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.
496 solutions
- startupShut down2025
Ask HN: Anyone else roll eyes at startups that went from "X" to "AI-powered X"?
This feels like the original idea wasn't good enough to work on its own and so jamming AI into the idea might get some VC capital to sustain a failed idea. Or am I thinking of this wrong?
Why it failed: This feels like the original idea wasn't good enough to work on its own and so jamming AI into the idea might get some VC capital to sustain a failed idea. Or am I thinking of this wrong?
ronbenton
- startupShut down2025
Ask HN: Do you believe aliens are visiting Earth?
So there's nuance here. Let's define "Aliens" as "non human sentiences". Personally, I think ET hypothesis is valid. Maybe you feel UT (ultra-terrestrial) hypothesis makes more sesne. Or "ED" ( extra-dimensional, as opposed to "from another planet/galaxy"). Facts: there's abundance of testimony that would secure conviction in court regarding abductions, encounters (of variosu "kinds"), and "multi-sensor data". Truth is, it goes back centuries, before we could concievably have "RE'd" (reverse-engineered) anything similar. So there has to be something external to our current human civilization (not so surprising, how can you explain how megalithic 100-ton bricks structures were build by "primitives"). Yes, this is "provocative" (perhaps) for some on HN. That's the point.
Why it failed: So there's nuance here. Let's define "Aliens" as "non human sentiences". Personally, I think ET hypothesis is valid. Maybe you feel UT (ultra-terrestrial) hypothesis makes more sesne. Or "ED" ( extra-dimensional, as opposed to "from an
keepamovin
- startupShut down2025
Cloudflare outage on November 18, 2025 post mortem
Related: Cloudflare Global Network experiencing issues - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45963780 - Nov 2025 (1580 comments)
Why it failed: Related: Cloudflare Global Network experiencing issues - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45963780 - Nov 2025 (1580 comments)
eastdakota
- startupShut down2025
Ask HN: What Pocket alternatives did you move to?
Since mozilla announced the sunsetting of pocket, I started looking for alternatives, including building a light version for my personal use. But nothing came out of my research. What options are there and how are you transitioning?
Why it failed: Since mozilla announced the sunsetting of pocket, I started looking for alternatives, including building a light version for my personal use. But nothing came out of my research. What options are there and how are you transitioning?
ahmedfromtunis
- startupShut down2025
Mozilla to shut down Pocket and Fakespot
See also https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/building-whats-next/ .
Why it failed: See also https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/building-whats-next/ .
phantomathkg
- startupShut down2024
Ask HN: Getting old and boring – What can I do about it?
I'm 33 and I am becoming terminally boring. I am primarily interested in my family (married, kids 7 and 3) and doing well at work, but that is about it? Outside of reading I have no hobbies, I am not part of any groups, I don't have any ambitions outside of home & work, and I don't drink or play video games or watch very much TV/movies. When I meet new people, I realize I don't have much to say because nobody cares about my work or my family or my books (nor should they, necessarily). I have a great remote job which pays well without being too demanding. It doesn't sound like much, but after working, family time, chores, and some reading it feels like my day is already full. In fact, I usually end each day wishing I had spent more time being a better husband/father/home-owner/reader -- adding any hobbies would make these feelings worse. I
Why it failed: I'm 33 and I am becoming terminally boring. I am primarily interested in my family (married, kids 7 and 3) and doing well at work, but that is about it? Outside of reading I have no hobbies, I am not part of any groups, I don't have any ambitions outside of home & w
hn_burner_2038
- startupShut down2024
Ask HN: Digital Nomad Guide for International Phone Numbers
I’m looking for advice on how to select a phone number that works for someone who moves a lot. *Current state* - I move to a different country every 3-4 years & travel a lot - I have a UK phone number - I’ll move away from UK to somewhere else *Wants* - Single phone number - have it for rest of my life - Receive International SMS - need for banks + application login + 2-factor) - Works with Whatsapp & Telegram - Cost is cheap end (less than $15 per month) *Other Info* - Don’t need any data plans. I use AirAlo and buy eSim or Local Sim whenever I move/travel *Current Solution* *Pros* - I’m using a VOIP provider called Hushed - It says it doesn’t guarantee 2 factor, but it has worked with literally every single application & non North American bank. (My main bank is not in NA so doesn’t effect me) - I can get international SMS and calls - Cheap $7/mo - I can extend it
Why it failed: I’m looking for advice on how to select a phone number that works for someone who moves a lot. *Current state* - I move to a different country every 3-4 years & travel a lot - I have a UK phone number - I’ll move away from UK to somewhere else *Wants* - Single phone number -
doorknobguy
- startupShut down2024
Ask HN: What was your most humbling learning moment?
