Ask HN: Work on something you love (little $) or something that has a market? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Work on something you love (little $$) or something that has a market?

4 pointsredrory8 comments

Hey HN, I created FilmBet.com (design is horrid) two years back. It's a Box Office Betting app. I love the business side of movies. On sundays I always check how much they have made in the box office etc. So I figured what the hell, maybe others would be too. So I created it, you log on and bet on the upcoming movies on which would perform better than others.

I had thoughts of issuing monthly prizes to the users with the highest points. I tried to quickly come up with a business model: If you were a pro user (Paying a couple bucks a month) you would get double points.

I didn't research the legality of the betting angle.

I built it, and I guess when I got to the marketing and growing and how it's gonna make part I flaked out. But it's always in the back of the my head. Considering to rewrite it in Rails and see what could be.

On the other hand, currently working on a Saas application that handle employee vacation tracking.

I guess my question is- Have you ever been torn between working on a something that genuinely interests you (but the chance of $$ is low) or something than doesn't quite interest you but there is a market for it.

Edit: Formatting

There's a concept in psychology called Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which tries to answer the ? of what actually motivates people. Essentially, some motivations are more foundational than others, and you can't work on "higher" needs successfully while your mind is distracted by other problems. For instance, someone who is drowning is motivated by getting more air and will completely ignore hunger because it's a less immediate motivator than lack of oxygen. Ultimately, Maslow believes we're motivated by a need to maximize our potential, which he calls "self actualization", but it's very easy to get tripped up by motivations below that in the hierarchy.

You're asking us to help you prioritize between two opportunities. The FilmBet project sounds like something you really get a lot out of, which is pretty close to the "self actualization" need Maslow described. The vacation app will bring in lots more money which will help put you in a better place to self actualize later, but it sounds very much like a means instead of an end.

Trying to define the point when a need is met is somewhat subjective. For instance, some people are big eaters, whereas some aren't. Some folks are perfectly comfortable living paycheck to paycheck, whereas some folks want to have 2 years salary saved up for a rainy day. If you feel that you are secure enough financially, physically and emotionally, then I'd go ahead and do the FilmBet work because it sounds like you enjoy it. Otherwise, I'd keep plugging away on the vacation app because the money from that is going to help put you in a better position down the road to work on something you actually enjoy.

Thank you so much for your detailed response. I had to stop what I was doing to properly read it. Decision: To move ahead with my Vacation App ( which is at the landing page and collecting emails phase, while I wrap up the last 30%, which is taking the most time). Then to get out there and MARKET MARKET

A way to harness your desire and your need: Spend your day working on the SaaS app and then devote your evenings to the betting app. You'll be very satisfied from working on the betting app and that satisfaction will get you through the morning. Plus you'll be looking forward to the evening when you get to work on the betting app.

This way you'll get both done while still being happy and satisfied.

If I need money, I do something that generates money.

If I don't need money, I do whatever the hell I want.

To the extent possible, I try to make these activities overlap because I occasionally need money and don't like doing stuff I don't like.

I have trouble understanding people who don't follow a similar policy. But people do weird unpredictable stuff all the time.

If this is possible, you could try working on your Saas application until it becomes profitable enough that you can work on other stuff while still having a steady income from your work. That way, you can use your hard earned income to supply your passion into something that would not make enough money for you to make a living.

Hi Khao, This is the way I should and have been going about. Just on the rough days my mind starts to wander to other more exciting cooler/sexier projects. This may happen, if I reach a roadblock with FB. So I need to just buckle down.

Thanks

It might be fun to extend this idea to bet on RottenTomatoes scores before the reviews start flowing in.

And if it turns out that your users are any good at predicting movie biz metrics, there might be some value in the data you collect.

Drop both, and find something that you enjoy AND has a good market.

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