Top posts
Every blog post that took off on Hacker News, ranked by the votes of its best submission. 1,552 posts.
Turning on your Reality Distortion Field
I was catching up over coffee and a muffin with a student I hadn’t seen for years who’s now CEO of his own struggling startup. As I listened to him present the problems of matching lithium-ion bat…
Unlimited is like a Ponzi Scheme
You shouldn’t be surprised when unlimited ends, because unlimited is more often than not an unsustainable Ponzi Scheme.
Reflections on my time in Y Combinator
A quick intro: This is the first post I’ve written in quite a while, but it’s also the first time I feel like I’ve had a chance to breathe this year. I’m on a “vacation”, although it stops feeling like that when you have a toddler
Trust Is at the Core of Software Marketing
Discover why trust is the foundation of software marketing success, from Apple's $205B brand value to proven strategies for enterprise SaaS and cloud vendors.
Micro-SaaS Alternatives to BigTech/VC
A list of small internet startups built by solo developers or tiny teams which can be used as alternatives to big tech/VC-funded startups. Choosing these alternatives helps their founders make money to live their lives and focus on working on their products.
Don't try this at home. How credit card arbitrage funded my first company.
Getting a startup off the ground takes time, talent, and money. Time can be stolen from various parts of your life with some determination and prioritization. Talent can be eventually learned or acquired with cofounders. Money’s different. You can do a lot of things to reduce the need for money, but it usually takes…
Post mortem of a failed HackerNews launch
Right after our TC press post we were onto showcasing Cucumbertown to the HN community and taking feedback. Things were looking fine for sometime until Murphy decided to play spoilsport and we hit ocean bottom when we showed up on the front page. 1 hour on the HN homepage and we were out. Pretty saddening experience…
Where Have All the Angels Gone?
Angel investing plummets 81% as institutional seed dominates startup funding. New data shows dramatic shift in early-stage venture capital from 2010-2018.
How YC will be funding the S20 batch
Hint: it will involve a lot of video calls
Steve Blank: Relentless – The Difference Between Motion And Action
Never mistake motion for action. -Ernest Hemingway One of an entrepreneur’s greatest strengths is their relentless pursuit of a goal. But few realize how this differs from most of the population. W…
Lessons on product and marketing from the growth of Domino’s Pizza
Startups can learn some of the most valuable lessons on product and marketing from the growth of the world’s biggest pizza chain. The story of Domino’s Pizza is a hero’s… Keep reading
Developer, you may need a co-founder in marketing
Uku Täht is a co-founder of a simple web analytics tool Plausible. It’s bootstrapped, open-source, and currently making $360,000 in annual recurring revenue (ARR).
Unkown Unknowns: Why you should release early
It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so. - Mark Twain
Startup Priorities
One of the most difficult tasks for a startup founder is deciding what to do. Where should the tiny number of people working on a brand new company spend their time? Choosing wisely can place your...
Valve is running Apple's playbook in reverse
How a video game company built an empire by inverting the playbook
Bootstrapping a SaaS Business in Germany: How I did it
Lukas Hermann, founder of Stagetimer, delves into the nitty-gritty of bootstrapping a SaaS business in Germany. Learn about navigating bureaucracy, tax management, pricing, product development, tech stack, marketing, and more. A must-read for aspiring German entrepreneurs.
Aaron Swartz: How To Launch Software
37signals recommends that software developers pursue what they call the Hollywood Launch . They don’t give any argument for this method, except perhaps the title (as if Hollywood was a business you should try to imitate?) — I guess the idea is that you’re supposed to do it since 37signals says to.
The Depressing Day After You Get TechCrunched
Vinicius Vacanti is co-founder and CEO of Yipit. Next posts on how to acquire users for free and how to raise a Series A. Don’t miss them by subscribing via email or via twitter .
Startup Equity For Employees
2020 PREFACE: I originally wrote this back in the mid-2000s and have resurrected it by request.
How I stopped procrastinating, learned to code, and launched my first product
I discuss the six major barriers that I had to break through in order to go from lurker to launcher.