Meditation/self development resources (finding purpose)
Webinars and online education
Self organisation tools
Lifestyle/outdoor equipment post quarantine
Chewing gum, lip gloss, deoderant, dental hygiene products post quarantine
Products that quell loneliness or provide comfort, feeling of connection - chocolate, alcohol, soap operas, music
Online entertainment, especially ones that replicate social connection, like shared gaming or shared movie watching (check out Whereby.com YouTube video feature...)
Potentially virtual reality meeting spaces like university campus, conferences
I reckon nearly everyone is struggling with at least one of:
Uncertainty about the future
Feeling of disconnection from others
Disruption in routine, no consistency
Lack of structure, standards, no opportunity to exercise authority or feel as part of hierarchy
Who can solve these will have a winning product...
Wow I LOVE this idea! I'd do a Speeklink but unfortunately I'm browsing on my phone next to my sleeping friend. Will try tomorrow. Let me know if I can do any small favors to help you grow. James at txbatch dot com / @JamesScaur on Telegram.
Back in 2018, I quit my cryptocurrency exchange job to build TxBatch, a bulk search blockchain explorer. It worked... kind of. We made the product, partnered with the right people, got the help we needed - but we couldn't sell it.
We did, at least, get in touch with the top cryptocurrency exchanges and hear directly from them that they didn't need it.
As for failure reasons, I think it's:
1. A blockchain bulk search engine simply isn't as sorely needed as I predicted. Should have pre-sold it (even if I wasn't sure if it was possible to make)
2. It was built to scratch an itch I remembered at my old job, but that same company I worked for was likely an outlier (they've now gone bankrupt). Should have met a specific user and designed it exactly for them.
3. I focused on development far too much over the rest of the business (and as the only full-time member of the startup, that had a big effect...). Should have focused more on partnerships, marketing, and sales.
I found this interesting. Does anyone else know of any other peer-to-peer web protocols other than [IPFS](https://ipfs.io/) and [DAT](https://datproject.org/) ?
Huh, what are the chances, another blockchain search? Just signed up, will be keen to talk chances we could collaborate... if you'd like to reach out to me directly I'm james at txbatch.com or keybase.io/jamesscaur
It started out from a growing frustration myself and my coworkers[1] had the whole year, the tedious process of checking block explorers[2]. By October I was fed up enough with it to quit, initially intending to take another job but changing plans mid-way to co-found txBatch, short for "Transaction Batch", a bulk search blockchain explorer[3].
We worked all through November and December, finally getting a live product (supporting BTC, ETH[4], and USDT) - and after the holidays will be continuing to set up people on trials and reach out to exchanges.
If anyone on HN runs a crypto business that could use this, feel free to reach out to me - james at txbatch dot com.
[1] Coworkers - at a cryptocurrency exchange.
[2] Block explorers - specialised websites that show details of transactions on a blockchain e.g. https://blockchain.com/explorer
[3] Bulk search, in contrast to the individual, single-chain search engines that are commonly available.
[4] Including all ERC20s, internal transfers.
I got my start in programming basically via Minecraft. Multiplayer servers taught me DNS, ports, & bash... modding on Mac OSX & configuring a server to work with the same mod (Flan's Mod) taught me basic client-server principles... hell, even Buycraft fuelled my interest in Bitcoin and web development. I don't know if I'd even have been a serious developer at all if it wasn't for Minecraft.
And now kids have access to learning JS directly. This is 100x as powerful as learning how to web inspector pages. I look forward to watching my little cousins surpass me.
Hi 1996 - I used to work at [Cryptopia](https://www.cryptopia.co.nz/), a exchange fairly well known for listing low marketcap coins.
If you ever decide you want to expand to more than top 50 coins, then I'd love to help in any way I can - particularly with their API - feel free to email me: "james" at $my_hackernews_username ".nz"
Disinfectant/hygiene products
Sex toys and adult entertainment
Meditation/self development resources (finding purpose)
Webinars and online education
Self organisation tools
Lifestyle/outdoor equipment post quarantine
Chewing gum, lip gloss, deoderant, dental hygiene products post quarantine
Products that quell loneliness or provide comfort, feeling of connection - chocolate, alcohol, soap operas, music
Online entertainment, especially ones that replicate social connection, like shared gaming or shared movie watching (check out Whereby.com YouTube video feature...)
Potentially virtual reality meeting spaces like university campus, conferences
I reckon nearly everyone is struggling with at least one of:
Uncertainty about the future
Feeling of disconnection from others
Disruption in routine, no consistency
Lack of structure, standards, no opportunity to exercise authority or feel as part of hierarchy
Who can solve these will have a winning product...