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.
3,100 solutions
- startupShut down2021
Ask HN: Can I save my career?
I’ve had pretty much a failure of a career. For five years I was underpaid even when taking into consideration all the circumstances, stuck disorganized companies where tech was a cost center never in the sort of environment that let me grow, but I always said, next time I’ll be get there, but it seems that it’s too late at this point. A lot of it’s my fault, and I’m honestly really demotivated/jaded now, but at the same time I don’t want to give up. This time around I tried to be pickier, to target companies that looked like they paid well and could provide good growth, or in domains that interest me, but it was not working. Front door applications are a crapshoot, as I’m sure many are aware, and I could never manage to grab an interview. The frustrating part is it makes sense. My resume, my work history, is nearly irrelevant to what many of these companies are looking for. Cloud t
Why it failed: I’ve had pretty much a failure of a career. For five years I was underpaid even when taking into consideration all the circumstances, stuck disorganized companies where tech was a cost center never in the sort of environment that let me grow, but I always said, next time I’ll be
wherearetheyhuh
- startupShut down2021
Ask HN: Who Has Retired Early?
Looking for other folks in my boat who actually pulled the trigger to retire: * “Young” - mid 40s * Significant assets but non “fuck you” levels. I consider FU >$10M, so likely looking at people in the $5-9M range. * Not doing some hyper austere FIRE lifestyle (burn rate of $125k-$150k annually - about $40k of this is mortgage that will end in ~20 years) * No plans or need to make some “fun money” by consulting or what have you All retirement calculators I use and fiends/family I consult seem to agree I should be able to retire. Firecalc’s Monte Carlo gives me zero failure cycles. Vanguard puts me at 98% success. Every light is green except my own financial advisors, who put us at ~80% success. I trust them, but also, I don’t feel like a financial planner ever got fired for saying “you should work more before you retire” Has anyone been in the same situation and pulled the trigge
Why it failed: Looking for other folks in my boat who actually pulled the trigger to retire: * “Young” - mid 40s * Significant assets but non “fuck you” levels. I consider FU >$10M, so likely looking at people in the $5-9M range. * Not doing some hyper austere FIRE lifestyle (burn rate of $1
throwawayretire
- startupShut down2021
Ask HN: How Does a Canadian SWE/Data Scientist Make a Move to the US?
I've tried now and failed multiple times to make this move over my career. Primarily been interviewing with Tier 1 companies and not getting through, so I figure might make sense to try to get the attention of the Tier 2's to at least get into the market, but none have really reached out or accepted my applications. Despite what the media wants you to think, Canada is not a good place to grow in IT and Software and ML. Best jobs here are being a part of a remote office for a FAANG or going to work for a Bank, or even just remote jobs for US companies since they'll pay you in USD which will mean you get an automatic 30% pay increase. Pay is 2-3x less than the US, and CoL is about the same (especially if you want to buy something with a somewhat commutable distance to the major metros). So my question to those who have successfully left later in their career (7-10 YOE), how
Why it failed: I've tried now and failed multiple times to make this move over my career. Primarily been interviewing with Tier 1 companies and not getting through, so I figure might make sense to try to get the attention of the Tier 2's to at least get into the market, but none have
rafiki6
- startupShut down2021
Ask HN: How can I stay gainfully employed when I just want to “coast” as a SWE?
In my immediate family there is no precedent for following a career. I'm the first one to graduate college, so I approach my jobs like how my dad treats his blue-collar job. Just doing something that pays the bills. I do like programming otherwise but not with the pressure to be super-ambitious. I want a software engineer job where most people are basically coasting, but everyone seems to look down at my slow career growth. They expect a "story" in my resume with a definite "beginning" and "end" with development and accomplishments in the middle. Sorry, but I haven't yet adjusted to that mindset and I don't know if I can. This worked fine for me in 2010, but in 2015 and beyond it has gotten way more difficult to get job offers. I never even have a proper FT job. or retirement accounts. I'm now a part-time freelancer that chases after shor
Why it failed: In my immediate family there is no precedent for following a career. I'm the first one to graduate college, so I approach my jobs like how my dad treats his blue-collar job. Just doing something that pays the bills. I do like programming otherwise but not with the pressure t
indamez
- startupShut down2021
Ask HN: How do I get fit and healthy as a software engineer?
