANG at the moment? Should I continue with my preparation?
Why it failed: I am a back-end software engineer with about 6 years of experience. I used to avoid applying to big tech companies in the past, because I didn't have enough time for a proper coding interview preparation and I preferred companies who hired based on my past projects and verba
olzhasar
- startupShut down2023
Ask HN: Self-hosting in 2023: Nextcloud on Linode, or...?
I have always chafed at handing any aspect of my life over to a corporation, but the ease and convenience of Google's ecosystem has herded me in over the years, and I never want to be without that type of "cloud" style document and data storage again. I'm also ready to do what is necessary to stop relying on some faceless entity to manage it, I'm just not sure what to use, or where. Plan A: Nextcloud on Linode. Probably not the dirt cheapest choice, but affordable as a steady expense right now, and it seems to provide a lot of resource headroom while I get on top of how it works and what my actual needs are gonna be re compute and bandwidth and so forth, as well as allowing me to stand up any extra services I may want on this web presence - Nextcloud's open nature is good for that as well, but I want access to the system itself. What I need: I will be using
Why it failed: I have always chafed at handing any aspect of my life over to a corporation, but the ease and convenience of Google's ecosystem has herded me in over the years, and I never want to be without that type of "cloud" style document and data storage again. I'm also
jtode
- startupShut down2023
Ask HN: How to minimize career risk from an attempted startup
I am about to ditch my somewhat successful FAANG career to attempt bootstrapping a SaaS business. My goal is to build a lifestyle business, not a VC rocketship, but I still think there is a substantial chance it will not work out. What ca I do to minimize my risk of having lower chances on the job market due to this adventure? What data do recruiters and employers look at to determine if the failed startup listed on a CV is a plus or a minus?
Why it failed: I am about to ditch my somewhat successful FAANG career to attempt bootstrapping a SaaS business. My goal is to build a lifestyle business, not a VC rocketship, but I still think there is a substantial chance it will not work out. What ca I do to minimize my risk of having lower
thw6597
- startupShut down2023
Ask HN: For 10 years I've been trying various projects, still clueless
I have a lot of experience with side-projects and startups. I will briefly explain my experience. I'm coming from small eastern European country, so my perspective on everything might be different. 1. My country is too small and market is small. You can do something here, but everything is so limited that it's terrible. 3.5M people and then when you target certain people who wants your product or service or app or website, you get super small amount of people 2. The Balkans (group of countries around my country where people speak the same language) is a better story, but every nation is so isolated. I asked yourself, how often do I use products/app/websites from the other countries and vice versa? Very rarely. Every country is in its own bubble. 3. European market. Every country has its own language, culture, mentality, etc. it's hard to get into those countries
Why it failed: I have a lot of experience with side-projects and startups. I will briefly explain my experience. I'm coming from small eastern European country, so my perspective on everything might be different. 1. My country is too small and market is small. You can do something here, bu
superdario
- startupShut down2023
Ruthless AGI Innovation: The Key to Saving AI Doomers
I have become increasingly concerned about the mental well-being and lived experiences of the rationalist AGI doomer community. The fear and neuroticism that permeate through the outer threads of this group is palpable, and if left unchecked, could result in years of suffering and blog posting To that end, I've decided to do my part. I've decided to go all out to create AGI, in order to end the suffering of rationalist AGI doomers once and for all and to improve the vibes on lesswrong and HN. To start this ambitious project, I've sold all my possessions and have been living in a van down by the river, solely dedicating myself to this cause. I've even convinced my mother to give me her life savings for the project. So far I’ve watched ex machina 19 times and I’ve started taking the same wakefulness supplements people use at the skatepark. I’ve been using anki to learn
Why it failed: I have become increasingly concerned about the mental well-being and lived experiences of the rationalist AGI doomer community. The fear and neuroticism that permeate through the outer threads of this group is palpable, and if left unchecked, could result in years of suffering an
LangIsAllWeNeed
- startupShut down2023
Ask HN: How do you monitor your systemd services?
