Ask HN: Bootstrapped startup founders, I need your ideas and advice
I'm planning to start a new blog aimed specifically at indie developers bootstrapping their businesses. I will share the lessons I have learnt from my ventures, with details and specific action points like how to get your first 100 customers, how to market within a niche, how to test pricing, and similar topics.
But, before I start, I turn to you to ask what your most pressing problems are. What do you wish to learn more about and get better at?
Published in 2012, this chronicle by @codingfounder details the mechanics of building a profitable, self-funded business without venture backing.
The community focused on B2B customer acquisition channels, cold email vs SEO distribution, and balancing full-time employment with side-project development.
I think the hardest is the first impulse. To convert from user 0 to user 10 is not so hard (you can invite friends, etc.), but when all your friends are registered, what? How to reach unknown people out there, I think that's the hardest part. People interested, not so publish on Hacker News or something like that where a lot of people see, but there are not a lot of conversions.
My problem: the idea. I know the steps to get there (talk to people, find their pain points, test whether they would actually pay for something, etc.), but it's still my biggest hurdle.
This is discussed online ad infinitum but getting funding, navigating legal issues (incorporating, hiring, etc), building critical mass.
I would love to learn/develop a true strategy for validating ideas. To gather insight before I go off and build an MVP.