
Ask HN: What new business you did you start in 2018? - umen
What solo or indie projects you started in 2018 that all ready generate some revenue
======
matt_the_bass
I finally launched
[http://www.finewordclocks.com](http://www.finewordclocks.com)

I wanted a side project that wasn’t focused on income but rather scratching my
creative itch. I am hoping to start selling more clocks though. So far I’ve
sold one.

I’ve recently moved and now have room to produce at home rather than community
maker space. So I’ve bought a decent cnc. I’m now enjoying how to redesign for
manufacturability given my new tooling.

I hope to post a show HN soon.

Side benefit, I get to make cool projects with my kids using the new tools
too. We made a cool present for all the cousins this year.

~~~
rayvy
Wow these look _great_! It just looks so...different from what I'm used to?
Personally the wood is a bit old school, but with maybe some more
modern/sleeker materials, I could _definitely_ see myself putting up a large
on of these in my place. Kudos!

~~~
matt_the_bass
Thanks for the compliment! There is a Swiss company that makes a fancy word
lock that is glass and metal slick. Very apple-esque. But that’s not my
personal style so I set out to make one that I would want.

Personally I like the challenge of figuring out the manufacturing process.

------
geekjock
I started [http://pullreminders.com](http://pullreminders.com) earlier this
year and it has been slowly but steadily generating revenue

~~~
davidrm
I’m really curious about the teams that need this. To me it seems like a non
issue, and a symptom of disorganization. Hope you don’t take this the wrong
way, kudos to you, I can see from testimonials that it helped a lot of people.

~~~
geekjock
Pretty much every team I've worked as an IC or manager has had this problem.
By "problem", I mean that pull requests take more time and more cycles of
communication to review and merge than is ideal, which means things get
shipped slower. I think the problem is actually pretty universal.

------
Scaur
Not solo, but small enough - [https://txbatch.com](https://txbatch.com).

It started out from a growing frustration myself and my coworkers[1] had the
whole year, the tedious process of checking block explorers[2]. By October I
was fed up enough with it to quit, initially intending to take another job but
changing plans mid-way to co-found txBatch, short for "Transaction Batch", a
bulk search blockchain explorer[3].

We worked all through November and December, finally getting a live product
(supporting BTC, ETH[4], and USDT) - and after the holidays will be continuing
to set up people on trials and reach out to exchanges.

If anyone on HN runs a crypto business that could use this, feel free to reach
out to me - james at txbatch dot com.

Or if you know anyone - check out our referral page at
[https://refer.txbatch.com/#friend](https://refer.txbatch.com/#friend).

[1] Coworkers - at a cryptocurrency exchange. [2] Block explorers -
specialised websites that show details of transactions on a blockchain e.g.
[https://blockchain.com/explorer](https://blockchain.com/explorer) [3] Bulk
search, in contrast to the individual, single-chain search engines that are
commonly available. [4] Including all ERC20s, internal transfers.

------
ultrasounder
Wow! Drop dead gorgeous and a beautiful amalgamation of Woodworking and
Embedded electronics. Actually want to buy one? Do you have a
storefront/Shopify or something on your website? Which processor do you use to
get Internet time and run LED matrix?

~~~
matt_the_bass
I think you’re referring to my wordclocks.

Thanks for the compliment. I’m really proud how well they came out.

Yes there are currently two ways to order one:

\- my website:
[https://www.finewordclocks.com/purchase](https://www.finewordclocks.com/purchase)

\- my Etsy store:
[https://www.etsy.com/shop/FineWordclocks](https://www.etsy.com/shop/FineWordclocks)

I have 2 units that should hopefully be ready to ship in about 2 weeks.

I’m currently using particle photons for the micro controller.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

~~~
ultrasounder
Thanks for the reply. Yes I was referring to the Wordclocks. Wishing you the
very best to scale your business in the new year.

------
RepressedEmu
My friend and I launched
[https://www.feastflow.com](https://www.feastflow.com).

It started when we both spent months building and optimizing a pipeline for
getting freelance clients. After we started seeing growth results in our own
freelance businesses we decided to launch Feastflow and help other fullstack
programmers hear about more project leads. We’ve just finished our second
month and made our first $1k which has been very exciting. In 2019 we want to
add new project alerts for front end projects as well as launch a Slack
channel for our members to share stories and resources.

------
marketgod
I started www.marketgodfathers.com

They say you can't time the market. I am trying to prove that statement
incorrect. This downturn actually was caught by my algo on both sides. It was
signalling a high top, and it also signaled a fake sell-off. Today seemed to
show that the fake sell of existed, however, I didn't turn to puts early
enough. Next time, I should be able to capitalize more.

However, not running for cover during December definitely helps my marketing.

------
bskinny129
I started [https://pledgebalance.com/](https://pledgebalance.com/) in February
and just launched an iOS beta group this month. It's an app to balance the
negative impact of your daily travel with tiny payment that goes 100% to
carbon offsets. My drive today was 17¢ to balance, which is invested in
projects like planting trees.