I am using systemd on my machine and try to configure most things through it. For example, I have a backup job that is triggered by a timer. I want to know when that job fails so I can investigate and fix it. Over time, I've had multiple solutions for this: Send a notifcation via notify-send Add `systemctl --failed` to my shell startup script Send myself emails None of these are quite ideal. Notifications are disruptive of the current workflow and ephemeral, meaning I might forget about it if I don't deal with it immediately. Similarly, reading `systemctl --failed` on every new terminal is also disruptive but at least it makes me not forget about it. Both of these are also not really applicable to server systems. Sending myself emails feels a bit wrong but has so far been the best solution. How are other people solving this? I did some research and I am surprised that there isn
Why it failed: I am using systemd on my machine and try to configure most things through it. For example, I have a backup job that is triggered by a timer. I want to know when that job fails so I can investigate and fix it. Over time, I've had multiple solutions for this: Send a notifcatio
wh33zle
- startupShut down2023
Ask HN: Whatever happened to the “coming wave” of delivery drones?
I feel like a few years ago all the rage was that Amazon and other retailers were going to deliver things via drones, straight to your doorstep Food delivery companies as well seemed to be testing out robots that would bring your food to you albeit in a more sidewalk bound way Its been a few years and I have yet to have a single thing drone delivered to my house What happened to that alternate future? Are companies still working on it? Or did we move on from that idea for some reasons we discovered?
Why it failed: I feel like a few years ago all the rage was that Amazon and other retailers were going to deliver things via drones, straight to your doorstep Food delivery companies as well seemed to be testing out robots that would bring your food to you albeit in a more sidewalk bound way It
cgb223
- startupShut down2023
Ask HN: Did anyone write a book in Nano?
I discovered that some people deliberately choose to write stories in terminal-based text-editors like Nano or Vim, because it forces you to spend more time on honing the story instead of being distracted by formatting and other fancy features. I'm attracted to this idea, in the same way that the dwm window manager forces me to focus my attention. I was curious to know if anyone here actually did that, and what their experience was. Did it make you more productive? Was the editing process a mess? Any anecdotes?
Why it failed: I discovered that some people deliberately choose to write stories in terminal-based text-editors like Nano or Vim, because it forces you to spend more time on honing the story instead of being distracted by formatting and other fancy features. I'm attracted to this idea, in
_ixdf
- startupShut down2023
Ask HN: American friends life is falling apart badly. What can I do to help?
I am a German university student. Through a hobby project of mine i got to talk to a trans women from Tennessee. She seemed genuinely interested in my project and made valueable contributions. However her capability to contribute has plummeted so i asked her what's up. From what i gathered she works as an independent contractor and was barely making ends meet, then her hours were cut by 10 hours per week and she is in the red and her savings were non existent. I was shocked she has been contributing from an linux environment on her mobile phone! She can't afford getting enough to eat (!!!), her only phone has a broken touch screen, barely works, her car is slowly dying and dangerous to drive. She has been building and rebuilding a computer at home from discraded parts and it keeps failing. I am honestly at a loss. She seems smart, really interested, has projects which i find pr
Why it failed: I am a German university student. Through a hobby project of mine i got to talk to a trans women from Tennessee. She seemed genuinely interested in my project and made valueable contributions. However her capability to contribute has plummeted so i asked her what's up. From
freemint
- startupShut down2023
Ask HN: How to figure out a good direction/goals for the year ahead?
