The graveyard of good ideas
Solutions that were tried, and what stopped them.
Patents that were rejected or abandoned, products that shut down, projects that went quiet. Borrow the idea, avoid the dead end.
1,395 solutions
- startupShut down2018
Ask HN: What front end tools do you find yourself most productive with?
I am poking around for a new tool to learn as a mainly backend developer and coming to the conclusion that HTML, CSS and JS seem to be yesterday's options. I'm left wondering; if you were learning today and wanted to get proficient fast, what would you learn? Typescript? React? Vue? Purescript? Bucklescript? Bulma? Bootstrap 4? (to only name a few) I realize there are categories such as styling kits, frameworks or UI libraries, but are there any that stand out as diamonds in the rough for quality of developer life or productivity rate in their category or overall?
Why it failed: I am poking around for a new tool to learn as a mainly backend developer and coming to the conclusion that HTML, CSS and JS seem to be yesterday's options. I'm left wondering; if you were learning today and wanted to get proficient fast, what would you learn? Typescript
starlingforge
- startupShut down2018
Ask HN: My startup is going remote-only. Is this a giant red flag?
My startup company, located in a major city, is going remote-only. Meaning, we are currently in a shared office space, but some time in the coming months, we will no longer have that space and will be a remote-only org. A variety of reasons were given for this decision, including the fact that we already have a bunch of remote workers. Has your startup successfully transitioned to be remote-only or is this a flag I should start looking for other jobs?
Why it failed: My startup company, located in a major city, is going remote-only. Meaning, we are currently in a shared office space, but some time in the coming months, we will no longer have that space and will be a remote-only org. A variety of reasons were given for this decision, including
inlinefun
- startupShut down2018
Ask HN: What are your “brain hacks” that help you manage everyday situations?
I'm incredibly fortunate to have a chairman on our board who brings so much clarity of thought to the business. He's unemotional yet thoughtful. If he doesn't have an immediate answer for something, he instinctively understands how to search for the answer. He has a natural sense of the real priority of work and discussions. So I asked him for some of his favourite brain hacks...simple tricks he uses when he has a mental challenge to overcome. A couple of his insights were very useful to me, so I thought I'd share them here and ask HN for their personal brain hacks in response. Artificial deadlines He has a clever technique for bringing tough choices to a conclusion and avoiding procrastination. This is especially useful for life changing decisions such as moving country or taking that new job. To put an end to the decision making process he sets a deadline for the de
Why it failed: I'm incredibly fortunate to have a chairman on our board who brings so much clarity of thought to the business. He's unemotional yet thoughtful. If he doesn't have an immediate answer for something, he instinctively understands how to search for the answer. He has
simonswords82
- startupShut down2018
Ask HN: Is it legal for a company to restrict an internship to certain races?
I'm a person of color working for a large tech company in San Francisco. I was disgusted to find out that we have a paid internship program that is explicitly only limited to people of certain races. 1) Description on website: "...is a paid 12-week summer internship program designed for second-year students interested in gaining hands-on and real-life experience in the tech industry." "Eligibility: Full-time student identifying as black, Latinx, and/or Native American completing your undergraduate study in 2021 at a university or college." 2) Is this legal? I am familiar with affirmative action, but all examples I have seen describe it as stuff like: "language on job advertisements urging minorities to apply, or a policy that favors African-Americans when all other qualifications among job applicants are equal.". I've never seen a company expl
Why it failed: I'm a person of color working for a large tech company in San Francisco. I was disgusted to find out that we have a paid internship program that is explicitly only limited to people of certain races. 1) Description on website: "...is a paid 12-week summer internship pro
workquest7
- startupShut down2018
Ask HN: Should I abandon a functioning SaaS with no paying users?
