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Ask HN: How Much Effort to Invest in Scratching an Itch?
2 points by cauterized on June 29, 2016 | hide | past | favorite | 1 comment
When there's a project you want to build that you expect would have a very limited (and likely non-paying) audience outside yourself, how much of your free time are you willing to invest in it? A week's worth of nights and weekends? A month? A year? At what point is it not worth it?


It really comes down to how much extra time would it save me in the end, or what is the opportunity cost of building the project. If I spend 40 hours building something that will save me 10 hours a month in time it is well worth it to me. However, if I spend 40 hours to build something and it is only going to save me a few minutes each month, that worth really has lost its value to me.

On the flip side, never underestimate that others don't have the same itch. Set up a quick landing page, run a $20 Google ad, and see if others are looking for something similar. It may have more value than you think.




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