
Lets make November "Launch an App Month", who's with me? - secos
The past week or so has seen a number of inspirational HN threads on single founder/small group/side/part-time projects that have become successful and in some cases are supporting those people (and some have gone on to become huge).<p>So, with that in mind, I'm suggesting we all take the month of November and work on that side project or idea or whatever it is, with the goal of having a working application out in the wild by the end of the month.<p>Personally I am going through a transition right now (independent to full-time), but have 3-4 ideas that I want to implement.  I'm going to pick ONE project and pledge to finish it by the end of November in whatever hours I can find.  Who's with me?<p>Update: Some have suggested that you also get at least one Paying customer by the end of the month.  I think its a great point if your goal is to have an app that helps support you.  I am updating my pledge to include it.
======
patio11
Spiffy, let's see if this works: Appointment Reminder will be live by the end
of November, and I really really mean it this time and will not allow myself
to be distracted by consulting work, conferences, weddings, the weather,
Starcraft 2, 23 urban fantasy novels, or the overpowering desire to take a
month off just because I finally could.

~~~
jp
There is no "beer" in that entire sentence. Your keyboard is obviously
malfunctioning.

~~~
davidedicillo
because "beer" isn't a distraction factor but a boost of creativity.

~~~
whatusername
Specifically the "Ballmer Peak" <http://xkcd.com/323/>

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ritonlajoie
I created a facebook group,

<http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_141079939271952>

Lets keep in touch here !

edit: i'm off to sleep now. so , for joining, just hope that facebook works !
Added 2 people to be admin of the group, wait&see , or cay tomorrow everyone

~~~
zalew
works, but can't comment there (just wanted to say hi), it's a bug or feature?

~~~
ritonlajoie
It should be ok now. FB Groups need a validation before you can comment.

~~~
zalew
I still can't

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nostrademons
But...it's NaNoWriMo that month! How are we supposed to write a novel _and_
launch an app? ;-)

~~~
Gibbon
-29 days to write an app that can write novels in less than a day.

-1 day to write the novel.

-done.

~~~
imagem
Or 27 days to write any app, 3 days to write the novel: www.3daynovel.com

Go, go, go!

------
zaidf
Small suggestion: change it to "Launch an App and Get ONE Paying Customer
Month"

~~~
netmau5
Getting the first paying customer isn't going to be a watershed moment for
every kind of venture. Some aren't in it for the money, others are building a
foundation for what may be profitable later (re: basically everything Google
does or has done).

Launching an app, for whatever the reason, is an accomplishment in itself.

~~~
zaidf
_Launching an app, for whatever the reason, is an accomplishment in itself._

Absolutely. I was going by the present scene where a lot of folks seem to be
able to launch something but struggle to get customers. _Launch something_ has
been hammered real well past few years. IMO upping the bar a little can help.

And yes, like Steve Blank says, if you think you got the next FB or Google,
ignore every rule about making rev.

------
tlack
Good idea: November Startup Sprint. Require weekly status reports from all
participants and use that as a way for people to help each other out when
stuck. Encourage everyone to be totally open about their idea, their research
and their progress. Offer a hosting discount for NSS startups from Linode.

I'd participate I just launched my new baby last night: fanbldr.com

~~~
smbwrs
For the future September Startup Sprint might be better, what with the
alliteration and all. But, in the interest actually getting something done, I
think we can let it slide this year. ;)

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ssebro
Ok- Everyone trying to use the google spreadsheet - this won't work. They
aren't that good at supporting concurrent users. Instead, please try the
facebook group at <http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_141079939271952>
and get an account on techtrepreneur.com, where you can post about what you're
doing as the month passes.

~~~
ssebro
The (clickable) url for techtrepreneur is <http://www.techtrepreneur.com>

~~~
abraham
techtrepreneur emails are flagged as spam in Gmail.