I'm the creator of Ekko - https://ekko.site/ - "Create your business website in seconds, using your Facebook page". Me: I'm a full-time software consultant (https://benhowdle.im/), Ekko was intended as a side-project to generate passive income, not to be a fully fledged startup from day 1. My aim was/is to make it incredibly simple for small businesses to create and keep their business website online and updated. The user connects their Facebook Page to my service, picks a theme and their new site is online. Every time they update their FB Page, the website (on my service) is instantly updated. This part is free, as you have a subdomain URL. To add a custom domain, it's a monthly fee. I launched the SaaS in early 2017 and spent 3 months promoting/pushing it out to my networks online. This led to a lot of positive feedback,
Why it failed: I'm the creator of Ekko - https://ekko.site/ - "Create your business website in seconds, using your Facebook page". Me: I'm a full-time software consultant (https://benhowdle.im/), Ekko was intended as a side-project to generate p
benhowdle
- startupShut down2018
Launch HN: Nutrigene (YC W18) – Tailor-made liquid supplements using health data
I'm Van Duesterberg, and my cofounder is Min FitzGerald. We're the founders of Nutrigene ( http://www.mynutrigene.com ). We ship tailor-made liquid supplements based on your body composition and scientific research. I'm a biophysicist and epigeneticist who spent more than 10 years studying how environmental factors influence the expression of our genes, focusing on the mechanism of metabolites (including vitamins) in both plants and humans. Min has spent more than 10 years as a personal trainer, health coach and behavioral scientist working in the food and consumer product goods space. This all started because I wanted to be healthier and was frustrated with a lack of answers from our healthcare system, which only sees our data through a “survival” lens (oh you don’t need to be in urgent care or surgery now). I wanted to live beyond just surviving to truly thrive
Why it failed: I'm Van Duesterberg, and my cofounder is Min FitzGerald. We're the founders of Nutrigene ( http://www.mynutrigene.com ). We ship tailor-made liquid supplements based on your body composition and scientific research. I'm a biophysicist and epigeneticist wh
vancanwin
- startupShut down2018
Ask HN: How little work can you get away with and still have the basics?
My goal in life is to have maximum freedom: minimal obligations, minimal stress, minimal responsibilities, while maintaining a private room to live in with basic utilities and food. Then I want to spend my life working on my own projects in my own time, on my own terms, at my own pace, in solitude. This is practically how I've lived for years under my parents' roof until recently when we were displaced. Now I want to regain what I lost. Maybe I'm greedy, spoiled, and undisciplined, but the idea of having to spend a large amount of my time and energy working in order to have these fundamental needs met is unacceptable to me. The pressure to regularly exhaust myself with financial obligations that I'm fundamentally not interested in makes it too difficult for me to live comfortably enough to comfortably pursue the things I actually care about, thus defeating the purpose
Why it failed: My goal in life is to have maximum freedom: minimal obligations, minimal stress, minimal responsibilities, while maintaining a private room to live in with basic utilities and food. Then I want to spend my life working on my own projects in my own time, on my own terms, at my own
aardbei
- startupShut down2018
Ask HN: What would your ideal programming language be like?
I'm a language designer. I know I love writing compilers and interpreters, but I always had this constant problem of fitting the languages I create into a niche. I always aim for the ultimate swiss-knife kind of language or I always end up doing that. However, many people have told me, I'm wasting my time creating general-purpose languages, instead I should focus on a niche. Now I'm looking for the niche. So I'm directing this question to you coders, old and young. What do you think a new programming language should have and not be considered a waste of time? What features or environment do expect from a new programming language? Why do you think current languages cannot have those features? In short, what areas do you think current languages suck in and would be a good starting point for a new programming language? Or should I just give up on language design and comp
Why it failed: I'm a language designer. I know I love writing compilers and interpreters, but I always had this constant problem of fitting the languages I create into a niche. I always aim for the ultimate swiss-knife kind of language or I always end up doing that. However, many people ha
appcypher
- startupShut down2018
Ask HN: Laid off after 2 months. What exactly should I be doing?
I'm a guy with very little experience, CS degree, currently living in Texas, and was laid off by another company before this. I found a job after a long job search. I cancelled my other job offer, spent all my savings ($2k on rent, flight, AirBnB, etc), and moved across the country to work here in a sort of suburban city with no way to get around. I was planning on saving up money and building up my life here. After 2 months, I was laid off. I have no car, no insurance, practically no money, etc. It costs $50 round trip just to Uber into downtown, so I end up holed in my apartment. Not to mention the cost to go to meetups and on-site interviews (yeah, no one has once offered to pay). I've been searching for about 4 months. I've made it to several on-sites, but never got an offer and don't know exactly what I'm doing wrong. Like one company would say I passed, the
Why it failed: I'm a guy with very little experience, CS degree, currently living in Texas, and was laid off by another company before this. I found a job after a long job search. I cancelled my other job offer, spent all my savings ($2k on rent, flight, AirBnB, etc), and moved across the
throawawy3242
- startupShut down2018
Ask HN: How can I avoid just making rich people richer?