I've worked on large products for large and small companies and written tens of thousands of lines of code across my career, solving complex, abstract, challenging technical problems in a variety of languages on a variety of platforms, sometimes under difficult conditions. I have often been a resource for my friends and co-workers when they have programming or technical questions. I only recently learned how to correctly raise and lower window blinds--I had been doing it wrong my entire life. It was maybe the dumbest I have ever felt, and was a humbling reminder of how much I don't know about how much I don't know. Have you had similar experiences?
Why it failed: I've worked on large products for large and small companies and written tens of thousands of lines of code across my career, solving complex, abstract, challenging technical problems in a variety of languages on a variety of platforms, sometimes under difficult conditions. I
spcebar
- startupShut down2024
Is 7 days a week the new norm (for YC)?
I've worked for 2 major YC companies and done some one-off/contract work in recent years at a few others here in SF. Really like the startups coming out of YC. I had to unfortunately voluntarily quit the last on-site contract due to it being 7 days a week (I tried to take off a Sunday, didn't work), on top of a requirement to be there until 8-9pm daily and occasionally pull all-nighters when there are sales demos (at the office until 7AM the next day - then stayed at work for the next day). I tried to stick it out, and even though I consider myself to have the best work ethic of anyone I know, being at an office nearly 24/7/365 to do basic React work with constantly changing directions/requirements felt pointless to say the least. It wasn't like we were building something with a clear goal in mind - and the founders did nothing . They would shoot hoops
Why it failed: I've worked for 2 major YC companies and done some one-off/contract work in recent years at a few others here in SF. Really like the startups coming out of YC. I had to unfortunately voluntarily quit the last on-site contract due to it being 7 days a week (I tried to ta
bschmidt1
- startupShut down2024
Ask HN: Best Tools for Monorepo?
I've got a monorepo I'm working in that has a Golang backend with a couple services and a Next.js front-end. Everything lives in a monorepo together. My tooling is super weak, though! For instance, for process management in development I'm using Goreman, which is a Foreman alternative in Goalng. Wondering what's the state of the art for managing the processes in local dev in monorepos in 2024? Or other tools for managing a monorepo I might be missing in general!
Why it failed: I've got a monorepo I'm working in that has a Golang backend with a couple services and a Next.js front-end. Everything lives in a monorepo together. My tooling is super weak, though! For instance, for process management in development I'm using Goreman, which is a
bradhe
- startupShut down2024
Ask HN: I think I'm done with tech. Burnout constantly. Now what?
I've been working in tech the last 5 years. This is a rant. I'm constantly burning out at my job now. I hate how shit the work is, fucking pushing shit features for a shit codebase that adds negative value to the world. There is no craftsmanship in anything anymore, just rush everything out the door full of bugs, everything is just money at the end of the day. No time to spend time making quality valuable products. Golden bloody handcuffs, earning a decent amount, but to what end? Constant layoffs, restructuring, bastard management and HR, no stability, no pay-rises, and no end in sight. As a worker I feel worthless. Treated like scum. I love computers. I love learning, I love the power of programming. I hate that this capitalist shit-hole we live in means that the only Software we build is software that makes money. Marketing automation!? Fuck me! What the hell do I do? I want
Why it failed: I've been working in tech the last 5 years. This is a rant. I'm constantly burning out at my job now. I hate how shit the work is, fucking pushing shit features for a shit codebase that adds negative value to the world. There is no craftsmanship in anything anymore, jus
purple-leafy
- startupShut down2024
Ask HN: How to survive as a homeless programmer in the winter (AB, Canada)?
