

Startup redux.  How I created a new market. - one010101

Back in 2000 I left the public sector (where I did computer security for a prominent government agency) and I went out on my own.  It was a scary time.  I started as an assistant for the #5 real estate agent in my area and then later was on my own.  In the middle of it all, I realized the software we had to look up homes was downloading all the current homes-for-sale data in a DB form that I could publish on the web.  So I set up my own website and it boosted my sales by quite a bit.  I even built in the ability for customers to program their "wants" and it would then email them when homes came on the market matching their criteria.  Thus was born the Alaska Home Search Network.  Since then, the MLS folks have created an API so others can do the same.  At my peak I was making about $30K per year simply keeping my little eMachines server running in my garage with about 100 websites on it.&#60;p&#62;There were one or two competitors, and one of them was heavily funded by a prominent real estate company.  But competition is no big deal if your product is what the customers want, so I was able to trash them in the marketplace.  I charged $50/month for the service.&#60;p&#62;So now, I am about to do the same in another market.  Something nobody has done yet.  Yeah, there are one or two dabbling with he same idea, but competition simply gives us the tools to improve our own product.&#60;p&#62;The reason I posted this is to assure folks that it is highly possible to create entirely new markets.  It is also possible to charge recurring fees for the service you provide.&#60;p&#62;I am an oddity in that I have never had a failed product launch.  (granted I've only done three serious products)  The key is research.&#60;p&#62;Look at the elements of a business plan.  The idea, the analysis of the possible market, detailing possible competitors, and the bottom line for the ROI.  Some due diligence up front is the most important factor.&#60;p&#62;Have fun developing your own companies!  And remember:  the US economy is dependent on SMBs (small and Medium Businesses) - we generate more than 80% of the overall GDP.
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marcamillion
Hey one010101, firstly, let me say that I love your story.

I am doing a podcast about various ideas/projects/stuff that HN members are
working on.

Interested in being on one of the episodes? Even though I know you probably
don't want to talk about what you are currently working on, I think the
community would love to hear more about your story.

I put up the first episode and am pivoting based on the feedback I got from
the HN community: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1379942>

If you are interested, email me: marc {at} ideatin {dot} com

Thanks.

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one010101
Thank you for your kind words. Yes! That sounds fun. You'll get an email from
me soon. btw, I am happy to talk about anything I am currently working on,
with one single exception (because it is the first worldwide). Competition is
a good thing, and we learn from each other. I'm a very agile developer and am
not the slightest bit concerned about talking about what I'm doing. If I do it
might bring new customers. And in the final analysis, there is very little we
can do that is ground-breaking in concept. It is the execution that
distinguishes companies. For example, honesty and prompt payment appear to be
in short supply. So even if we're in a highly competitive market we can always
rise above the middle of the bell curve.

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amk
Just a note: You may want to reformat your post and make it easier to read.
Thanks

~~~
one010101
Good point. Maybe you can see by the <p> tags that HN removed the formatting I
attempted. I agree it would look better if they had retained my intended
presentation.

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famfam
How do you find market opportunities, other than by merely stumbling through
them in the course of your own life (e.g. "I used to do X and found out that Y
sucked so I set out to build a better Y") As a developer, the number of
domains (X) I've worked in are small, so I find it difficult to look for
opportunities in non-development domains.

~~~
one010101
I don't have a general answer, but in my case it really does come from life
experience. Let me give you an example, using one of my current projects. I
met two friends (about a month ago) for a brewski. Turns out they are golfers.
We went to Harding driving range and Lincoln golf course. When we were on the
2nd hole at Lincoln it occurred to me that there are people who would probably
like a photo survey of the local golf courses. We have roughly 15,000,000
visitors a year here. So now I'm building an iPhone app that will help
tourists plan their golfing forays.

I see opportunities everywhere I look. And so far, I have not had a failure.
Not all ideas are reachable, but there are always many that require no
investment other than my time and energy. (and always remember: Time is non-
renewable. Budget your time very carefully so it is profitable)

I think the most valuable lesson I've learned is that being successful in
business is not based on how much money you have. It is much more based on how
you allocate your resources. Time is the most important one, because it is
non-renewable.

I wish you great success in the future!

