
Ask HN: I'm taking 2 weeks off work to build a prototype. Any advice? - nicwest
As the title says I&#x27;m taking 2 weeks off to build a prototype (website + workers) for an idea I have been kicking around friends and family for a few months.<p>My current plan is to spend the first day planning, 3 days researching, and then 10 days building. (this leaves me 2 days free to watch the rugby and get out and about).<p>I&#x27;m a solo web developer with no dependants, and I&#x27;m planning to work from home.<p>I&#x27;m looking for general advice about solo sprint work, personal&#x2F;time management, and interesting technology.
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Aij7eFae
Just do yourself a favor and include one more week.

It doesn't matter what kind of project, always include one more week.

Don't be upset if you can't stick to your plan, allow yourself an extra week.

It's not your fault, that's basically software engineerings nature.

You should get out daily, for at least 1 hour. Simply because that one hour is
for recharging your brain, which again leads to better performance.

Also what I try to do, when I'm doing a hackathon, is that I'm looking for
templates from themeforest or wrapbootstrap.

There are also a lot of good templates for your framework, where
auth/register/signup/signin/roles etc. is already done for you.

I don't like reinventing the wheel, I'd rather focus on the business logic.

~~~
relearn
>You should get out daily, for at least 1 hour. Simply because that one hour
is for recharging your brain, which again leads to better performance.

This has been pivotal for me when I work from home. I like to go out for
breakfast to start the day off and then go out again in the afternoon to run
some kind of small errand.

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chatmasta
The most successful side project I ever had was an SaaS business I cobbled
together in two weeks of Christmas break sophomore year of college. It paid
the bills for the rest of college.

This sprint sounds like a great way to force constraint on yourself. Make sure
you're _using_ that constraint. Don't work on this like you would any other
project. You need to be fully aware of the deadline, and constrain features
within it.

If you're making an SaaS, the the first thing you should do is setup payments.
That will give you confidence that this sprint can actually result in some
real revenue. Then, you can build out the features.

Also, don't experiment with any new technologies. Use only what you know, and
prefer shitty spaghetti code over well-architected solutions. Just get this
shit out the door.

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seanwilson
If you're planning to make money from it, try doing a good draft of the launch
page first. This helps you focus on which features are critical and which are
just nice to have that aren't big selling points.

Also, don't obsess about making the code and architecture good. Get it working
to prove the idea works then using what you've learned you can go back and
improve it. I see so many side projects fail because many coders obsess about
making code perfect over more important things. Releasing a project with
imperfect code is vastly better to never releasing anything because you
procrastinated trying to write perfect code in my opinion.

~~~
chatmasta
I like the sentiment here, but don't waste your time on the launch page! You
can accomplish the same goal -- determining the crucial features -- by
_drawing your landing page on paper._ List the top three benefits of your app,
then list the features absolutely necessary to enable those benefits. That's
your MVP.

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coreymaass
If the intent is to sell the prototype, put up a landing page right now, with
a free Mailchimp subscribe form, and a super simple blog (for extra points,
use WordPress, setup Jetpack and Post by Email. Then to "blog" you only have
to send an email). Start spreading the word about the product, but also about
your two weeks. Dedicate at least a little time each day to update your blog,
and/or email your mailing list. People who follow you on the journey will
become fans for life.

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ptasci67
I would definitely say commit your timeline to paper/tracking software etc. I
do this to myself all the time where I come up with a timeline and don't stick
to it. I found that by having it front of my face (like I usually do at work)
it helps me stick to it and let my mind wander less.

Also, I have found that at work it is ok if you get sidetracked sometimes
because your guilt or sense of responsibility to your coworkers and company
will refocus you soon enough. If you are like me, then you have no such thing
when working on your own thing. For that reason, I highly recommend keeping
regular, well defined work hours. I would even consider one of those apps that
won't let you connect to FB, etc. while you work.

As far as technology goes, you can build a solid prototype website in anything
these days. Pick the language you know best and also pick a solid foundation.
By that I mean do as little as necessary to make the prototype work. Don't
fall into the trap of using this as an excuse to try something new (if you
want to actually get it done that is). Frameworks are great for this for
example.

Good luck!

~~~
nicwest
cheers buddy, I was definitely considering exploring some new stuff, but you
are probably right.

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kiraken
1-Use a to-do list. This might seem like a basic thing, but not many people
know how important it is. It allows you to have specific goals everyday that
you work toward. Also its very satisfying to checkout a goal :)

2- Work in 25-5 bursts. What that means is that you cut yourself completely
from any disturbance, which include your phone, emails, social media, family
members... for 25 minutes, that you dedicate completely for work. Then take a
5min rest. Its very effective and something that i do myself.

3-Hire a frontend developer or buy a ready made theme to only focus on the
backend stuff. Since UI is very important.

Good luck with your project mate!

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officialchicken
For software, create a plan to build what you'd normally code... preferably,
something you want. Figure out how to sell it, how long it would take to build
(time === money), the business model required including marketing plan to
reach profitability, and whatever else you need to launch it. Then build a
10-20 slide deck with a designer about the idea (not a prototype), learn how
to present it (don't waste it coding, let others do that in the future) and
start pitching at least once or twice during those 2 weeks.

In the end, I hope you'll become a successful technical CEO and great company
because you've learned a lot more than an API or two.

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ahstilde
Are you being facetious? He wants to build a prototype not hit hype cycle
funding.