I've been looking for a job/contract for 6+ months but last week I was evicted and lost mostly everything I own except my laptop, a few pairs of clothes, and a few Raspberry Pis. I was working at a nice company but I got "poached" after one saw my AGPL project, I decided to leave the nice place since new place looked like a better fit. Turns out they wanted to take advantage of my open-source work that I've poured my free-time into for 3+ years + seen interest from investors/VC firms. They tried to build their product from it and I wasn't able to tolerate that so I screwed myself by not continuing work with them + not having anything else lined up... I've been trying to get "social support" through Alberta's online social services for over a month now and I even went so far as to walk 5 hours (round-trip, I have no car/license)
Why it failed: I've been looking for a job/contract for 6+ months but last week I was evicted and lost mostly everything I own except my laptop, a few pairs of clothes, and a few Raspberry Pis. I was working at a nice company but I got "poached" after one saw my AGPL project
krowfooten
- startupShut down2024
Tell HN: Need help, locked out of Google account with 10 years of personal data
I've been locked out of my Google account which contains over a decade of my digital life, and I'm at my wit's end trying to recover it. The situation: - Woke up today completely locked out - Got "secure your account" message - Set new password + recovery info but kept getting redirected to login - Received "unusual activity" warning (around the time I was asleep) - System asks for old phone number (lost in 2022) - Have tried recovery dozens of times through g.co/recover - Still have access to old recovery email but system never asks for it it What I've tried: - Using same devices and network as always (google pixel) - Multiple recovery attempts with both old/new phone numbers - Both old/new passwords (then never say which one they accept) - Following all official Google recovery guides I have so much of my life there: - Primary emai
Why it failed: I've been locked out of my Google account which contains over a decade of my digital life, and I'm at my wit's end trying to recover it. The situation: - Woke up today completely locked out - Got "secure your account" message - Set new password + recovery
taosx
- startupShut down2024
Ask HN: I can't grok front end development
I've been a software engineer for over 10 years. Most of my life has been spent working on backend systems, RPC services, workflow based systems, the last 5 years have been building infrastructure for FAANG companies. I understand backend development, when I say I understand, I mean I understand the actual challenges and my brain interprets these challenges as fun. Every couple of months I have to make small changes in an already existing webapps and I'm able to copy the style of the code and I get by. Recently, I've been trying to learn more about Frontend and started exploring a React project at work. Between the framework, the state model, and how things are actually wondered, I was just bewildered. Many years ago, stuff was simple, HTML, with Javascript and CSS. You could serve JSON from the backend and your JS along with CSS could style the page, or you serve the whol
Why it failed: I've been a software engineer for over 10 years. Most of my life has been spent working on backend systems, RPC services, workflow based systems, the last 5 years have been building infrastructure for FAANG companies. I understand backend development, when I say I understand
websap
- startupShut down2024
Ask HN: How can I find something worthwhile to do?
I've been a decent mid-level dev professionally for a long time now but been in a sort of rut for about as long as I can remember. Outside of work (which is going fine), I just don't have anything programming related to do. I keep myself busy playing with new tools and languages when I can be bothered but if I really think about it, I just don't have any problems to solve with these tools. I could lock myself in an empty room for days and come up with nothing . I've been waiting for an "idea" to hit me for nearly 10 years, I don't use any open source software that I could contribute to at all, and I lack the creativity to come up with "just for fun" projects. I feel very stagnant and I just don't know how to move forward anymore. Am I just hard-wired to be mediocre?
Why it failed: I've been a decent mid-level dev professionally for a long time now but been in a sort of rut for about as long as I can remember. Outside of work (which is going fine), I just don't have anything programming related to do. I keep myself busy playing with new tools and
yungporko
- startupShut down2024
Ask HN: Lost My Software Engineering Job, Now What?
