Ask HN: Whats the diff b/w a lifestyle business, a side project, and a startup?
I asked this a few days back but got no replies. Then I asked it again with no replies. Three times lucky? :)
How would you define whether what you are building is a lifestyle business, side project or a startup? Are there any specific metrics which can be used to decide between the three? Are there any other categories that I have not listed?
An open Ask HN community consultation from 2013 where @sawyer1708 convened hundreds of developers and bootstrappers to share real experiences, hard numbers, and tactics.
Core Principles for Independent Builders:
Participants share raw revenue figures, churn rates, and stack decisions that corporate PR never publishes.
Recurring answers reveal that distribution, not coding skill, is almost universally the rate-limiting step in developer businesses.
Practical recommendations on bookkeeping, payment gateways (Stripe vs Paddle), and freelance-to-product transitions.
Community Debate Themes:
Hundreds of active indie hackers contributed case studies, pricing heuristics, and pitfalls to avoid when moonlighting on side projects.
CATEGORY Ask HN Roundtables →
HISTORICAL ERA Web 2.0 Genesis (2007–2013)
COMMUNITY SCORE ★ 4 points
TOTAL DISCUSSIONS 0 comments