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Ask HN: Ideas/Advice for a sole 18 year old hacker?

5 points by OzzyOsbourne ↗ HN
Hi HN. I read what goes on on this incredible site almost every day. I'm 17 years old and a modestly competent hacker. Last year I published an app to the Apple app store, but is has since been removed because I haven't renewed my license with the big A. This is in part owing to my pedestrian mac dev box (2010 mac mini; 2Gb RAM; Lion; Slow) and because a new mac and $99 are not trivial expenses to an 17 year old guy from South Africa. And I still prefer Linux ;)

Do you, accomplished hackers of HN, have any suggestions for how a sole 17 year old with programming skills can make something that presents its users with value. I don't come from excess wealth and privilege, so making profit is a goal for me. Specifically, I'd like to ask about the kind-of-forum (i.e. app store / PAAS hosted web app etc.) for software publication that is both accessible and possible for a single person with limited funds but tremendous drive. Even if you just have words of inspiration, any positive feedback is appreciated.

Being an autodidact, I have spent copious hours reading about "software construction" - considerably more than the mechanics of programming. Stuff like RB-trees and Big-Oh don't scare me (that much)

Any and all feedback welcome.

Much love from S.A.

Daniel

6 comments

[ 3.8 ms ] story [ 17.8 ms ] thread
dlikhten
Some things I found were highly valued: Creating software fast, and designing it damn well. The latter takes a skill all in itself. I'd suggest partnering up with someone with stills in that. Also 2 people = helpful support structure. Unfortunately there's no "free money" and often making a business requires lots of leg-work. After starting working on a startup I developed an immense appreciation for how much value someone working full-time on business building brings.

I wish I could tell you good programming skill alone is enough, but often its the trio of Programmer [the builder], Designer [the lure], and Product [the meat]. By being solo, you take on all 3 roles.

Especially in a poor area, having 3 means $33 each not $99 and it's ok to split the profits. Also means you can work cheap. At the beginning you can undercharge to make a name for yourself, and use that as a playground to improve skills. Remember that clients appreciate people pushing back on requirements you think will hinder the product.

OzzyOsbourne
The $99 is not so much the limiting reagent... South Africa doesn't mean poor BTW :) its just the barrier to entry that is a tad high for an income-less High School student.
mikejarema
I think there is a middle step here that Daniel could tackle.

Building small- to medium scope tools for himself that can be dressed up with affiliate links to serve as lead gen for a 3rd party site/service.

The trifecta of building something he would use, potentially making some profit, and building his portfolio at the same time is very compelling.

Targeting the web, building on open source, and deploying to a free(mium) platform (eg. Heroku, free tier of AWS) addresses some of the cost concerns.

The final piece is effective marketing. Get the tool in front of like-minded users (HN & consistent tweeting/blogging) to build up your user base over time. Refine the tool as needed.

Of course the devil is in the details, but given what I'm seeing about Daniel's case this is the advice I would give.

jvrossb
Daniel - I have something you might be interested in. Shoot me an e-mail, jvrossb at gmail.
sumukh1
Try the iPhone App Store (assuming that's not what you tried before). If you create something even moderately useful and charge for it, you should more than makeup the cost of Dev free. (personal experience)

What can you do in the mean time before you get the $99 to publish? Not quite sure, but blog/write a book about building an app and see if someone will sponsor your dev fee? (or sell the book?)

murrain
I'd like to help. Email me (it's in my profile).