~~~
officialchicken
No not at all, code is especially cheap, almost worthless. He/She already
knows how to do that - so don't waste time on something you already know.
Focus on:

1\. Ensure there is market / product fit

2\. How long to get to develop the product

3\. Break-even point

Or write a bunch of code, and be left with another if-I-build-it-they-will-
come FAIL.

~~~
wprapido
good quality code is not cheap. doing both biz and tech is not mutually
exclusive at an early stage

~~~
officialchicken
Obviously you need both, that's why I'm suggesting the focus should be on the
biz.

I disagree that it's rare or expensive, it's quite the opposite. Most
knowledge associated with it has little lifetime value and is constantly
tending towards zero - a 5 year old code base that generates little income has
a value of near zero or is a liability. You can hire an engineer for a year to
build web apps, depending on country, for the price of a medium sized sedan.

~~~
wprapido
that's also true. but at such an early stage it really helps if you do it
yourself. you can and should hire later

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tixocloud
As someone who's going through this process myself, here are some tips:

\- Have a clear goal about what you're building. If you don't know where
you're headed, you'll end up getting lost.

\- Start the research NOW. It takes quite abit of context switching between
research and dev. The sooner you get a clear view of how to build it, the
better.

\- Use tools, frameworks, other people's code, etc. but consider the learning
consequences.

\- Layout daily goals and your roadmap for all your features. Put it in your
calendar

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seivan
Be careful not to fall into the notion that you have unlimited time. Don't get
obsessed with small details that take too much of your time.

You should work each day like you're going back to the office in 2 days.

~~~
nicwest
cheers bro!

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andersthue
Scope the entire project into half days worth of work, aim at being in flow
for 2-3 hours in each block. (Unless you are not used/trained in being in
flow, then the pomodore technique might be better for you)

Lay out the entire 20ish blocks and post them here/email to your friends and
family or to some other entrepreneurs that you do not want to dissapoint by
not getting stuff done.

Every day, update the post/email with a status, did you get the blocks done
and if not why not, what did you learn and what will you do differently
tomorrow?

Good luck!

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nicwest
Cool Idea! that structure works pretty nicely for me actually. I'll give it a
go thanks pal!

~~~
andersthue
Feel free to email me if you think I can help you in any way!

anders(a)timeblock.com

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cheez
Don't build a prototype, build something shitty you're going to sell.

I did that once, a long time ago, and it took me on an amazing adventure.

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nicwest
What did you build out of curiosity?

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hanniabu
I agree with the above as well. Take an hour or so really thinking out what
you're building, define what your MVP is, build your MVP as your 'prototype'
find beta users and get feedback, redefine what you're building if needed
(users might want something different then you were planning on making),
improve that initial MVP to users standards, ask them what other features
they'd like, build those, start charging, continue going through feedback loop
again and again.

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nulims
Great prototyping app: [http://apex.oracle.com](http://apex.oracle.com)

[http://santiago-north.weebly.com/complete-web-apps-
part-4.ht...](http://santiago-north.weebly.com/complete-web-apps-part-4.html)

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seeing
Build only 1 feature, only 1 page, and make it as appealing as possible before
building anything else. Measure the appeal by number of users. Spend the first
day launching, however far you get.

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wprapido
perhaps the best resource on starting up a business quickly is ''the 7 day
startup'' by dan norris

[http://www.amazon.com/The-Day-Startup-Learn-Launch-
ebook/dp/...](http://www.amazon.com/The-Day-Startup-Learn-Launch-
ebook/dp/B00NZFKB8S)

check out [http://7daystartup.com/](http://7daystartup.com/) as well. dan
occasionally throws a 7 day startup challenge where a bunch of entrepreneurs
gather online and start a business in a week

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jjoe
Build a prototype and _then_ take 2 weeks off. You need those 2 weeks to talk
to prospects, see people, and launch.

~~~
NetStrikeForce
This.

I thought I needed time off to focus on building Wormhole[1], but actually I'm
needing much more time to talk to customers and on-board them. Apart from
documentation and lots of feedback to work with.

Now I need the time to work on that feedback, prioritise backlog, keep
bringing in users and finally converting some of the users into customers :)

[1][https://wormhole.network](https://wormhole.network)

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hbcondo714
Allocate some days to producing wire frames & mockups before development so
you know exactly what your building

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nicwest
Have you got any suggestions about wireframing tools? It's not something that
I have done a lot of.

~~~
hbcondo714
At work, we use balsamiq but I've also engaged with design firms who produce
interactive mock-ups using hotgloo. On the side, I use freemium tools
including gliffy. Paper and pen works just fine too, especially when on the go
and inspiration hits.

~~~
vram22
Balsamiq is useful. The company used to, and may still have, a scheme by
which, if you have an open source project, you could ask Peldi (the founder)
for a free copy. (This was in the early days of the company. I got one that
way. Also, it was valid lifelong.)