~~~
ssebro
Anybody know how I can take care of this?

~~~
aaronblohowiak
Use an. Email service provider that will handle deliverability for you. Email
liverabity is a complicated and annoying thing, and ESPs have individual
relationships with the large email providers so they have an edge that you
cannot easily replicate unless you are going to be sending a LOT of email.

------
p01nd3xt3r
I had a goal of launching 2 startups this year. I have launched my first
(www.socialadmanager.com) and it is ramen profitable. I will be launching the
next one around the end of november so this is really good timing.

I think we need a way to organize this such that we can offer assistance
etc... to each other and at the end of Nov. everyone can reveal what the built
kind of like a mini demo day. The new HN facebook group would probably be a
good way for everyone that is participating to communicate.

~~~
andre
this might be an idea worth developing too. a way for independent developers
to keep in touch and keep each other accountable on different products they
are working on. probably closed system.

~~~
netmau5
I'm working on <http://www.sparkmuse.com> to aid in just this purpose. I was
hoping to get it out by the end of the year, but in light of this thread I'll
push for November too. The day job is brutal to side-project productivity,
especially when you've to work overtime!

~~~
keeptrying
I've been thinking about this for at least 2 years.

Please:

1\. Make it real time. Ie Quora-ish. 2\. Create an environment in which I
share with only a small set of users. This is because I would be scared that
my "tweets" about my work could be tracked by someone who wants to figure out
the direction I'm taking on a paritcular solution. This is strategic info I'd
rather not give up. Also groups larger than 10 lose their cohesion/importance.
(eg: the 300 people on your fcebook page). 3\. Basically stick to tactics that
are being implemented without giving up the strategy. I think that way people
could learn from each other but still not give up their overall goal. 4\. Some
way to pledge a goal under a time frame shared by everyone would be useful.
(Like this novemeber launch idea). 5\. Competing teams of 10 might be another
idea. That would up the ante a little more.

------
baddox
And we'll all have some additional spare time since we won't be shaving during
the month.

------
swecker
I feel so timid. Posting on Hacker News for the first time. I'm working on a
new project, so it would be great to accept this challenge and join a pseudo-
team of App-launchers. Count me in.

------
jonathanmarcus
We will be launching <http://goodsie.com> in November, though it's been in
development for over a year now because of various fits and starts!

HN will work as a code for anyone who would like to try the beta :)

~~~
wildmXranat
Looks very good. Would you mind doing a short list of differences or planned
features between Goodsie and Shopify ?

~~~
tudorizer
I'd be curious to see that too. Don't be shy! :)

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mping
I've created a (publicly) shared google docs for tracking who's launching
what, here's the link:

[https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AoLJFombeWOmdFpPcVV...](https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AoLJFombeWOmdFpPcVVaRTZuN1dYdkFZejJBS0NGV3c&hl=en_GB&authkey=COHvn8kC)

I've took the liberty of adding two entries, haven't add my own since I'm
still developing, not sure if I can launch by November.

~~~
tlack
Give us edit access!

~~~
mping
Sorry, I thought it was editable by default. Some people said that google docs
are not really suited for this, so I nuked the doc.

------
user24
Stuck for ideas? Here's 999 of them:
<http://www.sixmonthmba.com/2009/02/999ideas.html>

I like that page as it's a good reminder that ideas are almost worthless
without implementation.

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seancron
I'm in, but not in the quite the same way as many people here.

I'm not looking to launch a full business right now, as I am still in college.
I plan on making an Android app to provide a small side income source, and to
learn about the Android platform.

~~~
rookie
Awesome goal. Starting small is definitely the way to do it. I just went
through that same process and now the Android app is making me a little bit of
side income. Good luck!

~~~
seancron
Thank you! Any tips or resources you recommend for getting started?

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the_unknown
AFter a year or so of lurking I've decided to finally create an account on
HackerNews just to say... "Count me in"

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secos
I've bought startupmonth.org to house a forum or something. Any thoughts on
what should be there?

~~~
w-ll
dispora --- just kidding... but a mailing list imho would be the best. Fuck
facebook groups and google doc sheets. a mailing list is the only thing this
idea needs to get organized.

~~~
hopeless
Why not a posterous blog? I've setup one for private tracking of my progress
and you get the best of both worlds.

------
olalonde
Count me in. How about we -200 rep everyone who doesn't deliver?