Only $50 of revenue this month, but hopefully will grow quickly from there.
Also will add premium features like corporate accounts for additional fees,
though will never take a cut of a person's balanced travel.

~~~
bskinny129
It was also fun diving into React Native for the first time, I learned a lot.
I used a starter kit ([https://market.nativebase.io/view/react-native-fiber-
firebas...](https://market.nativebase.io/view/react-native-fiber-firebase)) I
would definitely recommend as it provided a lot more structure than just
learning from tutorials.

~~~
ejanus
Thanks for pointing that out.

------
peter_e
We launched [https://eth.events](https://eth.events)

It is an Ethereum search engine.

Currently our index comprises Ethereum Mainnet, Tobalaba and several test
nets. You can get a free API key right away or start by reading
[https://docs.eth.events](https://docs.eth.events).

Since this is an Elasticsearch index you can use Elasticsearch DSL and its
implementation in your preferred language.

We are looking for customers and investors ;) Any questions or comments are
welcome.

~~~
Scaur
Huh, what are the chances, another blockchain search? Just signed up, will be
keen to talk chances we could collaborate... if you'd like to reach out to me
directly I'm james at txbatch.com or keybase.io/jamesscaur

------
plahteenlahti
I started a health tech startup, and our first product is a sleep coaching
app, which combines user’s sleep data with sleep coaching protocol to train
people to sleep better and manage their circadian rhythm.

Was able to get a paid pilot with a life insurance company by showing them the
prototype and also currently negotiating with two large hospital chains to
offer the app for their customer as work wellbeing solution.

~~~
ejanus
This is great. I am interesting in stuff like this .

------
happybuy
I started [https://www.magiclasso.co/](https://www.magiclasso.co/) which is a
privacy focused ad blocker for the iPhone, iPad and Mac.

After spending hundreds of hours developing the app, this year I added
optional Pro features to support and enable ongoing development. The slow and
steady success of the app has exceeded my expectations and just recently I
passed the 60,000 downloads mark.

~~~
codesternews
I heard a story where ad company sued the adblocker app. So I thought it is
very risky to run adblocking.

What are your thoughts on this?

~~~
happybuy
I don’t think it’s an issue... in my experience the most hostility has come
from established Adblock companies (e.g. Adblock Plus / EyeO) as opposed to
advertising companies.

------
achillesheels
Not really engineering based but...launched a video production company
focusing on window shopping cannabis dispensaries in tourist cities where
cannabis is recreationally legal. This is our first customer:

[https://youtu.be/suxl02-nOrM](https://youtu.be/suxl02-nOrM)

~~~
ejanus
Please could you be free to explain the systems you used to produce your video
?

~~~
achillesheels
Sure...I’m assuming you mean equipment along with the software? I need to ask
the videographer the specifics.

~~~
ejanus
Yes.....please go ahead

------
kkoppenhaver
Not sure if you were asking about products specifically, but just finishing up
our first full year on our consulting firm Alpha Particle
([https://alphaparticle.com](https://alphaparticle.com)). Working with some
really interesting clients and excited to expand into 2019!

------
gajju3588
I started [https://dataturks.com](https://dataturks.com) with one of my
friends. This is annotation and evaluation workbench for AI companies. We have
had steady and significant revenue going to end of year. Happy Holidays.

------
ajhaupt7
I've been working on The Compost
([https://thecompost.io](https://thecompost.io)), a weekly newsletter breaking
down environmental news

------
laaph
I made a game for iOS and Android. It failed to generate any revenue.

Anyone interested can play [http://polypogon.com/](http://polypogon.com/)

~~~
happppy
Don't lost hope. Make another one, maybe that will generate.

~~~
laaph
Unfortunately, I've lost a lot of hope. I've learned a lot, though. I've
learned that you need a hefty marketing budget or else no one will know of
your game. But paying advertising for players is a cost; you need to make your
game addictive so they come back and watch adverts repeatedly. This
considerably distorts game design.

Having said all that, I am working on a new game, admittedly more than just
one new game, and if I can focus on just one I will try again! Perhaps free
demo with in-app purchase to unlock full game, to avoid the insanity of
adverts, despite everyone saying adverts pay better.

~~~
Steel_Phoenix
I had some games I used to let the kids play on my phone once in a while, like
the one where you tip it to roll the balls into the hole, or go through a maze
without falling down. They were great, but only ad supported, which is really
irritating, but I imagine profitable. I would've gladly paid 20 bucks for an
ad-free version, even if it felt like gouging. I was grateful to be able to
try it out free with ads, but I wish people would sell it also, even if the
price they would need to charge to be as profitable seemed excessive. Next
time you're feeling stuck, we should talk and bounce around some addictive
game ideas. A change in target audience might make all the difference.

~~~
happppy
not many people buy and developers have to eat.

------
darrenwestall
www.contentapp.ai

A social media assistant for recruiters.

Going well so far with 60+ paying clients in just under 5 months. A long,
exciting journey ahead :-).

------
enjoyitasus
Https://ProductManagerJobs.com

