

Ask HN: Is it necessary to be a good consumer before being able to do business? - groaner

I've been employed as a software developer at Big Co. for several years and have been contemplating taking the plunge into startup-land for a while.  I've basically been saving every penny, so I have a comfortable cushion to fall back on.<p>The problem is that I think my lifestyle has left me out of touch with reality and I don't have any way of connecting with ordinary people.  I hardly ever buy anything aside from the bare necessities.  I don't have any interesting hobbies or activities that I engage in passionately.<p>For most of the products and services I see discussed on this site, I find myself thinking, <i>who would ever pay for that?</i>  I can't remember the last time I've felt <i>wow, that's awesome, I have to get that!</i>  If the rest of the world behaved like I did, the economy would collapse.<p>This seems like a pretty bad place to start, but I've lived frugally my entire life and don't really know how to live otherwise.  Am I hopeless?
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patio11
I don't think I have ever bought B2C software other than games, but that never
stopped me from selling it. People are capable of empathizing with people
unlike themselves, and probably should do so more In tech. ("Scratch your own
itch" contributes to making more startups for poor white and Asian twenty
something males who don't pay money for software.)

Of course you can connect to real people. Go talk to them. Connection
established.

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andreadallera
I've got the same frame of mind :) I'd _never_ pay for 99.9% of the services
offered on the internet. But there's a lot of people who would: think IPhone
apps./nIf you want to give it a try then you should, even just for not having
the regrets to live with later. You could also do some consulting on the side
(but not so much that you don't have the time for your product anymore).