------
matt1
I'm one step ahead of you: Yesterday I made a public commitment to launch
jMockups, a web-based mockup tool I've been working on for several months, by
Nov 3rd:

[http://www.mattmazur.com/2010/10/a-public-commitment-to-
laun...](http://www.mattmazur.com/2010/10/a-public-commitment-to-launch-
jmockups/)

Now back to work.

------
ssebro
Guys, we need to use ONE central place for coordination. How about the
facebook group posted by
ritonlajoie?<http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_141079939271952>

I've joined...

------
dkokelley
Your timing is impeccable. I've just recently started a project, and I think a
nice, public goal (and deadline) will help keep me motivated. I've only
written one half-workable program before (a python script to check if a number
was prime or not), so this will be a learning experience more than anything
else.

I've started work on a program that will let a business generate and track
coupon codes for their promotions. Eventually I will port it to a web app and
make it accessible online... only I don't know how to do that yet. I should
get back to work!

P.S. One thing I would really like to find is a hacker mentoring group or
program. Is there anything like this for green hackers like myself?

~~~
ismaelsow
I am almost in the same case. After months of procrastination disguised as
reading about programming, I just launched my first completed project ever: my
own blog written in Ruby on Rails. Just today ! <http://hackiel.com/blog>
Seems like a great opportunity to level up.

------
inovica
I'm in too. I have a few side-projects that have not been pushed, so it's
about time! Thanks for the suggestion. We should help each other out as a
sounding board during this too

~~~
secos
agreed. Trying to figure out a good method for all to keep in touch. Any
suggestions?

~~~
inovica
Well, forums have always been good for this. Happy to host one. Maybe someone
else might have a better idea. I think if we do this in a way that its visual
- ie you tell other people what you're trying to achieve - then its much more
likely to be done. I also like the idea that everyone is pushing forward, but
as a group there will be a diverse range of skills and experiences to call
upon.

------
csomar
I have started <http://onlineqrlab.com> with no clear idea in my mind (what it
will do or how to monetize). I built a nice generator and I'm now improving
more the interface.

I would be interested in QrCode ideas as I don't have any. Does anyone think
of a small, 1/2 months feasible QrCode project that can be monetized somehow
(SaaS like). I'm mainly doing this for learning purposes, so I don't bother if
it really works well or not.

~~~
jaxn
I was thinking about QrCode graffiti the other day. Basically, each QrCode
links to a specific page and capture "engagement points" with that page (i.e.
viewing the page, filling out the form, etc). Then give reward people for the
engagement points they earn by posting the Qrcode places.

Then provide as a service to people employing street teams, guerilla
marketing, etc.

------
bricestacey
I pledge to launch a web app allowing mobile access to library accounts.
Libraries will be able to create branded portals for their patrons. I will
focus my attention first on an open source integrated library system such as
Koha or Evergreen (primarily so there is no conflict of interest with my
current place of employment).

How I'll do this while juggling work, school, another startup, and a
girlfriend I do not know.

------
chris_l
I'll launch a blog search engine until Nov 30th.

------
MartinCron
Oddly enough, I have already committed to starting and launching a project
this November. It's good to know I won't be alone.

------
Dylanlacey
My birthday is on the 2nd of November, and I was planning to do my yearly
maintenance of my life, and then take a week off to finish writing the first
releasable version of my app.

So, clearly, Done. Done like burning. I'll make sure all my CI and test
environments are up in time, and then I'll see you by the end of the month ;)

------
smbwrs
I'm in. Can someone make it their goal for the month to create a site to
aggregate all the sites created during the month, or is that too meta?

Also, I mentioned this elsewhere, but September Startup Sprint has a nice ring
to it. Perhaps next year? (Hat-tip to tlack for the original "November Startup
Sprint" inspiration.)

------
Ixa
Hey guys, lets put together a launch site where with everyone's products on it
- and maybe we can get some publicity on it. Also maybe some kind of co-
working arrangement even if just online chat where we can support and
encourage each other if not help each other using our individual expertise.

------
golgo13
Dang. I just started on a project which I want to launch in a month. That
month is October, not November. Then again, there is nothing stopping me from
launching in October and then another project in November!
<http://shadyrudy.tumblr.com>

------
tgittos
I just posted on Twitter about a programming version of NaNoWriMo. This is
exactly what I was thinking.