Looking for tips to live a healthier lifestyle. I am a software engineer that spends pretty much all day at my desk. While I have normal weight, I have literally no stamina or endurance to exercise. I have tried both cardio and weights, but nothing ever seems to stick. I am battling burnout so that makes this even tougher I mainly want become fit enough to run 5ks / half marathons by the end of this year and just feel healthy and fit in general for being able to do more outdoor stuff like hiking. (If it matters I gender identify as female.) Also looking for tips on good diet plans or other tips for living a much healthier lifestyle.
Why it failed: Looking for tips to live a healthier lifestyle. I am a software engineer that spends pretty much all day at my desk. While I have normal weight, I have literally no stamina or endurance to exercise. I have tried both cardio and weights, but nothing ever seems to stick. I am battl
throwaway091721
- startupShut down2021
Launch HN: KaiPod Learning (YC S21) – A physical place for online schoolers
My name is Amar Kumar and I’m the founder of KaiPod Learning ( http://www.kaipodlearning.com ). We provide a physical place for middle- and high- school students who go to online school to work on their classes, to interact with other students, and to get support from teachers. Over the last 15 years I have been a school teacher, a principal, and most recently the Chief Product Officer of Pearson Online Schools. I have come to understand the unfortunate link between residential property values and educational outcomes. There are tens of millions of parents in poor quality school districts who can’t afford to relocate or pay for a private school. Online learning can help solve this problem for many kids. With public online schools, you can live anywhere and have access to a high-quality education. For millions of kids, online school is the best school they’ve ever had. They get
Why it failed: My name is Amar Kumar and I’m the founder of KaiPod Learning ( http://www.kaipodlearning.com ). We provide a physical place for middle- and high- school students who go to online school to work on their classes, to interact with other students, and to get support from t
amarkumar81
- startupShut down2021
Ask HN: How do I move up my career/life?
My background: I'm a 25 year old Indian software developer working in India. As for my education, I actually studied in the United States for my MS in Computer Science (from a large public university; not ivy league), and is one of the rare Indian students who actually returned to India immediately after I got my degree. I cannot pinpoint exactly why I returned; it was a combination of me being an introvert + I really felt like I didn't belong there. (Don't get me wrong here — all Americans (and non Americans, for that matter) I met in USA were wonderful nice kind people; it's just, I didn't belong there). After returning back to India, I got a software engineering job which I would've gotten anyway even if I never went to America (I try not to think too much about this). I have 2.5 years of work experience, and at work I do Laravel for the most part, with o
Why it failed: My background: I'm a 25 year old Indian software developer working in India. As for my education, I actually studied in the United States for my MS in Computer Science (from a large public university; not ivy league), and is one of the rare Indian students who actually retur
anonymous567
- startupShut down2021
Ask HN: Moving from tiny websites to serious tech skills?
I’m a self-taught web coder and have made some small CRUD systems for very targeted tiny clients during my professional life. I have also made a few hobby sites for fun just for myself. I’d like to expand my skill set but I have trouble visualizing all the moving parts of a “big” web app and all the tools that go into it—when people talk about containers, or testing, or deploying such-and-such, I don’t have a clue. With HTML/CSS/JS, I can spin up a little demo to play around and learn on another personal/toy project, but how do I, as a solo person, learn about larger-scale technologies? I’m a visual artist and print-based technician so front-end would probably be the place to focus. Is there a recommended path for going from hobby projects & small sites to larger-scale best practices in React/another important platform?
