SABmore

I was working on a very similar idea, only got as far as a prototype before getting pulled onto something else...so kudos if you are able to run with it.

In alignment with your benefits, I just feel that in this day and age, as a buyer I shouldn't have to spend countless hours looking for the best deal. Especially if I know exactly what I want, people with it should be able to give it to me and compete for my business.

I envisioned showing only information about the requested item, and then charging sellers for access to contact the person...this helps to weed out people that aren't serious about selling/don't have the item in question.

Obviously you could use this for any tangible item, but I saw a big benefit when buying a car. As the process stands today, you submit via the manufacturer's website that you are interested in model X, then you get hit with a ton of emails from dealers in your area, typically offering you everything but the exact make/model/color you want. Cut through the noise and management of those emails and get what you want.

Feel free to hit me up if I can help in any way: shawn.arnwine at gmail.com

Good luck.

I'd simply suggest that you post here a little bit about what you are working on and the skill set you are hoping to bring onboard, with your contact information as there are always folks on HN interested in connecting.

Great. I've been looking for something simple like this to implement in my SaaS product. I'll give it a spin tonight.

Fair point. Our only hesitation is that on our website using a pseudonym wouldn't add much to our credibility as folks using the app want to know more about us and what we are about so they can feel some sort of confidence in their purchase.

He works for a large corporation that prevents him (has him sign a clause) from having outside businesses. That, plus they are in downsizing mode, so he figures if they catch wind that he is hoping to eventually leave by having the side business, this just gives them cause to boot him now.

Yes. I had a similar thought last year, registering ideaserving/ideaservingsize.com, but obviously never did anything with it. My thought was to have folks post their ideas, and each day you'd see/get a list of 3-4 new ideas. If you liked one of the ideas you could then connect with the submitter. All the best.

Eric: Thanks for sharing, and great tips. As someone who is in the same boat, I'm always curious as to how others handle the situation. I'm assuming your goal is to leverage the success of your startup so that you can leave your day job? If so, how do you keep focused on your day job, when the excitement of your startup keeps pulling more at you, especially if you are as you start to see success? I'm in a day job that I hate (its soul crushing), but that gives me the flexibility to work on my startup. The allure of my startup is always calling, but its going to be a while before we see profit, and I've got a wife and bills waiting for me at home so I do what I can to stay sane. All the best.

Congrats on getting the product built. The key now, before you perform any additional work on it, is to determine if there is a need/want for your product outside of your current user and potential user, that warrants additional time spent, and can subsequently provide you with the ability to earn some cash.

I'd suggest looking at some of the writing around the Lean methodology, especially Customer Development. For example, you can create simple surveys and send them out to potential customers (find customers on forums, FB, wherever), during which you can gauge interest and if they'd be willing to pay.