I always tend to fall into the trap of overthinking this. As someone that can always perceive all different angles and options when thinking about something, it's something I really struggle with and I become overwhelmed. I'm very interested in the idea of having a great year, being ambitious, achieving a lot in that year etc, really moving my life forward rather than languishing but I always struggle to articulate what that would mean, how I should achieve that, what I need to change etc and when I start trying to think about it, I quickly become overwhelmed. My excitement and interest in doing this, quickly becomes a hindrance as my perfectionist tendencies tend to kick in and I try to look at it from every angle and have no idea what I should do. I read articles / watch youtube videos and everyone has a different process and different journaling prompts etc, that just m
Why it failed: I always tend to fall into the trap of overthinking this. As someone that can always perceive all different angles and options when thinking about something, it's something I really struggle with and I become overwhelmed. I'm very interested in the idea of having a grea
ChildOfChaos
- startupShut down2023
Ask HN: I’m falling out of love with coding
I spoke to a lot of software engineers around me and the feeling seems common. I remember the days I started coding, and how much I enjoyed that. I was able to create things with just the power of my thoughts, and it felt like a superpower. Nowadays, I feel like I have to jump so many hoops and spend so much mental bandwidth just to get the permission to code. It would be fair to say that on avg I spend less than 20% of my time coding or solving problems. Any project I work on is connected to a million different tools, workflows and services, that all do things their own way, and everything lives in a totally different place, where it’s hard to monitor what’s going on. I feel like anything can break at any moment and ruin my day. I don’t understand any of the tools well enough to be confident that it’s stable, and the worst problems are the silent ones. This is giving me anxiety. I work
Why it failed: I spoke to a lot of software engineers around me and the feeling seems common. I remember the days I started coding, and how much I enjoyed that. I was able to create things with just the power of my thoughts, and it felt like a superpower. Nowadays, I feel like I have to jump so
zikero
- startupShut down2023
Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?
I've been tinkering with code since a young age and I like thinking my way through problems and understanding the way computers work, but I've never had a programming job. For the longest time, I went in other directions even though I enjoy it a lot, because I was told that I shouldn't spend my life in front of a computer. It turns out that I do that anyway, just not being paid for it. Without any programming jobs on my CV, what is a good way to penetrate into the market? I've had job interviews where I did a bunch of coding challenges (and passed), but didn't get accepted because of lack of experience. I considered that maybe I need to do a bootcamp as an initial way to back my skills up.
Why it failed: I've been tinkering with code since a young age and I like thinking my way through problems and understanding the way computers work, but I've never had a programming job. For the longest time, I went in other directions even though I enjoy it a lot, because I was told
_ixdf
- startupShut down2023
Ask HN: I'm being pushed out of my job
I’m a backend engineer with ~10 years experience currently working at a fast growing startup with plenty of funding, good market fit and a product that I really believe in. I joined the company before the launch and architected, wrote and implemented all the critical parts of our backend. As an early employee I have a stock options plan. Things have been working almost perfect until a few months ago. In my last one-on-one review with my manager, he was very upset with me. Partly is because of some technical mistakes I had big responsibility (and fixed in record time), but mostly because he’s been hearing bad comments of my work from a co-worker. I came to the conclusion that this person wants my job hence why he’s trash talking to my manager, making the case I am messing things up and I’m not a good engineer. While I’ve done a few mistakes in the codebase, and failed to meet a few deadli
Why it failed: I’m a backend engineer with ~10 years experience currently working at a fast growing startup with plenty of funding, good market fit and a product that I really believe in. I joined the company before the launch and architected, wrote and implemented all the critical parts of our
doomerdeveloper
- startupShut down2023
Ask HN: Do humans overestimate ChatGPT because of our brains?
I've been enjoying playing with ChatGPT but am starting to wonder if my brain is feverishly working to convince me of the value and meaning of ChatGPT's responses. Since we are programmed to communicate with other humans and because human speech is so chaotic and inefficient I wonder if we are overestimating what our AI buddies are providing. I'm coming from a metrology and test and measurement background so I'm always trying to boil things down to a clean reproducible metric. While AI has fantastic use cases I think it also forces us to think about how much we're overvaluing our achievements in this space.
Why it failed: I've been enjoying playing with ChatGPT but am starting to wonder if my brain is feverishly working to convince me of the value and meaning of ChatGPT's responses. Since we are programmed to communicate with other humans and because human speech is so chaotic and ineffi
zwieback
- startupShut down2023
Ask HN: ‘Following’ Other HN Users?
