

Balsamiq, a bootstrapped startup featured here some time ago, makes $10k in 6 weeks - ph0rque
http://www.balsamiq.com/blog/?p=184

======
balsamiq
Thanks for posting news about Balsamiq here on HN ph0rque. I am quite excited
by the RWW review, it's incredible to read about my own company on the #1 blog
I read every morning...I still can't quite believe it.

~~~
siculars
thanks for your detailed blogging about the whole process of going from idea
to quitting your job to launch. i spent about 30min going through all your
blog posts. very encouraging and real. a great resource for others who are in
the same boat.

~~~
terpua
+3.14

~~~
volida
why the pi?

~~~
terpua
Balsamiq has come full circle (concept, dev, launch, business).

~~~
scott_s
Then wouldn't it be 2 _pi_ r, ~6.28 if we assume a unit circle?

~~~
terpua
I wasn't actually talking about the circumference per se, just that Balsamiq
has come "full circle" which I represented using _pi_.

~~~
scott_s
I know it's just a saying, but taken literally, "coming full circle" would
mean the circumference. That is, going around in a circle.

~~~
volida
actually, when a circle's diameter is 1, its circumference is π

~~~
scott_s
I think "unit circle" means a circle with a radius of 1, not a diameter of 1:
[http://everobotics.org/projects/roboMagellan/img/UnitCircle....](http://everobotics.org/projects/roboMagellan/img/UnitCircle.gif)

------
ericb
When will you startups learn? Single founder companies can't succeed.

badness=true

~~~
balsamiq
Hi there. I don't intend to stay a one-person-company for long, but right now
I can't afford to hire anyone and I don't want to get external funding. Care
to elavorate on why I won't be able to succeed?

~~~
ph0rque
I think he was being sarcastic...?

~~~
balsamiq
Oh, oops. Why is sarcasm the hardest thing to convey via email/IM/simple text?
Hey maybe a one-person startup could takle _that_ problem! :)

~~~
ericb
The author of this site, Paul Graham (pg), is an essayist who listed single
founders as number one on his startup mistakes list. It's not an opinion I
share, so yes, sarcasm intended. :-) Agreed 100% about sarcasm being hard to
see in text. While an extra person can be an advantage, I think he
overestimates the advantages and underestimates the disadvantages.

Nice work on the site and app! Congrats!

<http://www.paulgraham.com/startupmistakes.html>

~~~
SwellJoe
It's merely a difference of approach. Balsamiq seems to be a very nice
business...but it's not a startup according to pg's definition. The goal does
not seem to be "get acquired or have an IPO". Building a lifestyle business as
a solo founder is entirely feasible...if a little exhausting after a while (I
ran a solo founder business for seven years before starting my current
business).

~~~
ericb
I guess, to me, maybe that's a part of the issue. I define a third route for a
startup. Make money. So I have trouble with that lesser definition. I'd have
called 37 Signals a startup (still might, when does being a startup end--I
don't know how to draw the line).

I worked at a software company which has 5 buildings it owns outright, employs
thousands of people, and has 300 million+ in annual revenue. In the 70's it
was started by one person. I'd have called it a "startup" at the time. It is
still private.

The difference perhaps revolves around "startup appropriate for Y Combinator"
vs "startup."

~~~
SwellJoe
_The difference perhaps revolves around "startup appropriate for Y Combinator"
vs "startup."_

Actually, it would be "startup appropriate for any investor". If there is no
exit planned, then it's not something an investor wants to be involved in.

It's purely semantics, which is why I specifically said, "according to pg's
definition". Your definition may be different...but if you're talking about
pg's rules of thumb for "startups", you have to accept his definition of
"startup" for the purpose of context.

~~~
ericb
It's a good point, and those may be his definitions, but I don't see the rules
mentioned in the essay in particular.

There are all sorts of investment that don't fit the Silicon Valley VC short-
term mold, so appropriate for "any investor" might be over-stating things,
even for startups. Investing in cash-cow businesses is not a bad strategy--I
wish I could have invested in the private company I mentioned above in the
70's. Jeff Bezos thought 37 signals was interesting enough to invest in.
Warren Buffett seems to like cash cow businesses as well.

~~~
icey
Successful entrepreneurs are the ones who break the rules.

------
tstegart
Congratulations on the write-up on RWW as well by the way.

------
mdolon
Inspirational blog and success story. Congratulations and thank you for
sharing!

------
captk
Congrats.

May want to invest in some web design though, your site layout is pretty
obviously copied from 37Signals' Basecamp...

<http://www.basecamphq.com/>

~~~
jharrison
Give me a break.

Ya, the site could be designed better. Is it a Basecamp copy simply because he
intelligently uses "above the fold" and then answers a few question in a two-
column format below the fold? How many other sites do that? Many! Certainly
those that want a modicum of success, and are aware of the home page "design
patterns" that are in use today, do.

I plan on using the exact same design pattern for my projects.

I can't even say that 37Signals pioneered the pattern but they might be
responsible for popularizing it. It works.

If anything Peldi deserves a little credit for utilizing a well known pattern
to get his site up and saving his time for developing his app.

------
DanielBMarkham
Interesting app.

Congrats! I think it's looking good!

------
wrigley
Congratulations on your success, I suppose minus the costs for an individual
this would be a healthy income, it or depends on your driving vision for the
site, if it is to maintain that traction then I must agree with other comments
that doing this alone simply wont work. If youve got good numbers as youve
showed theres every chance you can try for funding.

I must also note that while I am very glad you have succeded in your milestone
and its obvious benefits from a marketing standpoint, I find the whole area of
self promotion on such an early scale somewhat of a recipe of disaster. My own
startup (Travel social networking / Commerce site) is in private until
september time yet from friends, family and testers our turnover and profit in
the last 4 weeks dwarfs this figure. I could easily push these figures for
marketing purposes but until i have sustained traction in reaching our targets
they add no real benefit to us.

Nonetheless good job, but go get some extra help with that money!!

~~~
agentbleu
wrigley "My own startup (Travel social networking / Commerce site) is in
private until september time yet from friends, family and testers our turnover
and profit in the last 4 weeks dwarfs this figure."

wrigley "At present I cannot personally fund this project and in order to get
to demo phase need to bring a hacker on board to work in partnership, what
resources or methods would anyone suggest in trying to attract a hacker on an
equity only option at present?,"

whats the truth then?

~~~
smanek
Wow, I just looked at his comment history, and you're right. The guy is a
bloody moron and is self contradictory more than once.

wrigley: "I think when the net goes to the IPv6 there will be many more domain
options"

There's nothing wrong with not knowing what IPv6 is, it's relatively domain
specific knowledge. I know next to nothing about organic chemistry functional
groups - but I don't go spouting bullshit in organic chemistry forums.