I've been a professional software developer for 3 years now, but I've been programming for about 6 years prior to that. Both as a hobby, but also as a side-effect of my education in mathematical modelling and decision making. I love programming and developing applications, but due to my background in mathematics-economics I tend to have a very economical focus on the impact of what I do. To be frank, it is making me depressed. It's not that I can't generate positive ROI for my time spent. The problem is how it affects society. My job (and education) seems primed to benefit shareholder at the cost of other stakeholders. Automating people away seriously affects the livelyhood of those affected. To make it worse, cuts in costs often never make a difference to the price of end products, unless the market for those products are very competitive. Prices doesn't simply
Why it failed: I've been a professional software developer for 3 years now, but I've been programming for about 6 years prior to that. Both as a hobby, but also as a side-effect of my education in mathematical modelling and decision making. I love programming and developing applicatio
undreren
- startupShut down2018
Ask HN: Tips on hiring a “life manager” or coach to be productive?
Long story short, I work remotely, am building a few side projects, trying to get in shape, learn a foreign language and a million other things. Unfortunately, like everyone else, I end up wasting time on the internet and making excuses. Self-motivation has its limits. Specifically as a remote worker, I’ve found it’s easy to fall into an “unstructured abyss.” I recently had the idea of hiring someone to ‘keep me on track’, so to speak. A cross between an assistant and a coach. Has anyone done something like this? I’m even thinking a 60 minute session once a week to just review my goals, make sure I’m getting stuff done, and being accountable to someone is a good start.
Why it failed: Long story short, I work remotely, am building a few side projects, trying to get in shape, learn a foreign language and a million other things. Unfortunately, like everyone else, I end up wasting time on the internet and making excuses. Self-motivation has its limits. Specifical
keiferski
- startupShut down2018
Ask HN: My startup has basically failed. What now?
I've been working on a startup for ~9 months (as the technical cofounder) in the event tech space (B2B tradeshows) and I'm pretty sure we've failed to do anything productive (find product/market fit, find a problem/solution fit, learn anything valuable, etc.). We still have ~100k left but the main investors/advisors (from the 220k friends/family/fools round) pretty much feel like it's time to pull the plug. My personal opinion is that that's the most responsible thing to do (return money pro-rata) but there are simultaneous voices (paradoxically same investors) pushing to keep going (continue running pilots, building out the team [we just finally found a bd cofounder], crafting a pitch for a seed round). I don't know what to do since in my understanding we've failed at the most important thing: finding product/market fit. o
Why it failed: I've been working on a startup for ~9 months (as the technical cofounder) in the event tech space (B2B tradeshows) and I'm pretty sure we've failed to do anything productive (find product/market fit, find a problem/solution fit, learn anything valuable, e
mlevental
- startupShut down2018
Ask HN: What abandoned OSS project would you like to see revived?
I've been writing code forever but took a break to pursue some other interests. Now I'm ready to come back. I'm looking for an open-source project to busy myself with while I resume networking and freelancing. Ideally, I'd like to revive an practical OSS project that's been abandoned. Something useful but left untended for whatever reason. What are some candidates? What project is broadly useful but seems to have lost its maintainer or their interest? What do you wish somebody was actively working on so that you didn't have to? I've chosen not to offer constraints so that this can be more of a wishlist for the community than an answer just for me. I know there's some other people out there that would be eager to do the same thing I am. Thanks, all!
Why it failed: I've been writing code forever but took a break to pursue some other interests. Now I'm ready to come back. I'm looking for an open-source project to busy myself with while I resume networking and freelancing. Ideally, I'd like to revive an practical OSS proje
swatcoder
- startupShut down2018
Ask HN: Has Google released a public post-mortem for Oct. YouTube outage yet?
If they have not, maybe an insider could tell us if they are planning to release one? I've tried googling for one, but all I find is youtube videos of dead guys being cut up (not my cup of tea, apparently).
