This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
Let's go back to the drawing board today and by that I mean let's look at a story in a segment known as Failure Friday. Every Friday we get to hear from a side hustler, a small business owner, an entrepreneur, someone who shares a story of something that does not go well, something that is kind of a mistake, a misstep, a disaster or an outright failure. Sometimes it's a bad idea, sometimes it's an idea that doesn't quite execute or implement properly, sometimes the idea is great, the implementation is great but something comes along to kind of derail the process and what do we learn from that experience? Like what does the side hustler or small business owner or entrepreneur take away from the experience? How can they come back stronger? How can they go back with their next idea or their next product or service and avoid
whatever the situation was? That's the whole point. So in this week segment we're going to hear from a hacker who develops an app to solve a common coding problem but then launches before conducting proper market research. So as you can imagine it did not go super well. We're going to title this Coders app flops on Product Hunt. Product Hunt is a very popular website where coders, programmers,
tech-minded people post new products or new apps or new things that they're making and it can work really well when the product really solves a problem and people like it, then a lot of people download it, you can get a lot of people to test your service, you can actually launch your service that way but as you might imagine this is not a success story. So let's hear the details from Jeremy. I'll come back at the end with a quick wrap-up. Hi, I'm Jeremy. As a hacker and coder I love creating solutions for common coding problems.
Recently I developed an app aimed at solving a particularly annoying issue many developers face. I was confident that the app would be a hit and plan to launch it on Product Hunt and Hacker News, two platforms known for giving the right products massive exposure. With high hopes, I listed my app on both sites. I expected it to gain traction quickly but the reality was far from my expectations. On Product Hunt, I received very few upvotes and quickly fell off the front page. The reception on Hacker News was even harsher. Not only did it get downvoted but the
comments section consisted mostly of critical feedback. Several users pointed out major security problems with my app that I hadn't considered. They highlighted vulnerabilities that could be exploited and one even suggested that using the app could put user systems at risk. It was a hard pill to swallow especially since I had been so confident in my creation but unfortunately I realized they were right. I had made a critical mistake by not conducting proper market research before launching the app. I mean I had assumed that because I found the solution useful that
others would too. I spent the next few days really thinking through the feedback which fortunately died down since my posts didn't attract a lot of upvotes. It became clear that I needed to go back to the drawing board. The app needed significant improvements particularly in terms of security. I also needed a better understanding of my target audience and their needs. This experience taught me several important lessons. First, understanding your audience and
their concerns is crucial for developing a successful product. Second, security should always be a top priority especially when developing software that others will use. Ignoring this can lead to severe consequences as I learned. I've since started working on a new version of the app, this time with a focus on addressing the security issues raised by the Hacker News community. I'm also engaging more with potential users to get their input and ensure that the app truly meets their needs. It's been a humbling experience but
I'm grateful for the feedback and the opportunity too to learn from my mistakes. For now it's back to the drawing board but I'm more determined than ever to create something valuable and secure for the next version. I'll be back. Awesome. I appreciate the transparency. Thank you so much Jeremy for sharing this story.
I always say never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. That is the theme of Failure Friday and especially with an app. When you put something on Hacker News or Product Hunt or whatever the forum might be or it could be something on Reddit somewhere else, this is where you get this kind of feedback. Of course, it's nice if you can get that sooner but in this case, at least Jeremy's going to come back stronger with something else. That's what it's all about is iterating, trying new things, moving forward positively even if you have a negative experience. That's my encouragement to you. Thank you for being
part of Side Hustle School. It's always completely free. We've got a new episode every day. This was episode 2,806. I hope you'll come back tomorrow wherever you listen to podcasts. My
name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. the Onward Project.