Why it failed: I’m a self-taught web coder and have made some small CRUD systems for very targeted tiny clients during my professional life. I have also made a few hobby sites for fun just for myself. I’d like to expand my skill set but I have trouble visualizing all the moving parts of a “big”
neonnoodle
- startupShut down2021
Tell HN: Stripe shut down my 4-year business with no explanation
I'm posting this as a warning to other startups who might be thinking of using Stripe to process payments. I was employee #10 at Eventbrite, founding engineer at Reforge, Techstars alum, startup founder X 3. I can't imagine treating my users like this and I am really upset with how Stripe is handling this situation. The situation: I own an online SaaS company that processes $500k+ per year through both Stripe and Braintree. I've been using Stripe for years. Today I received this email: [b]"Our systems recently identified charges that appear to be unauthorized by the customer, meaning that the owner of the card or bank account did not consent to these payments. This unfortunately means that we will no longer be able to accept payments for Refunds on card payments will be issued in 5–7 business days, although they may take longer to appear on the cardholder's state
Why it failed: I'm posting this as a warning to other startups who might be thinking of using Stripe to process payments. I was employee #10 at Eventbrite, founding engineer at Reforge, Techstars alum, startup founder X 3. I can't imagine treating my users like this and I am really up
buf
- startupShut down2021
Ask HN: Should I even bother competing for React jobs?
It seems like the state of hiring is getting even more ridiculous, and I've struggled to find anything for over a year. In particular, almost every frontend job runs some homework or hackerrank thing based on React, regardless of whether it's specified as the most important requirement. I don't tend to win these competitions, and I don't tend to use React, and it's an unsustainable way to live. I didn't jump on the bandwagon meanwhile about everyone else in the world did. I could probably refine my knowledge of it a bit, but most 'React devs' have been grinding it out professionally for years. Is it even worth trying to conpete in a massive market like this where the skill is so commonplace? Is there another area I could focus my energy like Vue where maybe there isn't as many people out there? I can only do so many 3-8 hour react based tests
Why it failed: It seems like the state of hiring is getting even more ridiculous, and I've struggled to find anything for over a year. In particular, almost every frontend job runs some homework or hackerrank thing based on React, regardless of whether it's specified as the most impor
brailsafe
- startupShut down2021
Launch HN: Weweb.io (YC W21) – Create websites visually using JAMstack tools
We're Raphael, Florian and Marc, co-founders of weweb.io ( https://www.weweb.io/ ). We are building a Webflow/WordPress style product, but where users can drag & drop their own React/Vue components and use data fetched from any API. We started working together on a side project in 2016, it was a mobile app in rails that lets people choose music in their favourite bars. The app didn't bring much value to bar owners, but it was fun to build and we made good friends among our first customers. Aside from our jobs we loved spending time building and iterating on different web products, we even built a simple angular web-app that would let anyone create a website entirely from a mobile phone. Fast-forward to 2018, we stumbled upon the Jamstack ecosystem and loved it. But one thing surprised us so much that we decided to quit our jobs to solve it: while ma
Why it failed: We're Raphael, Florian and Marc, co-founders of weweb.io ( https://www.weweb.io/ ). We are building a Webflow/WordPress style product, but where users can drag & drop their own React/Vue components and use data fetched from any API. We started wo
raphael-gold
- startupShut down2021
Stripe Shut Us Down
We have been with stripe for over 2 years and on Sept 2, they shut us down without explanation. We tried to reach them and their help and call button have been disabled. We are a small online gym and since they shut us down, its been impossible to reach someone for help. Since then we have not been able to generate any revenue so we have lost thousands of dollars. We have employees that depend on us and not being to generate any income has been a tremendous burden. We decided to move to another payment partner and Stripe has still not sent us the file with our customer data so we can move on. What else do we have to do for the file migration? We have done and provided everything you requested and we have not heard from your technician and you are not responding to emails. Carol Price 8136108294
Why it failed: We have been with stripe for over 2 years and on Sept 2, they shut us down without explanation. We tried to reach them and their help and call button have been disabled. We are a small online gym and since they shut us down, its been impossible to reach someone for help. Since th
carol_ifyoucan
- startupShut down2021
Ask HN: How to get compeitors to use our open source interop-prototcol?