Why it failed: If they have not, maybe an insider could tell us if they are planning to release one? I've tried googling for one, but all I find is youtube videos of dead guys being cut up (not my cup of tea, apparently).
uniformlyrandom
- startupShut down2018
Ask HN: How will it go for Raspberry Pi in the coming years?
In the consumer and the small business markets, we are having computing power being more and more shifted from desktops or laptops to tablets and smartphones, we are even seeing full computing watches these days. In your opinion, what about DIY, IoT, small robotics, etc. and the generalist barebone computers they use, like Arduino, Raspberry, etc.? Will they become more and more powerful for a new race to bigger, maybe embedded systems or will they stay small, open, very cheap and marginally energy-hungry?
Why it failed: In the consumer and the small business markets, we are having computing power being more and more shifted from desktops or laptops to tablets and smartphones, we are even seeing full computing watches these days. In your opinion, what about DIY, IoT, small robotics, etc. and the
DrNuke
- startupShut down2018
Ask HN: Reached rock-bottom low point in my life – how to get back up?
This is the 2nd time in my life that I turn to HN for help. The first time, I already thought I was kind of in a bad shape. But tonight, I reached a new low point. I have been out of a job for a long time. Currently, my only income is from a small remote job that requires no special skills. I can only survive on it, because I moved to a developing country in Southeast Asia. But this is a dead-end. I need to change - everything. I know the best way would be through a job that would allow me to gradually learn new skills. I don't really care that much about pay. I can survive on a few hundred dollars a month. Although I would like to say that I'm willing to do almost anything, I also know my limitations. I previously created some websites on my own using Ruby on Rails. But I'm probably quite far from a 'real' hacker who enjoys coding so much, they do it in their fr
Why it failed: This is the 2nd time in my life that I turn to HN for help. The first time, I already thought I was kind of in a bad shape. But tonight, I reached a new low point. I have been out of a job for a long time. Currently, my only income is from a small remote job that requires no spec
whysine
- startupShut down2018
Tell HN: Goo.gl (Google link Shortener) is shutting down
When you visit the goo.gl homepage, this message appears: > Starting March 30, 2018, we will be turning down support for goo.gl URL shortener. From April 13, 2018 only existing users will be able to create short links on the goo.gl console. You will be able to view your analytics data and download your short link information in csv format for up to one year, until March 30, 2019, when we will discontinue goo.gl. Previously created links will continue to redirect to their intended destination. Please see this blog post[1] for more details. [1]: https://developers.googleblog.com/2018/03/transitioning-google-url-shortener.html?m=1
Why it failed: When you visit the goo.gl homepage, this message appears: > Starting March 30, 2018, we will be turning down support for goo.gl URL shortener. From April 13, 2018 only existing users will be able to create short links on the goo.gl console. You will be able to view your analyt
illustrioussuit
- startupShut down2018
Ask HN: Are my technical interview questions too hard?
We just finished hiring our first 2 JS developers in a while and I was surprised how many seemingly perfect candidates completely failed my technical interview. Our funnel was 150 applications -> 75 potentially viable applicants -> 20 interviews -> 8 finalists. I thought all 8 finalists would breeze through my technical interview but, in reality, 6 of them completely failed it. I'm trying to determine if I'm just horrible at sniffing out bad programmers or if my questions were too hard, bad, or both. The format was a 1 hour in-person interview using a pre-setup JSFiddle to perform the following tasks. (I made it clear that asking me questions, using Google, using libraries like jQuery, or whatever else you'd do during a real-world scenario was perfectly fine). In the comments below I added details about why I asked certain questions and what I was looking for. 1)
Why it failed: We just finished hiring our first 2 JS developers in a while and I was surprised how many seemingly perfect candidates completely failed my technical interview. Our funnel was 150 applications -> 75 potentially viable applicants -> 20 interviews -> 8 finalists. I thought
yeldarb
- startupShut down2018
Show HN: Intercept.rest – Faster API debugging
Sharing an internal tool that accelerated my development work 10-fold, especially with API debugging. Thought fellow developers here might find it useful. As a developer, I often have trouble reproducing errors at the client end. https://intercept.rest lets me debug and monitor API requests and responses. It is similar to the Network tab in Chrome Developer Tools but works for any API: mobile apps, webhooks, frontend etc. After I shared it with a close circle of friends, they found it incredibly useful and even found new use cases, I never imagined. Been a long time lurker here and have found several such tools that made my life easier. So, wanted to share this here and keen to hear if you folks find it useful too. Some of the Use cases (Look forward to other use cases for this tool): - Reproduce error requests at client side, helps to debug faster. – Easily switch between mock
Why it failed: Sharing an internal tool that accelerated my development work 10-fold, especially with API debugging. Thought fellow developers here might find it useful. As a developer, I often have trouble reproducing errors at the client end. https://intercept.rest lets me debug and
saleeh
- startupShut down2018
Ask HN: YC Research Cities Now Listed as a Past Project. Is There a Post-Mortem?