I've always been passionate about coding. I earned my BSc in Computer Science, thrived in university, but struggled to find software engineering opportunities in my developing country. Freelancing kept me afloat for a while (mostly website development), but the pay and project flow were terrible. To make ends meet, I became a programming tutor. It wasn't my dream, but I was good at it. After two years, I finally landed a remote software engineering role at a US startup. It was challenging, well-paid, and a fantastic growth experience... until the startup failed, and I was laid off. Now, finding another job feels impossible. The market's brutal, especially for someone like me – aiming for remote work from a developing country. Plus, all the buzz is about AI. I'm at a crossroads: - Pivot to AI? Web development feels saturated, but is an AI shift the answer? - Get my Mas
Why it failed: I've always been passionate about coding. I earned my BSc in Computer Science, thrived in university, but struggled to find software engineering opportunities in my developing country. Freelancing kept me afloat for a while (mostly website development), but the pay and proje
OulaX
- startupShut down2024
Show HN: ReadToMe (iOS) turns paper books into audio
I'm launching something that started as a side project publicly today: ReadToMe, which is an iPhone app that turns paper books and other printed text into audio. Originally this was a Christmas present for my fiancée, who loves books but has an eye problem that makes it hard for her to read more than a few pages at a time. She mostly listens to audiobooks while following along with the paper book, but some books aren't available in audiobook or even e-book form, and all of the existing apps we tried were surprisingly bad at scanning paper books into audio — they make lots of mistakes, include footnotes and page numbers, etc., in a way that really degrades the experience. Being an AI-oriented engineer by training, I had a crack at solving the problem myself, and was pleasantly surprised at how well the proof of concept worked. I then had some time free while shutting down my pre
Why it failed: I'm launching something that started as a side project publicly today: ReadToMe, which is an iPhone app that turns paper books and other printed text into audio. Originally this was a Christmas present for my fiancée, who loves books but has an eye problem that makes it hard
kolchinski
- startupShut down2024
Ask HN: Why am I struggling to find a job?
I'm in the market for an engineering job over the past two months but I'm really struggling at finding one. Basically, my story is: - Full Stack with 12+ years of experience, good generalist/architect with a some strong points. - Working remotely in EU timezone. - Got a nice CV with big names and projects I significantly contributed on. - Last full time job was 1.5 years ago but I have done plenty of one-off client and personal projects in the meantime I can show off. I only apply to positions that are fully remote in my timezone and where the profile is at least an 80% match or more. I often tick multiple of the "nice to have" boxes. I put quite some effort in my applications, writing cover letters or filling all boxes in the form with relevant and personalized information, Despite that, most companies reject me right away. When I make it further, I usually pass
Why it failed: I'm in the market for an engineering job over the past two months but I'm really struggling at finding one. Basically, my story is: - Full Stack with 12+ years of experience, good generalist/architect with a some strong points. - Working remotely in EU timezone. -
throwaway7676
- startupShut down2024
Ask HN: How Can I Make My Front End React to Database Changes in Real-Time?
I'm exploring ways to make my frontend applications reactive to database changes without overloading the backend. - Traditional methods like polling are resource-intensive and rerun entire queries, which isn't efficient. - I’m familiar with some libraries and companies are doing this by building materialized views close to the DB [1][2], but I want to update the frontend, not just the backend. - Some platforms like Supabase Realtime [3] and Firebase offer subscription models to database changes, but these solutions fall short when dealing with complex queries involving joins or group-bys. My vision is that the modern frontend to behave like a series of materialized views that dynamically update as the underlying data changes. Current state management libraries handle state trees well but don't seamlessly integrate with relational or graph-like database structures. The only
Why it failed: I'm exploring ways to make my frontend applications reactive to database changes without overloading the backend. - Traditional methods like polling are resource-intensive and rerun entire queries, which isn't efficient. - I’m familiar with some libraries and companies
bruchim
- startupShut down2024
Brutal Startup Failure
My first (vc backed) startep failed after three years. We started in 2021, working in crypto. Looking back to the time we got started, I made some serious foundational errors: - Selling 40% of the company at preseed for 1.2mln and signing a predatory shareholder agreement - Trusting a co-founder relationship which never really worked, hoping to fix it along time But 1.2mln$ in the bank made me forget about these issues. Started to work on the business heads down. After 18 months of iterating, things were finally moving. Our vision became clearer, and we got into a well-known accelerator. But that’s when everything started to unravel. My relationship with my co-founder began to deteriorate rapidly. I felt like I was doing everything—closing clients, managing product, handling content, brand, fundraising—you name it. My co-founder, on the other hand, wasn’t pulling his weight. His network
Why it failed: My first (vc backed) startep failed after three years. We started in 2021, working in crypto. Looking back to the time we got started, I made some serious foundational errors: - Selling 40% of the company at preseed for 1.2mln and signing a predatory shareholder agreement - Trust
theHolyTrynity
- startupShut down2024
Ask HN: My Cofounder was diagnosed with cancer, what should I do?
