Tell HN: How you changed my life trajectory
For years I've kept a tab open and refreshed a dozen times a day. But what I didn't expect is that this community would actively change the course of my life.
Over the years, I have amassed a graveyard of side projects, and in 2021 I launched a new one. The MVP had zero users, and my finger was hovering over the big red button once again...
I posted to Show HN just for kicks, and braced for the onslaught. But to my astonishment, the constructive and energizing feedback I received went on to power my indie dev journey over the past two and a half years [0]
And now... I just officially quit my day job to work on that passion project full-time! [1]
Historically I have not thought of myself as an entrepreneur. Nor a risk-taker. I have worked a stable mid-tier SWE job for nearly a decade, abiding all the stand-ups, bureaucracy, and revectoring.
I'm just a guy that likes to make things in my free time, and who never dared to believe one of those projects could grow into something real.
But after building on nights and weekends for the past 2.5 years and reaching 2,500 paid customers, I realized that even in the worst case, I would rather fail pursuing a dream than let a promising small business die on the vine and always wonder what might have been.
So although this jump to full-time is earlier than my personal financial modeling showed a robust chance of success for, it's time to set aside a few of the worries and risk mitigation tactics, and take a step into the unknown.
I never imagined my career taking this course, and without that early support and encouragement from this community... it simply would not have.
So I'd like to say a thank you to HN. Not just for being my favorite news source, or for being one of the only platforms not chalk full of formulaic engagement-optimized posts, but for helping me personally find the courage to leave the corporate world, set out on a new path, and chase a dream :)
[0] most recent Show HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36849502
56 comments
[ 4.8 ms ] story [ 135 ms ] threadI used to use Firefly III, this looks similar but more polished.
Am I correct, self-hosting is only possible with the $520 lifetime license?
Most of the folks who initially asked for a self-hosted version wanted a way to pay once and then know their deployment could operate offline indefinitely. I hoped there might be a bit less piracy risk that way too.
If others would be more interested in a recurring model for self-hosting though, I'd definitely consider it.
For pricing models, JetBrains (PyCharm) has a nice setup, although it could be more user friendly. After 12 months of payments you get a perpetual fallback license[0].
The more user friendly version would be getting perpetual access to the current version of software after 12 months of payments, rather than the backdated version. But I understand their reasoning.
0 - https://sales.jetbrains.com/hc/en-gb/articles/207240845-What...
We also certainly hear about companies or individuals looking for an easy way to send money for FOSS projects they rely on, so hopefully it works out for you!
But I do wonder if/how that might change with an alternate licensing model.
In the examples you've heard about, do you recall where the most significant support costs oftened stem from?
At this point, I can barely imagine trying to create and maintain a cross-platform self-hostable product the old school way.
I wonder how many other people have had similar experiences thanks to using HN?
I've started reading HN around 2012, when I was more of a game designer than developer. Throughout the years, I've changed into developer stack, grew professionally, changed game dev for fullstack web development, grew to love functional programming and embraced a lot of things doing "the HN" way. I even switched from regional companies to working for american companies remotely — thanks to "Who's hiring threads"! And when I'm talking to my american colleagues now, we share a lot of the same culture — SICP, "considered harmful", "just a monoid of endofunctors", all of which I learned here. Now I'm working on my O1 visa application, and once again, I wouldn't be here if not for HN.
And for the point of comparison, there's been this other social app, which I won't name, that requires a tech company email to access. For a long time, while I didn't work for a recognised american company, I thought of it as an exclusive closed club and assumed that there should be much better content there. But once I finally got access to it, it turned out to be a complete anon cesspool of bragging about TC, cheating on interviews and other things from people who came to tech just for the money, without any glimpse of love for the craft.
After using that other app for a couple of weeks, I've deleted it never to log on again and now even more surprised to see how great a community HN turned out to be.
However, there are still certain aspects of it where the insider info on companies is better than HN. You can find out certain crappy aspects that happen or how high of compensation a role is, that many people on HN will flat out deny or only collectively acknowledge years later.
