

Idea to ($0.07) profit in 7 hours - wardrox
http://wardrox.tumblr.com/post/1309056394/my-micro-start-up-adventure-idea-to-profit-in-7-hours

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ryanwaggoner
Unless your time is worth less than $.01 / hr, this isn't profit :)

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wardrox
I agree, $0.07 isn't stunning (it's only going to get me a half billionth of
my jet), but to break even in such a short space of time I found interesting.

Though could it not be considered profit in some form, as I'm working for free
on the project? It's the site's profit, rather than my own?

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ryanwaggoner
I've always had lots of side projects, so I understand that line of thinking,
believe me. And I didn't intend to be snarky, it's just that it's easy to go
down a bad road where you convince yourself you're doing better financially on
a project than you are because you fail to take your time into account.
Imagine you were selling the site to someone else: they'd have to hire someone
to do the work you've been doing, and that costs money.

~~~
wardrox
I'm keeping track of my hours worked, so I have a rough idea of when it'll
actually have properly paid for itself. I'm not kidding myself, don't worry :)

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dzlobin
"<!-- You can't get in the club by looking at the source code --> "

nicely done.

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PilotPirx
should be "by invitation only" to keep it exclusive. ask every new member to
invite only the three coolest friends he has. Everybody getting an invite will
use it, just not to lose this chance (invitations only valid for three days or
so, decide now!)

(do I get free membership for this great idea?)

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mkramlich
Also may I suggest restricting early members to only those with @Harvard.edu
email addresses?

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makuro
Rule number 1 of the club: No offensive names or locations

And member #7 (of 24 thus far) is named Tits McGhee, from Whale's Vagina (a
slang term for San Diego, it seems.)

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wardrox
I decided that to be rude rather than offensive, and it's turned into quite
the talking point.

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thefreshteapot
Full credit to you for producing a concept to live, money generating site.

Equally like your tactics via twitter, and buying the domain ( I might borrow
that! ) to gain members.

BUT... This is a horrible example of what budding internet entrepreneurs
should be aiming for. Truly horrid.

~~~
wardrox
Cheap, tiny, poorly made, a quick buck and lacking scope? I agree. I think
"horrid" is a bit much though, but then I would.

It was sort of an experiment for me and if it ever turns any real money I will
be using it to build on existing plans for a proper start-up. The Club isn't
the pinnacle of what I want to make, rather it's a side-note.

Though, unless I covered it above, why do you say it's horrid? Simply the
vapid and useless nature of the product?

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thefreshteapot
"Horrid" purely because in its current state it offers no value, nor is it an
impressive feat of technology. ( I dont believe )

Bottom line, you executed from idea to product, horrid or not. That IS great.
The knowledge of knowing how to go from idea to paid service is very valuable.

I dont know if it is poorly made. Tiny is not a bad thing nor is a lack of
scope.

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wardrox
I disagree that it offers no value at all.

If it did, nobody would pay the $1. Though that's a rubbish answer, and
probably accidentally passive-aggressive. So here's a longer one:

People in the tech world love joining clubs that give no real reward. People
started joining Facebook because it was cool to be in the Facebook Club, same
with Twitter, the iPhone, new communities etc. I'm over-simplifying it, but
that's because The Club I built is exactly that; a crude over-simplification
of an already existing and replicated system.

The value comes from the psychology. Paying to be in something early and fun,
even though there is no intrinsic reason, is nice. It's similar to how
trophies and rewards work on other sites and in games. There's no reason why
you want it, but it feels nice.

But I agree that it's also certainly not an impressive feat of technology,
that's for sure :)

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thefreshteapot
I will have to agree to disagree on the value.

Your argument is valid, I just dont subscribe to it myself.

As noted thru all my comments, even tho we disagree on its value, it has great
"knowledge" value to you and your professional capacity.