We make open-source software for the cannabis industry, there are roughly 150 other software providers in this space, and we all need to share data (Lot details, Crop details, Product details, Lab Results, etc). Around 2018 or so we published a OpenAPI specification for data models ( https://github.com/openthc/api ) that we were hoping to get others to participate in. It's been rather difficult. The previous blocker was that in much of the USA, this data flows through a central system operated by the Government (as a contract to BioTrackTHC, Metrc or Akerna/MJ Freeway/LeafData). So, there hasn't been a critical need for interop. However, recent states to legislate cannabis (Oklahoma, Maine) don't fully have that and one (Washington) is moving away from theirs at the end of the year. The Washington state one is now, finally, getting some eyebal
Why it failed: We make open-source software for the cannabis industry, there are roughly 150 other software providers in this space, and we all need to share data (Lot details, Crop details, Product details, Lab Results, etc). Around 2018 or so we published a OpenAPI specification for data mode
openthc
- startupShut down2021
Ask HN: Has anyone paid someone else to develop your side projects?
TLDR: Has anyone paid others (solo or shop) to develop your ideas? was the process relatively easy? was the end-product good? Would you do it again? I'm getting to the point in my life where I'm finding myself with less and less time. I have a job as a programmer, a child on the way, and I live in a community that demands a bit more of my time away from the computer, (not to mention the child). I still think up fun ideas to do, and I don't come up with 50 ideas a day like when I was younger, but I do come up with 1 - 2 ideas each month / week / quarter, that I am able to think about for longer, chew on, and think them through. I love it, and being able to create things is the sole reason I got into programming in the first place. Being able to say "Wouldn't it be nice to have X" and then go off and create X is immensely attractive to me, and I thin
Why it failed: TLDR: Has anyone paid others (solo or shop) to develop your ideas? was the process relatively easy? was the end-product good? Would you do it again? I'm getting to the point in my life where I'm finding myself with less and less time. I have a job as a programmer, a chi
drekipus
- startupShut down2021
Ask HN: Buying house – any disruptors I can use?
We are starting to look at houses and are realizing how much we will be paying for services that IMO are quite mundane. 1) Mortgage broker - This lady will charge us 1% (10,000$) to find us a suitable loan. Basically, she will compare about 10 loans and choose the best one. Software systems can do this easily. 2) The buying agent - so far she has not come up with any houses on her own. She finds the same things we find on line. I dont need her to visit open houses. Legally, in SF I need an agent to be present during the inspections. I can use the selling agent for a fee. If I use her to place an offer, there is a bias problem. A buyer agent may be biased towards placing a "strong" offer. The "stronger" the offer, higher the probability that it will go through and higher her share. I have researched the areas enough and am comfortable coming up with a price. Are there
Why it failed: We are starting to look at houses and are realizing how much we will be paying for services that IMO are quite mundane. 1) Mortgage broker - This lady will charge us 1% (10,000$) to find us a suitable loan. Basically, she will compare about 10 loans and choose the best one. Softw
100-xyz
- startupShut down2021
Ask HN: Texts to share with my co-founder re time-management and teamwork?
tldr; Looking for articles or books about teamwork and time-management between founders in a startup environment to share with my co-founder who has never worked in a team or in any structured job in his life. The business is physical business with production facilities, that exists for 6-7 years. During this time it hasn't grown but has always supported its owner financially. I've always helped a little bit with communication and marketing but not too much because there was lack of execution on the other side. Last year we agreed that together we can make this thing grow and I joined as partner. His profile: for his whole life he was always a business owner, mostly in production and printing. Loves making things with his hands, hobbyist woodworker. Not very digital - has a smartphone but you can't get him on a team discord for example. Lacks any organisation skills which
Why it failed: tldr; Looking for articles or books about teamwork and time-management between founders in a startup environment to share with my co-founder who has never worked in a team or in any structured job in his life. The business is physical business with production facilities, that exi
tseoeo
- startupShut down2021
Ask HN: Why do so many developers seem hostile to their users these days?
This is a discussion I hope can lead to some answers among the developer community about what's going on these days. I previously wrote about how various shopping sites are being very hostile to their customer base [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29384866]. Why does a 32kb text article need 10MB of battery draining heavy javascript to just work? But this is more then just shopping sites as so many websites, browsers, programs, and even OS's are making decisions that are hostile to their users. And it's coming from everywhere. What used to be controversial (e.g. dark patterns), is now normal. And if the user complains - the answers from the developers is "we're sorry, just live with it?" I could write an essay on this but I'll focus on a company which publicly represent this hostility - Blizzard. Blizzard is an entertainment company
Why it failed: This is a discussion I hope can lead to some answers among the developer community about what's going on these days. I previously wrote about how various shopping sites are being very hostile to their customer base [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2938486
diminium
- startupShut down2020
Apple allows bullies to shut down my app
After having my app in the App Store for years, Apple took it down because of a couple of false complaints. Apple hasn't said that the app breaks any rules, just that all complaints must be resolved "to the satisfaction of the complainant." It's insane that Apple gives this kind of power to a few people. I don't think Apple has even really read the complaints or looked into the app at all. I have written an open letter to Tim Cook www.copymethat.com/open-letter-tim-cook/ that explains everything as well as a tweet twitter.com/copymethat/status/1295418273065046016/. I'd love the support of app developers who think this is not OK behavior from Apple. Please reply to the tweet.
Why it failed: After having my app in the App Store for years, Apple took it down because of a couple of false complaints. Apple hasn't said that the app breaks any rules, just that all complaints must be resolved "to the satisfaction of the complainant." It's insane that Ap
tinebak
- startupShut down2020
Google to shut down non-profit platform One Today
As a technology professional in the social sector, I wanted to share an email that I received just a few minutes ago. It looks like Google will be shutting down the One Today platform, a social hub for non-profit organizations to share and promote fundraising initiatives. "Hello, We have an important update to share with you. We launched Google One Today seven years ago to help people donate to causes they care about. In the last few years, we have seen donors choose other products to fundraise for their favorite nonprofits. As a result, we will shut down One Today on February 6th, 2020. New nonprofits will no longer be able to sign up for One Today. The Google One Today app will be turned off, and any open projects will be deleted. We will ensure that 100% of funds donated on One Today prior to February 6th are disbursed to the relevant nonprofits. If you have any questions, please
Why it failed: As a technology professional in the social sector, I wanted to share an email that I received just a few minutes ago. It looks like Google will be shutting down the One Today platform, a social hub for non-profit organizations to share and promote fundraising initiatives. "H
n-exploit
- startupShut down2020
Homeless Developer in Los Angeles Needs Work, Can You Please Help?
Dear HN, Apologies in advance for posting something non-technical and personal, but I have no other place online to ask. I am having an emergency. I have been homeless in Los Angeles for the past 2 years. Prior to this, I was a developer for over 10 years. Mostly I worked at small startups. And let me just get the stereotypes out of the way: I don't do drugs, I don't drink, I'm not a criminal, and I'm not mentally ill. I'm just a spectacularly unlucky coder who worked for a series of not so great startups that failed, slowly ran out of money and savings between jobs, and fell through the cracks to become totally stranded living on the streets. I have no family to ask for help--only-child, parents deceased. The only reason I have survived this long was by working part-time on 2 remote contracting gigs, but I was paid sub-minimum wage. It's extremely difficult
Why it failed: Dear HN, Apologies in advance for posting something non-technical and personal, but I have no other place online to ask. I am having an emergency. I have been homeless in Los Angeles for the past 2 years. Prior to this, I was a developer for over 10 years. Mostly I worked at smal
unhomedcoder
- startupShut down2020
Ask HN: Could we restructure society so that people don't hate their jobs?