See on https://ycr.org/ Same with HARC - any post mortem? I'm really glad that YC is ambitious and tried to do these things. Of course, failure is a natural part of ambitious bets. I'd also love to hear what they learned and why they didn't end up being overwhelming successes.
Why it failed: See on https://ycr.org/ Same with HARC - any post mortem? I'm really glad that YC is ambitious and tried to do these things. Of course, failure is a natural part of ambitious bets. I'd also love to hear what they learned and why they didn't end up be
arikr
- startupShut down2018
Ask HN: What is your 'end game'? What kind of life are you striving to live?
Something that's been on my mind lately. I enjoy the depth of thought on HN, I always learn the most here.
Why it failed: Something that's been on my mind lately. I enjoy the depth of thought on HN, I always learn the most here.
rblion
- startupShut down2017
Ask HN: What to do as a back-end dev and with many app ideas but can't do UX?
As a backend deveveloper, I often have many webapp ideas, but I can't do design/UX to save my life, so I never finish things because I get discouraged of how bad it looks in the beginning. Does this happen to anyone else? This is so frustrating and discouraging. I often get unmotivated to finish things because of this issue. How do you guys deal with it? I'm talking strictly about side/weekend projects.
Why it failed: As a backend deveveloper, I often have many webapp ideas, but I can't do design/UX to save my life, so I never finish things because I get discouraged of how bad it looks in the beginning. Does this happen to anyone else? This is so frustrating and discouraging. I often
humaninstrument
- startupShut down2017
Google is shutting down the QPX Express API for airfare data
Google has been offering an API for airfare data at https://developers.google.com/qpx-express. I just received this email: "Dear QPX Express API Customer, After careful consideration, we've decided to shut down the QPX Express API as of April 10, 2018. How this affects you After April 10th, you will not be able to access the API and will no longer be charged for this service. Until then, you will be charged a reduced rate of $0.02 per query for any queries beyond the 50 free daily quota. Next steps You don't need to take any action. However, if you are actively using this product you may want to find an alternate solution before April 10, 2018. If you have any questions about these changes, please don't hesitate to contact us at any time. Sincerely, The QPX Express API team" More info on the shutdown: https://developers.google.com/qp
Why it failed: Google has been offering an API for airfare data at https://developers.google.com/qpx-express. I just received this email: "Dear QPX Express API Customer, After careful consideration, we've decided to shut down the QPX Express API as of April 10, 2018. Ho
imartin2k
- startupShut down2017
Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?
Hello HN! Let me give you some background info: - I'm 29 years old, computer science graduate. - I founded two startups. First one failed after 4 years. The second one was acquired 3 months ago but do not take it as a success. We had to sold it to one of our competitors at a price of one tenth of the our series A valuation. Basically, things go bad so fast, it was our best option. I've left the company as a part of the deal. - In both of the companies I've founded, I had to wear too many hats. As a result, I have not excelled in any particular skill, rather I've gained medium level of experience in variety of skills from development to product design to finance. - As a result of the recent acquisition I've some money in my bank account which can cover my expenses for a year from now. - I was mentally exhausted, so I decided to keep things slow for a while and tha
Why it failed: Hello HN! Let me give you some background info: - I'm 29 years old, computer science graduate. - I founded two startups. First one failed after 4 years. The second one was acquired 3 months ago but do not take it as a success. We had to sold it to one of our competitors at a
throwaway487