Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

I originally built OnlineOrNot (https://onlineornot.com) with the expectation that no one would use it, using 100% serverless compute that would cost me nothing when unused.

I was a consultant at the time, and wanted to point out how crappy my client's webhosting was (really I just wanted to convince them they were going offline long enough that spending an extra $50 per month on a proper wordpress host would actually make them money)

I kept a twitter thread of all the features I was adding (https://twitter.com/RozenMD/status/1364881512500404224), and eventually it spread via word of mouth. It doesn't make life-changing money, but I could see myself running the service full time eventually.

I ended up moving off of 100% serverless compute, since enough people were using it constantly that it was 80% cheaper to run several servers 24/7.




Haha, this is a brilliant marketing technique. Create an external website to demonstrate the problem.

It's also an interesting model that you either waste $19/month on something that gives no alerts or waste $50/month on unnecessary hosting. Or do neither and waste lots more money on lost customers.


I see it more like insurance - that $19 isn't wasted, it buys them the ability to be immediately notified when their business's ability to generate revenue goes down.

The alternative is being alerted by emails or phone calls from prospective customers asking if they're still in business - a very awkward phone call to be on!


Interesting. Is it just a hobby and complementary income for you? I see you still have a fulltime job. What's the ROI if you can disclose it?


Not a hobby - I treat it like a business that doesn't yet get enough revenue to demand my full attention, and I don't draw income from it


great. I just followed you on Twitter. I have a similar idea - I'm building a software testing tool using 100% Rust and serverless. Do you regularly post updates of your works on twitter?


I ship almost daily, and post about it on my twitter, yeah




Join us for AI Startup School this June 16-17 in San Francisco!

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: