Workapp (Inactive)

@DanCampos I am focusing on Crypto. Its just my humble opinion, at the risk of sounding like a speculative talker, there are a few cycles that happen say each 15-20 year period in computing. We are at the beginning of one such cycle in tech as of 2015-2017. The next big trend which will hit the shore a big way in another 5 years, I believe are 1) AI 1.0 2) Crypto 1.0 3) May be VR / AR / IoT, Voice, AI, Crypto enabled devices, basically smart devices. I am focusing on 2) Crypto 1.0, as that's the only thing within my area of expertise. I believe there are going to be many waves in these directions, in the next decade to two, hence called them 1.0. So, a lot to be done.

Also, I believe AI will be the first to hit the shore, but, that's not my expertise. Also, there could be some other mini-platforms, like say GitHub , Chrome Plugin or Mailchimp (for example)... If you prefer building a smaller niche product, instead of going mainstream with a pie-in-the-sky idea. These mini-platforms could yield decent returns with better odds in a shorter term, with lesser competition.

PS: I still believe Internet will be a primary distribution channel, simply because, its awesome :) and we have built so much awesome infra. But, the nature of the apps, will start leveraging other / above mentioned platforms.

Agreed, Am a huge fan of Rob Walling :) . Automation of redundant stuff - I meant. Something that's like you need, but not something where you need to pay attention to get insights. For ex. in this example, it's important to automate views to scale i.e., ads (in small daily dosage), so you get your product in front of as many people as possible, as it's a numbers game. But, when they come to your site, it's better to engage with them manually - if not with everyone, at least as much as possible. Idea is automating necessary / routine stuff, so we can pay attention to more insightful stuff or simply learn something else.

@headofficeonabike First up , all the best for your reboot. Just to clarify -- all these were just my personal, unedited thoughts / reflections on my personal experience ... so its subjective ... it's very well possible that for another person, some or all of the points could have been a totally different experience .. and to clarify the specific points that you mentioned...

4. Will never build for internet again ~ this is just a personal decision, I am a dev, and grew up in the internet age, always believed in internet, started building apps for it, but, one experience i felt while working on Workapp was that it has gotten crowded... plus, I went down the rabbit hole of crypto / web3 ... and so this is just a personal choice, not a broader reflection of reality

5, 6. Scalable marketing, interviews - Again, this is subjective to my situation, i.e., in my current / foreseeable future capacity, my next project will also be a side project, while i keep my day job ~ so its in my best interest to do more automation, and put the product in front of more customers (this time around, I was manually scouting for customers), but its also a numbers game - so that was a mistake. And balance my time to prepare for interviews (just to get a better day job).

7. Closing down sooner, is tricky, was hard - there is always one final straw that breaks the camel's back. It was just hindsight. In our case, it was our realization, that we did not want to build a consultancy type of business and our platform product was undifferentiated (I mean it was really bad as an original product :) ) ~ so we decided to quit.

8. Differentiation - This is just my current theory, I am yet to succeed personally to have a personal experience of what it feels like or even what "product-market fit" feels like for that matter.

As for your marketing comment, I agree. But, I think viewing it as "distribution" is equally important. At the end of the day, if we don't tell enough people about the party, or don't receive them properly when they show up for the first time or fail to retain them, it will end up in a failure... One of my todo, is to build some viral loops (even simple is good).... like an email referral or something, that way if we are spending a $ in marketing, when people come, there is at least a theoretical chance that they may spread the word ..

@visq I have already started my next project, https://cryptoday0.org. This is based on the learning from Workapp. At this point, it's just a hunch, but feels like a good learning opportunity.

Nice to connect with a fellow hacker ! It's about quelling loneliness when it comes to building products... and having people in the same boat as you ... like I never realized before IH, that it's OK to keep a side hustle as is and grow organically over the next few years.. instead was trying to be the next venture funded startup ... both are good options... but we need to know what we need to be... it is very liberating personally ... gives lot more options and clarity of thought.