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Comment by jgrall | Hacker News Reader

Creator of Just Landed here. Actually, I have been approached by a number of companies over the years about selling Just Landed, including some household names. The trouble is, almost none of them wanted the app – they just wanted me as an employee. These weren't companies I could get super excited about working for - especially since I love being an entrepreneur and working for myself. Of the few who did want the app or the tech, their quality bar/taste wasn't a good fit, and I worried about how they would treat my users. It was never about the money. Time is my most valuable scarce resource.

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Thanks for building this, I've been a low-volume user since sometime in 2013. I'll miss it, but completely understand your reasoning.

Hmmm. If it's about users, then why shutter the service they depend on? I am sure you have throught about this a lot and are probably tired of investing more time and energy in this project, but if you have hundreds of thousands of users, you have a huge opportunity on your hands.

How about:

1) start building your own set of data to complement the bought data. Every time there is an inaccuracy, approach the airline company and start using their data directly. Later on, you can even become one of the companies who provide data to others. When there is a problem ("the data companies are not doing their job") there is an opportunity.

2) change the pricing model to charge big users more. They should be your bread and butter, because they get paid to use your app. You are just a small additional cost to them. You can even lower the initial price tag and charge more for enterprise usage... Since you are better than others (see 1.) the enterprise users will be happy to pay more.

3) failing that, sell to an entrepreneur who will continue. I am sure there are many interested persons and your users would be better served if someone picked up where you left off. Hell, I am interested... :)

Ever think about contractualizing the things that concerned you (like user-treatment) and getting a conditional employment contract, which also featured a limited term?

I hear you on the time point. Thing is, it's hard to get to that place where you have an offer on the table. Starting over would have a time cost, so over the long term, you might've been able to buy yourself more time with the time you'd already invested.

Of course, that also depends on the amount of the offer.

The app is great and I actually think a business model could be found (though I can totally understand your weariness).

Have you considered selling it to another entrepreneur to carry on instead of shutting down completely?

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