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Comment by marclou | Hacker News Reader

OP here. I call my products startups because I need to believe each will make $ at some point, otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to grind for 6 years.

Some are actual startups with decent userbase and recurring revenue, and some are just free logo makers.

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I appreciate the grit but don't align with the definition. One could argue that you made 1 startup with several products and the most successful one would be what you pivot to.

yes, when i look at https://indiepa.ge/ for example, it lists people with 21 startups, 15 startups, 10 startups... it gave me a wierd feeling. it seems so out of place and unrealistic.

if instead it would say: 21 products, 15 products, 10 products... the list would look much more sensible.

Back in 2006, I knew a lot of people who used to call any webpage with a potential product a startup. There was one group I was associated with who did a biweekly "8hour startup" day. The idea was you'd come together for the day, form groups of 2-4 people and work on getting a finished website where you could sell something. Think a game jam equivalent for web devs/PMs. Was kind of fun. I did it once, though usually I was working on other things when these events were going on, and could rarely commit to the length of the events.

A startup is a business, not a product. If you really created nine separate legal entities and file taxes separately for all nine, so be it, I guess this is nine startups. That seems like a bizarrely inefficient way to work, though. One startup that creates nine products makes more sense to me.

6 years, wow! Admire your ability to keep at it.

Ahh the SV grindset.

Why is it so much about $? What about just creating something out of passion and curiosity? Do you have projects like that at all (maybe even ones that were not shared with the world)?

I like programming but not as much as I like other hobbies. If I’m not making money in some capacity from programming, then I just go do something else that I enjoy more. Money is a strong motivator and for most people, it is stronger than passion and curiosity because those don’t put food on my table.

If you don’t have a full-time job that generates income, you better think of ways to monetize your side-projects. Completely different story when you have stable income.

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