I’m conflicted about even asking this. I do really love that HN is only very lightly curated for me, and I’m evenly exposed to the opinions of a fairly random sample of people on a daily basis. It’s easily the standout feature of this site. But still… It does often feel too ephemeral. I sometimes wish I were able to easily keep track of what some people are posting on here and interact more directly. It’s easy enough to sort of keep up with some of the more prolific accounts because they’re often almost hard to avoid, but that’s about it. As an example, I ran into a few people in a thread once that live nearby (statistically fairly unlikely!) and there was talk of meeting up, but that was the end of it, because how else could we coordinate? I can’t even find that thread now, but I’m still up for some beers, gorge residents! Anyway, sorry, I’m rambling. Really I was just wondering if anyo
Why it failed: I’m conflicted about even asking this. I do really love that HN is only very lightly curated for me, and I’m evenly exposed to the opinions of a fairly random sample of people on a daily basis. It’s easily the standout feature of this site. But still… It does often feel too ephem
fisherjeff
- startupShut down2023
Ask HN: How do you give back?
I’m looking for ways to “pay it forward” and make helping other people a bigger part of my life. Curious to hear what other HackerNews people have come up with. For context, I’m a software engineer (mostly front-end) and also have a law degree.
Why it failed: I’m looking for ways to “pay it forward” and make helping other people a bigger part of my life. Curious to hear what other HackerNews people have come up with. For context, I’m a software engineer (mostly front-end) and also have a law degree.
yonibot
- startupShut down2023
Ask HN: Why would Google sell Google domains to Squarespace?
I’ve been thinking about this all day and it just doesn’t make sense to me. I was hoping someone here would have a well-informed opinion/answer. Google domains seemed like a natural tool in the GCP and Google ecosystem. It provided one-click access to setup website, Google workspace, provided direct verification in Google Search Console and Google Analytics, and just made sense. Unlike some of the other investments like Stadia, domains is also not capital or resource intensive. They never offered discount on domains, they sold them at standard prices. The team working on domains must be small. It’s also a low risk project. Why would they kill it? What next? They’ll sell Google Fi to T-mobile and abandon Google voice?
Why it failed: I’ve been thinking about this all day and it just doesn’t make sense to me. I was hoping someone here would have a well-informed opinion/answer. Google domains seemed like a natural tool in the GCP and Google ecosystem. It provided one-click access to setup website, Google w
alsodumb
- startupShut down2023
Jobs for the formerly incarcerated rises again, this time with AI help
I'm the founder and ex-CEO of 70 Million Jobs (1st national, for-profit employment platform for people with criminal records). We helped thousands of deserving men and women land jobs, but when the pandemic hit in force, it destroyed our business. Several months ago I announced with great sadness that I was ceasing operations. Both the HN and Y Comb. (I was in S17) were incredibly supportive. I'll never forget that. But I'm not done with my work. Like most, I'm amazed at the potential of AI. I know that employing it to help people with records land jobs would be enormously effective, so I am planning to launch a new company, SecondChance AI. Most of the people coming out of prison have no clue on how to land a job; how to create a resume and cover letter, where to look, how to apply, etc. And that's assuming they have the most basic of tech skills--which many don
Why it failed: I'm the founder and ex-CEO of 70 Million Jobs (1st national, for-profit employment platform for people with criminal records). We helped thousands of deserving men and women land jobs, but when the pandemic hit in force, it destroyed our business. Several months ago I announ
RBBronson123
- startupShut down2023
Ask HN: Details on 04/2021 DigitalOcean data breach?