As it is we seem to have a lot of people doing jobs that are preventing them from living up to their full potential. Is it really true that if you gave people a universal basic income that they would devolve into couch potatoes? When you think of it how much free time do you really have in the day? After getting ready in the morning, your commute, work plus a lunch hour, a trip to the store, some time to decompress, dinner, and spending time with your kids how much time is left for yourself? Even if you had the will power left over at the end of the day to give 100% you're so overburdened that it's no wonder you can't get anywhere. And we have the gual to suggest that these same people would do nothing but sit on the couch all day if they were let off their leash. That's cognitive dissonance right there. I have worked in a few industries that I had zero interest in at
Why it failed: As it is we seem to have a lot of people doing jobs that are preventing them from living up to their full potential. Is it really true that if you gave people a universal basic income that they would devolve into couch potatoes? When you think of it how much free time do you real
thepope
- startupShut down2020
Launch HN: Mighty Health (YC S19) – Health coaching for people over 50
Hey HN! We’re James, Felipe, and Bernard, founders of Mighty Health ( https://mightyhealth.com/gift ), a personal coach that helps people over 50 become healthier through exercise, nutrition, and wellness. With Father’s Day coming up, we thought some of you might be in the same position as we are, worrying about our parents and loved ones, wanting to do more to help out in these uncertain times. A few years ago, my dad was rushed to the hospital for emergency heart surgery. Though he luckily survived, this was quite the wakeup call—he had to change his lifestyle habits immediately, or else he’d have to deal with painful, worsening chronic issues for the rest of his life. These changes—exercise, nutrition, sleep, and reducing stress—are hard as is, but even more so for folks over 50. Most wellness apps are designed for motivated millennials, making them feel less relatable
Why it failed: Hey HN! We’re James, Felipe, and Bernard, founders of Mighty Health ( https://mightyhealth.com/gift ), a personal coach that helps people over 50 become healthier through exercise, nutrition, and wellness. With Father’s Day coming up, we thought some of you might b
minibronco88
- startupShut down2020
Launch HN: ElectroNeek (YC W20) – Automatically find and automate routine work
Hey Hacker News! We are Sergey Yudovsky, Dmitry Karpov and Mike Rozhin, founders of ElectroNeek ( https://electroneek.com ), an automation platform for repetitive business tasks. The product we build let users design software ‘robots’ that imitate human actions in apps and websites, and deploy them to eliminate routine work. Our software also spots patterns of repetitive processes that users do in business app and suggests what to automate in the first place. Some of you may have heard of a technology niche called Robotic Process Automation, or RPA. Basically, it’s about automating user actions on Graphic User Interface level, so no API is needed to automate any type of repetitive work on the computer. It has been known for 20+ years in the software testing space but emerged as a business process automation tool over the last decade, getting big momentum in Enterprise (95% of F
Why it failed: Hey Hacker News! We are Sergey Yudovsky, Dmitry Karpov and Mike Rozhin, founders of ElectroNeek ( https://electroneek.com ), an automation platform for repetitive business tasks. The product we build let users design software ‘robots’ that imitate human actions in apps
Digitaltzar
- startupShut down2020
Launch HN: Hubble (YC S20) – Monitor data quality inside data warehouses
Hey everyone! We’re Oliver and Hamzah from Hubble ( https://gethubble.io/hn ). Hubble runs tests on your data warehouse so you can identify issues with data quality. You can test for things like missing values, uniqueness of data or how frequently data is added/updated. We worked together for the last 4 years at a startup where we built and managed data products for insurers and banks. A common pattern we saw was teams taking data from their internal tools (CRM, HR system, etc.), application databases, and 3rd party data and storing it in a warehouse for analysis. However, when analysts/data scientists used the data for reports they would spot something suspicious and the engineering team would have to manually go through the data pipelines to find the source of the problem. More often than not it was simple things like a spike in missing values because an ETL jo
Why it failed: Hey everyone! We’re Oliver and Hamzah from Hubble ( https://gethubble.io/hn ). Hubble runs tests on your data warehouse so you can identify issues with data quality. You can test for things like missing values, uniqueness of data or how frequently data is added
oliver101