
Ask HN: What can I build that would pay a dollar for? - hai2ashwin
I want to build something of value within one month that a lot of people would want and will pay a dollar a month for. I am open to ideas where usually the market charges $10 or more. I am experimenting on a model that needs zero employees, zero evil, no hockey-stick growth ambitions, and yet delivers a great lifestyle by doing what people want and charging 10x lower.<p>What is your no-brainer idea?<p>PS: I am a 2-time entrepreneur with 1 small exit and a reasonably successful product startup.
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brudgers
Probably nothing. Transaction costs (including risk) swamp the value of a $1
online service. Among the risks is the low probability of a viable business of
$1 transactions. Unsustainable business models make services unreliable in the
long term.

To put it another way, you're competing with Dollar Tree's one dollar duct
tape, tortillas, and spatulas.

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hai2ashwin
Thank you!

I would not do any business that will not have a healthy gross profit margin
when bootstrapped. I am looking at ideas where the volume will make up for the
free cash that per-sale generates.

There are a lot of 'lifestyle' plugin makers that do this.

PS: I do value the input and the time you took to answer. Thanks!

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troydavis
I'd pay much more than that for an way to "read" (watch) media RSS feeds on
Apple TV. Instapaper, Pocket, and other "read later" services expose RSS feeds
of their folders - and they are accessible without the user giving their
Instapaper/similar password to a third-party app.

Anyone who sends videos to a read-later service like that - rather than using
the service-specific version, like YouTube's own "Watch Later" list - would
then be able to watch those videos on Apple TV. Basically, a media-only RSS
reader (player) for tvOS.

(This would also work for YouTube's own RSS feeds and any others, but I don't
see use cases for those.)

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hai2ashwin
Fantastic idea. I haven't, first-hand, felt this pain. But I will research
further. Appreciate it!

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kensavage
People find value when they pay for things not get them at a discount. If a
product or service was truly valuable I would expect to pay a larger amount
not one dollar. If this is just a trial to get started I understand. Just some
feedback

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marceloabsousa
Based on your restrictions, this doesn't sound like a 'no-brainer' idea
whatsoever... I think your best option would be to join a team which is
building something of value to a lot of people for one month and charge them
30$ as your salary.

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hai2ashwin
Thanks, Marcelo! One idea I have is to build an email open tracker that does
not sell data to third party. Doesn't take time to build and can be priced at
a dollar a month. I am looking for tools like these that are not that hard to
build if your ambition is not to scale.

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qubex
I’d willingly pay a dollar a month for a service that credited two dollars a
month to my PayPal account.

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hai2ashwin
I will be the genie who will grant that wish, the moment I have the F you
money.

