I'm afraid to show the world a tool which built to solve a billion dollar issue
25 comments
There's an idiom that states: put up, or shut up (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/put-u...).
I don't mean to be rude, but either 1) share this tool with the world, regardless of the reception, or 2) don't release it and stop wringing your hands in public.
I don't mean to be rude, but either 1) share this tool with the world, regardless of the reception, or 2) don't release it and stop wringing your hands in public.
You're probably more afraid of being wrong about your assessment of the situation. What's worse: people criticize your work, or nobody cares?
Show off your work. Advocate for yourself. If you worked hard on something, you damn well should be proud of it.
Show off your work. Advocate for yourself. If you worked hard on something, you damn well should be proud of it.
Thanks, Richard, I've been gazing by landing page for days, I guess it's finally time to show the world.
Maybe I need to be open about loosing and facing criticism.
Maybe I need to be open about loosing and facing criticism.
If it's a real advance expect manure and misunderstanding for a while - we have the record of what bystanders said as they watched Fulton's steamship being built and it wasn't pretty. Everyone knew it couldn't work, was madness, etc. Twas a good day in my life, long ago, when I realized that anxiety couldn't actually kill me. Bite the bullet. But steel man your product as best you can and anticipate whatever technical difficulties might arise first, of course.
Ordinary advice, but it's an ever-recurring, ordinary-enough situation historically.
Ordinary advice, but it's an ever-recurring, ordinary-enough situation historically.
But what if there's a ton of criticism?
The criticism is of the thing you built, not you. It's hard to separate those things, but you have to try to keep that in mind. I've built lots of things that were cool to me, but not to others, and that's ok.
There is a saying, no product survives first contact with customers. You state you finished it, but we all know that software is never complete.
You need to get over the fear and not tie the reception of your product to your personal perspective of self worth. The reception of your product is not a reflection of you.
More important than the initial release is how you receive feedback and criticism, and then adjust your product.
You need to get over the fear and not tie the reception of your product to your personal perspective of self worth. The reception of your product is not a reflection of you.
More important than the initial release is how you receive feedback and criticism, and then adjust your product.
Will you laugh last... that's the question. I know it's easy to give the answers I've given and harder to publish; I'm wrestling with similar things myself. But the chances of real infamy are remarkably small; you're far more likely to be hit by a bus, which would be worse.
There are folks who will always criticize something. You're going to have to deal with that, regardless of what you do. But if you have valid counters to the criticism then use those to try to educate your detractors (and others).
Everyone likes to think that their project or solution meets a humongous need that everyone should be clamoring for; but it is far harder than you think. People become entrenched in the status-quo and will often resist change, even in the tech field where innovation is the watchword.
I have been working for years on a new kind of data management system. I was convinced that once I proved that it could organize files better than file systems and find things based off tags thousands of times faster; that people would adopt it. I was also convinced that if I could make it do relational table queries twice as fast as the competition, that it would likewise spur mass adoption.
In spite of making it do those things, it remains an uphill battle to get people to try it out.
I have been working for years on a new kind of data management system. I was convinced that once I proved that it could organize files better than file systems and find things based off tags thousands of times faster; that people would adopt it. I was also convinced that if I could make it do relational table queries twice as fast as the competition, that it would likewise spur mass adoption.
In spite of making it do those things, it remains an uphill battle to get people to try it out.
You can't control how people are going to react. Will they like it? Will they hate it? You never know until you show your work to them. No use stressing out about what you can't control.
So, let's say this tool that you created tanks? If that happens, I'm sure there's more than one lesson to learn from that. And if it catches on but doesn't take the world by storm (maybe it only solves a million dollar issue), then you can take consolation in the fact that what you created helps some people.
The decision to show it to the world is yours. Make a choice, then don't agonize over whether that choice was the right one.
So, let's say this tool that you created tanks? If that happens, I'm sure there's more than one lesson to learn from that. And if it catches on but doesn't take the world by storm (maybe it only solves a million dollar issue), then you can take consolation in the fact that what you created helps some people.
The decision to show it to the world is yours. Make a choice, then don't agonize over whether that choice was the right one.
License it under GPL and distribute it to as many people as possible. If you're lucky, it might turn into a 10 billion dollar tool.
The thing is, I'm more worried about loosing.
[deleted]
[deleted]
Most people will hate it. People generally fear originality. Creativity is often a curse.
Success is the result of powering through this early hate and reaching the necessary point of critical adoption rate.
Success is the result of powering through this early hate and reaching the necessary point of critical adoption rate.
Without any more context, I'm not sure how you expect to get serious answers to your question. "Billion dollar issue" is hopelessly vague.
Actually, not vague. So, there's a tool which 60% of companies use, and it has one major issue which has a fix but is very hard and is unlikely that they'll fix.
I just built a data layer to solve this.
I just built a data layer to solve this.
> it has one major issue
Major issue to who? You? How do you know it's a major issue for others? How do you know that others will value this fix as much as you do?
> has a fix but is very hard
> I just built a data layer to solve this.
These seem like conflicting statements, maybe I am reading too much into it but your choice to use the word "just" makes it seem nonchalant, like you whipped up the data layer in week, and if you did then the fix wasn't "very hard", and the code owners of the tool could do the same easily.
I have to agree, your question is way too cryptic and vague for you to get any real useful feedback. You need to discuss with someone you trust, or with some advisors that are willing to sign an NDA. Or just put it out there, who really cares how others react? If people like it cool, if not, oh well, at least you tried.
Major issue to who? You? How do you know it's a major issue for others? How do you know that others will value this fix as much as you do?
> has a fix but is very hard
> I just built a data layer to solve this.
These seem like conflicting statements, maybe I am reading too much into it but your choice to use the word "just" makes it seem nonchalant, like you whipped up the data layer in week, and if you did then the fix wasn't "very hard", and the code owners of the tool could do the same easily.
I have to agree, your question is way too cryptic and vague for you to get any real useful feedback. You need to discuss with someone you trust, or with some advisors that are willing to sign an NDA. Or just put it out there, who really cares how others react? If people like it cool, if not, oh well, at least you tried.
Is it the next AirBnB or a Google Analytics for EU?
I afraid how people will react and this makes anxious. What to do?