biznerd

Very difficult to pull off but I'd love to hear stories. Thanks

So I'm sorta a techie. I loved this site back when I graduated in college in 2007. I remember TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington said he loved this site.A lot has change over that past 15 years or so, but honestly I never visit this site anymore.I know this is a "how long is a piece of string question", but any ideas why? In some ways, I'd love to do it again.

I was in college when they IPOed. The founders seemed to really have a vision to be the anti-Microsoft. Stuff like 20% time, free food, moonshot projects, etc.Now it seems they're just another big tech company. The news is filled about how they're not up to very good stuff.What happened?

Ugly web design for sure, but today all we have are sleek pre-designed wordpress themes and twitter bootstrap. The web resembles a high-end mall but it's lost a lot of it's character.When I was in high school, a bunch of us would create websites on angelfire or geocities. I'd assume kids today are just trying to get followers on Youtube or Instagram.Today, the algorithim is almighty. But back...

I posted this on HN 6 years ago, (wow time flies)https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8674644Basically, it’s a discussion about how Microsoft held back the internet 6-7 years.Imagine that. Human society would be 6-7 years in some respect.I also read about Gary Kidall, the creator of CP/M. Bill gates created a variant of it, MS-DOS, and the rest is history. He was endlessly compared by the media...

I feel bad because I've worked very hard to get to this point. Worked at a job I hated for years to build my savings and skillset to the level that I can work for myself.To put it simply, I don't exert myself. My pace of work is really bad. I quit during the day far too early.I use the "pomodoro" system of productivity and once I hit 8, I start on my long list of hobbies. I know I'm capable of...

I've only tried to develop 1 app in my lifetime (a yelp for coding bootcamps). I had to brainstorm for weeks, if not months, for that idea. Building the site was no problem, but the real one was getting reviews (using various techniques, my partner and I only got a half dozen.) In the end, I spent a couple hundred bucks and several months down the drain.Contrast that with what I'm doing now:...

So far I've identified:Mobile (Android, iPhone) Wordpress plugins Your own web app (SaaS) Gaming (Xbox, PS marketplace)I'm self taught and I'm thinking WP might be best because competition is less and promotion easier.Obviously, my own app would be the dream but that is really hard to pull off.Anyone have any insight?

Since high school I thought I wanted to be an entrepreneur. In HS/college I start websites (ranking in SEO was very easy) and made 30k. I also started a web host and grew it to several hundred clients and sold it for 20k. So I graduated with 50k in the bank. It felt awesome, but looking back things were so easy back then.The next 10 years have been pretty bad though. I have a huge problem...

Is it all it's cracked up to be? Seems to be the dream career for millenials...I'm wondering if its overhyped.

I'm not a programmer, just a really curious guy. Does a master's in CS make you a more effective programmer (in the workplace)? Or is it merely the most talented programmer choose to do a MS?

The mutual fund company Vanguard is a co-operative, owned by its investors. It is essentially a non-profit.Would this model work for an Uber clone?* It could split the profit evenly by simultaneously raising the driver rate and lowering prices. * It could "growth hack" and by having drivers initially promote the app. If you get in an Uber/Lyft the driver could be like "hey man, next time you...

I simply have too many ideas. I can perhaps narrow them down to 5. How can I choose the winner?I don't think it's a good idea to work on more than one project, but that's just me.

This is especially true of side projects. Much easier to slack off than work on them.Also especially true for solo founders.How do you keep yourself accountable?

The vast majority of business websites seem to be the same stock images, encapsulated by "business speak". Fun/cool identities seem to be rare. Here is one:...actually I take that back. www.nerdery.com had a design that was distinctive but it seems they changed it to the stale, standard design of a web development firm.

I graduate in about a month. It's been intense, a ton of fun too.I don't know how "good" I am. There seems to be a lot of people smarter than me. Completing assignments faster than me. Particularly with OOP. OTOH I am average or faster speed with other aspects.I'm hoping this probably doesn't mean a lot, especially since we're all new coders. But this has really gotten to me. I've had a job...

This interests me greatly since I love living in 3rd world countries and think this would be a great experience to do when I'm young. Does one just start on oDesk or Freelancer, start getting clients and hire people?

I've tried numerous times to pick up programming in my free time. I'm not dumb (actually smart when it comes to SAT tests) but I've always failed.Looking back, I think what hurts me is the feedback loop. To get a job in programming would take 6 months+ of hard work. Sitting by the computer every night vs spending time on a hobby eventually becomes a hard decision. This is especially true when...

There are several successful solopreneurs on HN:Patrick McKenzie:http://www.kalzumeus.com/Dan Grossmanhttp://www.awio.comAlthough they occasionally deal with contractors, they are one man shops. There are benefits and costs to do this.It really limits your "impact" and how much money you can make...however there is a lot less stress involved.Would you want to be a successful solopreneur or do...

Not the typical question on HN. But just seeing so many people in the Valley aiming to be the next Mark Zuckerberg / Bill Gates. Such a goal comes at a great cost. Not only the amount of work required but you'll probably need to chase high risk opportunities which the vast majority of the time end in failure.Or do you want something like 37signals? More of a lifestyle company, with 4 day...

With the advent of the internet, it's very possible to build location-independent businesses. It's fun reading about small software companies that are based in 3 different countries.Is this model scalable? Also, it might be better for products that are smaller and niche. Building a AAA game, for example, might be almost impossible to do without an office.