Startup redux. How I created a new market. | Hacker News Reader

Startup redux. How I created a new market.

9 pointsone0101016 comments

Back in 2000 I left the public sector (where I did computer security for a prominent government agency) and I went out on my own. It was a scary time. I started as an assistant for the #5 real estate agent in my area and then later was on my own. In the middle of it all, I realized the software we had to look up homes was downloading all the current homes-for-sale data in a DB form that I could publish on the web. So I set up my own website and it boosted my sales by quite a bit. I even built in the ability for customers to program their "wants" and it would then email them when homes came on the market matching their criteria. Thus was born the Alaska Home Search Network. Since then, the MLS folks have created an API so others can do the same. At my peak I was making about $30K per year simply keeping my little eMachines server running in my garage with about 100 websites on it.<p>There were one or two competitors, and one of them was heavily funded by a prominent real estate company. But competition is no big deal if your product is what the customers want, so I was able to trash them in the marketplace. I charged $50/month for the service.<p>So now, I am about to do the same in another market. Something nobody has done yet. Yeah, there are one or two dabbling with he same idea, but competition simply gives us the tools to improve our own product.<p>The reason I posted this is to assure folks that it is highly possible to create entirely new markets. It is also possible to charge recurring fees for the service you provide.<p>I am an oddity in that I have never had a failed product launch. (granted I've only done three serious products) The key is research.<p>Look at the elements of a business plan. The idea, the analysis of the possible market, detailing possible competitors, and the bottom line for the ROI. Some due diligence up front is the most important factor.<p>Have fun developing your own companies! And remember: the US economy is dependent on SMBs (small and Medium Businesses) - we generate more than 80% of the overall GDP.

Hey one010101, firstly, let me say that I love your story.

I am doing a podcast about various ideas/projects/stuff that HN members are working on.

Interested in being on one of the episodes? Even though I know you probably don't want to talk about what you are currently working on, I think the community would love to hear more about your story.

I put up the first episode and am pivoting based on the feedback I got from the HN community: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1379942

If you are interested, email me: marc {at} ideatin {dot} com

Thanks.

Thank you for your kind words. Yes! That sounds fun. You'll get an email from me soon. btw, I am happy to talk about anything I am currently working on, with one single exception (because it is the first worldwide). Competition is a good thing, and we learn from each other. I'm a very agile developer and am not the slightest bit concerned about talking about what I'm doing. If I do it might bring new customers. And in the final analysis, there is very little we can do that is ground-breaking in concept. It is the execution that distinguishes companies. For example, honesty and prompt payment appear to be in short supply. So even if we're in a highly competitive market we can always rise above the middle of the bell curve.

Just a note: You may want to reformat your post and make it easier to read. Thanks

Good point. Maybe you can see by the <p> tags that HN removed the formatting I attempted. I agree it would look better if they had retained my intended presentation.

How do you find market opportunities, other than by merely stumbling through them in the course of your own life (e.g. "I used to do X and found out that Y sucked so I set out to build a better Y") As a developer, the number of domains (X) I've worked in are small, so I find it difficult to look for opportunities in non-development domains.

I don't have a general answer, but in my case it really does come from life experience. Let me give you an example, using one of my current projects. I met two friends (about a month ago) for a brewski. Turns out they are golfers. We went to Harding driving range and Lincoln golf course. When we were on the 2nd hole at Lincoln it occurred to me that there are people who would probably like a photo survey of the local golf courses. We have roughly 15,000,000 visitors a year here. So now I'm building an iPhone app that will help tourists plan their golfing forays.

I see opportunities everywhere I look. And so far, I have not had a failure. Not all ideas are reachable, but there are always many that require no investment other than my time and energy. (and always remember: Time is non-renewable. Budget your time very carefully so it is profitable)

I think the most valuable lesson I've learned is that being successful in business is not based on how much money you have. It is much more based on how you allocate your resources. Time is the most important one, because it is non-renewable.

I wish you great success in the future!

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