Lets see how I go juggling this, finding a job, getting a visa, having family
visit from overseas and going through a wedding ceremony all in one month.
Sounds like fun.

------
logicb
Last 9 hours update: Decided which idea to launch, booked the domain and
designed a landing page @ <http://www.AppsToWin.com> . Will add the invite
sign up tomorrow. :-) Please share your comments.

------
ReadyNSet
Ok count me in :) I already released one. hopefully another one will be done
by end of Nov

[http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/popn-learn-
abc/id400222528?mt...](http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/popn-learn-
abc/id400222528?mt=8)

------
dmpayton
Sounds like a most excellent plan, count me in!

<http://diabeti.ca> has languished as a landing page for too long. Time to
clean it up, get it out there, and get more people using it besides my wife.

------
vinc
I've got a lot of very small projects going on but I'm afraid that I will
never finish any of them. So this is a great opportunity to focus on the last
one and don't jump on any of the others until it's finished. Count me in!

------
dejv
Yesterday I launched my little project Rejose (<http://www.rejose.com>) it is
still very basic and I am playing with different concepts and will release
some improvements soon.

~~~
mr_november
Nice one, a job post aggregator and dev language trend tool. I like it. Quick
UI feedback: clicking any of the top nav bar items causes the buttons to
'stutter' on the redirect (if that makes sense). OS X, chrome

~~~
dejv
Yeah, those buttons are irritating, I will get rid of them and use something
else.

------
airfoil
I'm in. Working on a game that I've been dinking around with for the last few
years. This should help motivate me to get it out there.

Has there been a decision on where to post status and communicate with other
folks who are launching?

------
joshuacc
I'm in. I've also set up a development blog where I'll be posting (almost)
daily with progress reports and next steps. <http://chartility.tumblr.com/>

------
logicb
Count me in.. I am looking at couple of ideas myself. would you mind
commenting on them @ <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1773435> ?

~~~
logicb
I have been procrastinating for long and want to do it this time. I was
thinking of two ideas as I put in my above link and decided to work on an app
for hosting the contests of fellow Startups.

------
mafian911
Hey guys, I'm new here, and I've already got an app on the android market
called Cubes. What I intend to do before the end of November is come out with
a paid version that is integrated with Open Feint.

------
steveaz98
Maybe we would have waited if I knew November was the month! We just launched
<http://globalfolders.com> using Rails 3, and had a blast developing it.

------
wildmXranat
I'm in. Let's build some structure on how we'll report and share information
as well. Honestly, I don't have anything in mind at the moment, but I'm open
to grabbing a simple idea off of someone else.

------
UrLicht
Thank you for putting this up! I have a goal to launch <http://privio.net> by
the 18th. It's nice to get that out there - feels... official.

------
bobfunk
We're definitively aiming for launching <http://www.webpop.com> during
November - so I guess I was in already before I read the post!

------
iuguy
Ok, I've joined the facebook group, I have an idea and I'll do it.

------
jdabney
Count me in. I will get an app in the Appstore before the end of November. I
think it will be small and simple but I plan on building it into a small
collection of apps.

------
rue
So, what if you all oversaturate the market with applications?

~~~
raquo
Which software niche is not already oversaturated? :)

~~~
petercooper
Organizational software for clowns and clown related businesses.

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ritonlajoie
Hey let's open a google wave to keep in tou ... what ?

~~~
eogas
Hmm, looks like they shut Google wave down. I'd like to give them a piece of
my mind! I'll just use GOOG-411 to ca...wha?!

~~~
golgo13
Not a problem. Join me in Google Lively where we can... wait a minute.

------
ptn
I'm in. Should we set a fixed date? I propose the 28th, last Sunday, so we
have more time to iron out the last details and to check each other's apps.

------
novstartup
I'll be posting about my experiences here:
<http://novemberstartup.posterous.com/>

------
goodlab
Ok we'd like to be in but have to qualify what we are committing to. We
already launched v1. We'd like to launch our android/iphone app in November

------
crgwbr
I'm in for November 28th! I was just thinking about an idea for my next
project this morning- looks like now I have motivation to build it.

------
raulb
I'm also in! Hope we figure out quickly the place to hang around. And having
at least one paying customer is a great goal to achieve.

------
keeptrying
I'm in. I've been building so many features that this should help me actually
push it out the door.

I like the idea of one paying customer!

------
ssebro
It would be nice if we had a google form signup, so we could keep track of one
another and what we are working on.

------
jason_stidd
I'm really excited about this. I just requested a weeks vacation to try to get
more deveopment time this month.

------
middlegeek
I would definitely be in, but I can't even code yet.

What are your suggestions on going from 0 - launch by the end of November?

------
sushi
I am in. I will hopefully launch a small web templates site. Geez! I should
really start to work on it.

------
meinhimmel
Count me in. I have plenty of ideas, but haven't gotten started majorly in any
side projects lately.