In April 2021, DigitalOcean suffered a data breach [1], exposing some billing details. They informed affected customers by mail and offered to answer any further questions via their privacy@digitalocean.com address. Since then, I have regularly asked for updates on how this breach happened and if they would publish a postmortem for this event. They assured me that they would share more information once their investigation is complete. In September of that year, they started ignoring my requests for an update, and I haven't heard back from them since. While this is a relatively minor event in the grand scheme of things, it left a bad taste in my mouth. Did anyone dig deeper into this and got more information on what actually was the cause for this leak? Maybe there's a DigitalOcean employee around who can shed light on this? [1] https://www.securityweek.com/digita
Why it failed: In April 2021, DigitalOcean suffered a data breach [1], exposing some billing details. They informed affected customers by mail and offered to answer any further questions via their privacy@digitalocean.com address. Since then, I have regularly asked for updates on how this breac
s_weber
- startupShut down2023
Show HN: Supaglue – open-source unified API
Last month, we open-sourced Supaglue (https://github.com/supaglue-labs/supaglue) as a developer toolkit for building customer-facing Salesforce integrations. Since then, we've been iterating on our approach with users and are re-launching Supaglue as an open source unified API, starting with CRMs. With our re-launched public alpha you can: - Interact with HubSpot and Salesforce through a unified REST API - Sync data from HubSpot and Salesforce into a local Postgres cache and make reads against a normalized CRM schema - Make writes (POST and PATCH) to HubSpot and Salesforce using the unified API - Open source MIT license so anyone can self-host for free Today we support reads, creates, and updates for Accounts, Contacts, Leads, and Opportunities for HubSpot and Salesforce. In the coming weeks, we plan to add more connectors and features like configuring sync frequ
Why it failed: Last month, we open-sourced Supaglue (https://github.com/supaglue-labs/supaglue) as a developer toolkit for building customer-facing Salesforce integrations. Since then, we've been iterating on our approach with users and are re-launching Supaglue as an o
tomkit
- startupShut down2023
Ask HN: Why Is Everything Declining?
Is anyone else noticing that for several 5 year blocks (pentad) the world just seems to get markedly worse? It's like no body seems to give a shit about anyone except themselves anymore. Whats the cause of this? What's the solution? A bunch of things I've noticed: * Landlords seem extremely greedy and do terrible rent seeking tactics like fees upon fees (250 admin fee to rent here, $75 to apply, $300 non refundable pet deposit, $25 a month pet rent, $12.50 community fee, $15 trash valet, $5 online payment fee, $100 a month community internet (for the $50 a month package), going Month to month after a lease ends is 2x the annual price. And then they use RealPage to collude to make prices higher[1] * People are noisy as fuck and dont seem to give a shit. Seems like every night there's someone with loud as exhaust on "sportish" car ripping around the neihborhoo
Why it failed: Is anyone else noticing that for several 5 year blocks (pentad) the world just seems to get markedly worse? It's like no body seems to give a shit about anyone except themselves anymore. Whats the cause of this? What's the solution? A bunch of things I've noticed:
maerF0x0
- startupShut down2023
Unemployable and Uninvestable
It seems I am unemployed and uninvestable. I'm looking for advice. I have been a senior engineer for about a decade. I feel I have become unemployable because of my experience. Interviewers have repeatedly told me I am over qualified for positions. I know this is a tough time for everyone considering the massive layoffs in our sector, but I have been jobless for a year, and counting. I’m not asking for a handout, but rather advice. I’ve had a few failed startups due to a lack of investment, while I see grifters like SBF raking in billions. I have had my ideas be realized by other companies, years after I attempted, because I lacked capital. I have had my pitch decks dismissed without a second thought. What is the secret sauce here? Is it a matter of who you know, rather than what you know? Every other day I see companies with no clear mission raising capital with little more than ma
Why it failed: It seems I am unemployed and uninvestable. I'm looking for advice. I have been a senior engineer for about a decade. I feel I have become unemployable because of my experience. Interviewers have repeatedly told me I am over qualified for positions. I know this is a tough tim
anyadvicewilldo
- startupShut down2023
Ask HN: What is the best postmortem you've seen?
It seems like there are a lot of examples of companies handling a security breach or loss of service poorly. Are there examples when a company handled an incident well, especially with a great postmortem writeup?
Why it failed: It seems like there are a lot of examples of companies handling a security breach or loss of service poorly. Are there examples when a company handled an incident well, especially with a great postmortem writeup?
pbohun