I have HN to thank for exposing me to a ton of new tech/trends, but I think more importantly exposing me to smart, passionate people coming from very different perspectives, who I'd have never met otherwise. It's so valuable to know what's really out there and what's possible with a little time outside the comfort zone.
With other platforms, the algorithmically curated and individualized feeds just feel like these claustrophobic little echo chambers to me.
There's a ton of interesting stuff out there on the internet, but it's hard to actually encounter it when you have to fight against the feed algorithms to get exposure to new concepts and ideas.
I feel very fortunate that this place hasn’t succumbed to the noise and negativity that most places I’ve haunted on the internet have in the previous decades.
Huge accomplishment! Hats off to you for pursuing what makes you feel fulfilled.
I also put an exercise bike next to my desk, and that's helped to keep the blood pressure under control.
One specific question, and pardon my ignorance, having not dug into the product: are you beholden to a financial data provider (Plaid, etc.), or is all data self-entered? I've read a few times that upstream data providers (financial, weather, etc.) can really put a damper on indie products.
Currently balance updates are manual. The idea of account linking is actually a bit of a contentious topic in the PL community. Initially I wanted to steer clear of that notorious support/maintenance/cost tar pit and design a tool where the focus is more on long-term projection rather than fixating on the latest daily stock price fluctuations and possibly missing the forest for the trees.
Later this year I do plan to take another look at those services though.
HN thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37903489
I am also pursuing a dream of mine: standup comedy.
I believe strongly in the same thing: it's better to work on something you're passionate about and possibly fail than just continue doing non-engaging work for a monthly salary.
What is it like trying to come up in that industry?
But somehow, in my heart of hearts, I knew it was the financial planning sandbox that I create a free account on everytime it is posted here.
I'm still not at a point in life to NEED it just yet. But yknow what ? Give me 5 years, a mortgage, a couple of kids to juggle and I'll likely come groveling to this tool as my savior.
It is rare for a tool i dont use to stay with me for as long as this one has. Good job. I strongly recommend it as a 'non-user'...hehe.
With your powers of intuition, maybe you should just put it all on black a few times then call it a day (jk, please don't)
Anyway, I appreciate you checking it out, and I'll do my best to still be here in 5 years when you come back ;)
So, I guess I was mentally primed for thinking of your tool when I read the title. No premonition, just monkey brain pattern matching.
Financial planning is an extremely useful habit.
It is an enormous freedom to know what I spend my money on, what I can cut back, and how much I can spend per day after all my bills are paid.
I don't have a family, so there are only a few numbers I need to remember. Those are the numbers I plan around. Costs = rent + car + food + subscriptions.
So I live with roommates, take public transportation, try to cook at home, generally avoid alcohol and stick to ($$) 2 dollar sign level restaurants. I don't really track anything, but make sure that I live within the sandbox I have defined for myself.
Similarly, I have kept my investing strategy simple. Max out 401k + HSA immediately (ESPP if avilable) & never withdraw your stock vest (I do rebalance). That way I guarantee pretty hefty lower bound on my annual savings.
Soon, I will be unable to count my major investments & spends on my fingers. At that point, I will absolutely be taking your advice.
I have the same dream, but haven't taken the leap.
I've been using the app to plan the end of my own full time employment, and seeing this makes me more determined than ever to see that through!
Thanks for being one of the OG early adopters who kept me energized and motivated over the past couple years!
And best of luck with the final boss: One More Year Syndrome.
Are you sure that was us?
It's why for many people: sports, colleagues, cults, religions, clubs and even gags can be so meaningful and important to people.
HN brings me personal joy every day.
The discourse, seeking for knowledge together, and general sense of support is what brings me back day-after-day.
With little effort, I was able to model my personal finance trajectory and build very a useful overview of my life in terms of financials.
Within the first 5 minutes of using it, I immediately paid for a premium account.
Thanks for your efforts!