My cofounder and I started the company 9 months ago. We are on 4 year 1 cliff vesting schedule. This coming June 2024, we'll finish the 1 year cliff. However he only commited 6 months out of this 1 year. And I can't blame him for that as none of us has expected this scenario. What should I do?
Why it failed: My cofounder and I started the company 9 months ago. We are on 4 year 1 cliff vesting schedule. This coming June 2024, we'll finish the 1 year cliff. However he only commited 6 months out of this 1 year. And I can't blame him for that as none of us has expected this sce
WatermelonSki
- startupShut down2024
Show HN: We open sourced our entire text-to-SQL product
Long story short: We (Dataherald) just open-sourced our entire codebase, including the core engine, the clients that interact with it and the backend application layer for authentication and RBAC. You can now use the full solution to build text-to-SQL into your product. The Problem: modern LLMs write syntactically correct SQL, but they struggle with real-world relational data. This is because real world data and schema is messy, natural language can often be ambiguous and LLMs are not trained on your specific dataset. Solution: The core NL-to-SQL engine in Dataherald is an LLM based agent which uses Chain of Thought (CoT) reasoning and a number of different tools to generate high accuracy SQL from a given user prompt. The engine achieves this by: - Collecting context at configuration from the database and sources such as data dictionaries and unstructured documents which are stored in a
Why it failed: Long story short: We (Dataherald) just open-sourced our entire codebase, including the core engine, the clients that interact with it and the backend application layer for authentication and RBAC. You can now use the full solution to build text-to-SQL into your product. The Probl
aazo11
- startupShut down2024
Ask HN: I am Software Engineer 30yo and I feel purposeless
Lately I am not feeling well, I don’t care about anything, I feel like I do nothing. Doing simple chores has become difficult. I've been trying to get a haircut for the last 2 weeks and I am unable to go to the barber shop. I don’t feel like cleaning anything, I don’t feel like doing groceries, I’ve even started to get dirty while eating, it’s embarrassing, but I think it is because I am not paying attention to anything, I am constantly drifting away somewhere, I feel disappointed about life. Even in my worst moments I honestly question myself if it is even worth it to live, don't get me wrong I don't want to stop living and I do love my wife and family, but is more like I feel like there will not be much difference between me existing or not, and I do not know why I feel like that, that same thing would probably apply for anybody in the planet, but I cannot stop that feel
Why it failed: Lately I am not feeling well, I don’t care about anything, I feel like I do nothing. Doing simple chores has become difficult. I've been trying to get a haircut for the last 2 weeks and I am unable to go to the barber shop. I don’t feel like cleaning anything, I don’t feel l
driftingaway
- startupShut down2024
Tell HN: Pivotal Tracker is being shut down
Just received the following email: To our Pivotal Tracker customers, The VMware Tanzu division is announcing the end-of-life (EOL) for the Pivotal Tracker offering, effective April 30, 2025. Customers with active Pivotal Tracker subscriptions may continue to use the offering through April 30, 2025, after which time the offering will sunset. You can export your data any time before April 30, 2025. It is recommended to migrate any needed data out of Pivotal Tracker on a timely basis. Please review the instructions to export data here. If you have any issue in migrating data, raise a support ticket . The VMware Tanzu division will not provide any support for migrating data beyond April 30, 2025. Thank you, VMware Tanzu Division
Why it failed: Just received the following email: To our Pivotal Tracker customers, The VMware Tanzu division is announcing the end-of-life (EOL) for the Pivotal Tracker offering, effective April 30, 2025. Customers with active Pivotal Tracker subscriptions may continue to use the offering thro
telekid