~~~
wildmXranat
Hey, If you have a couple of ideas you would like to share and allow others to
develop, let us know.

~~~
meinhimmel
Alright, a few ideas of mine though are really just about learning things for
me. Here's one though that I really wanted to work on, but got bogged down in
exactly how to go about doing it.

I started work on a fully extensible browser. My idea was to create a bare
minimum browser, then extend that with plugins created in a scripting language
like LUA. The browser would only run with the plugins the user selected, so
someone could use a browser that only had features they wanted and used. This
was also in response to perceived bloat in current modern browsers. This was a
rather large undertaking, and it never got beyond a simple browser with basic
cookie management.

------
elliottcarlson
I'll be launching one product and releasing another project as open source
during the month of Nov.

------
logicb
Did the first two steps of market verification & domain registration today.
AppsToWin.com !

------
thisisananth
I am also trying to develop one app on android. I will take this challenge
too. Great Idea

------
John212
This could be fun. I'm in for Nov 28th.

Could we arrange to start voting for the best apps on Dec 1st?

------
bsandbox
I'm in. Just released an MVP so will use this as motivation for the 1.x
update!

------
nhebb
I'm in. I have 3 little apps I'm working on. I'll pick one and run with it.

------
decadentcactus
Bahhhhhhhhhh I'll do it

Couple sites on the to-do list and I want to get one done.

Boo now I'm on the hook

------
angelbob
don't charge individual users) by month's end, but I hope to have at least one
user who has entered interesting information, and be able to give out
interesting recommendations in return.

------
chetan51
Noooo! Why does this clash with the NaNoWriMo?! www.nanowrimo.org

------
lukeinth
I'm in, will post details on what we are launching on the group.

------
achompas
I'm in if I can learn enough Obj-C to toss an iOS app together.

------
endian
I'm in. Three startups and a game live by the end of November.

------
thomasswift
I am very much in, is there a decided venue for the updates?

------
samh
I am in, I am making Quiz Blog Chief, a wordpress add-in.

------
thehodge
Will def. be doing this... can someone hold us to it?

------
pySSK
I'm in, except that I don't have an idea for an app.

------
tudorizer
Fantastic idea. Fits perfectly in my schedule :)

------
acconrad
Bah I am totally doing this, motivation begin!

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zumda
That might be the kick I need. Count me in!

------
joeblue
Like others, this is my first post. I'm in.

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lmai
I'm in too. I've been procrastinating.

------
kellicot
I'm in for November 28th. Great Idea!

------
CWIZO
I guess I'll bite to then :)

------
Raisin
I'm in. Bring it on.

------
rokhayakebe
How do we follow up?

------
thekevinscott
Totally in on this.

------
kefs
i'll probably still be too addicted to minecraft :(

------
vgurgov
Ok, I am in too!

~~~
vgurgov
Ok, I am launched: <http://videolla.com> What now?

~~~
mikegreenberg
Since you launched before Nov 1st, you have to start another one now for the
November Launch project. ;)

Alternatively, validate and pivot your existing project. ;)

------
twidlit
Am i in reddit?

------
AppsOnCloud
Count me in!

------
ssebro
Count me in!

------
rokhayakebe
Count me in.

------
tr
Count me in

------
phoenix24
I'm in!

------
AlexMuir
I'm in.

------
jonah
I'm in.

------
redouane
count me in !

------
findm
im in too!

------
0x5a177
me!

