The latest articles on DEV Community by spran (@spran). https://dev.to/spran https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4114695%2F56e1f8ae-a439-40c3-9390-6926c8dc4121.png https://dev.to/spran en spran Tue, 08 Sep 2026 00:32:16 +0000 https://dev.to/spran/im-15-and-i-got-on-the-front-page-of-hacker-news-with-my-side-project-5504 https://dev.to/spran/im-15-and-i-got-on-the-front-page-of-hacker-news-with-my-side-project-5504 <p>People keep asking how I did it. The honest answer: I didn't "do" anything special. I just shipped something <em>weird</em> and <em>somebody</em> on Hacker News happened to see it.</p> <h2> The beginning </h2> <p>One year ago I was 14 and bored. I had built maybe 5 "projects" that died on my hard drive. So I spent a Saturday scraping startup names from Product Hunt, pasting them into a JSON file, and throwing together a single HTML page with terrible CSS.</p> <p>I posted it on HN with the title: <strong>"Free crunchabse alternative"</strong></p> <p>It hit the front page. 400 upvotes. 600 comments, mostly roasts. A few people actually looked at the directory. Someone asked "how do I add my startup?" I said "I don't know, I just made this in a weekend." That was the first 20 startups listed.</p> <h2> The pivot </h2> <p>Those 20 startups turned into 200. Then 2,000. I kept answering every comment, fixing every bug reported within 24 hours, and shipping the next feature people actually wanted.</p> <p>Nobody cared that my code was messy. They cared that someone their age was building something they could actually use.</p> <h2> Today </h2> <p><strong>StartupWiki</strong> is now an AI-powered research directory with verified startup profiles, funding data, competitive analysis, and team insights.</p> <p>We just launched our <strong>new Launch Platform</strong> where startups can submit, verify their badge, and get discovered by the community. And the view count is climbing in a way that still surprises me.</p> <p>The metric everyone obsesses over is the one that's already happened. The real signal? Strangers emailing me asking how to get listed.</p> <h2> What I've learned at 15 </h2> <ol> <li><p><strong>Ship ugly first.</strong> My first version had hardcoded data and a broken CSS gradient. It worked. People didn't care that it was ugly — they cared that it existed.</p></li> <li><p><strong>HN is a launchpad, not a home.</strong> That first post gave us the initial users. What kept them was the follow-up: answering every request, fixing every bug, shipping based on actual feedback.</p></li> <li><p><strong>You don't need permission.</strong> I'm 15. I can't rent a car, vote, or legally sign most ToS. None of that stopped me from building something thousands now use.</p></li> <li><p><strong>Climbing view count is a lagging indicator.</strong> The real signal is how many people are asking you to let them in.</p></li> </ol> <p>We're open to feedback, beta testers for the new launch platform, and startup founders who want to get listed. Drop a comment or DM me.</p> <p>What's the one thing you wish you'd known when you shipped your first project?<br> People keep asking how I did it. The honest answer: I didn't "do" anything special. I just shipped something <em>weird</em> and <em>somebody</em> on Hacker News happened to see it.</p> <h2> The beginning </h2> <p>One year ago I was 14 and bored. I had built maybe 5 "projects" that died on my hard drive. So I spent a Saturday scraping startup names from Product Hunt, pasting them into a JSON file, and throwing together a single HTML page with terrible CSS.</p> <p>I posted it on HN with the title: <strong>"I made a tiny startup directory, roast me."</strong></p> <p>It hit the front page. 400 upvotes. 600 comments, mostly roasts. A few people actually looked at the directory. Someone asked "how do I add my startup?" I said "I don't know, I just made this in a weekend." That was the first 20 startups listed.</p> <h2> The pivot </h2> <p>Those 20 startups turned into 200. Then 2,000. I kept answering every comment, fixing every bug reported within 24 hours, and shipping the next feature people actually wanted.</p> <p>Nobody cared that my code was messy. They cared that someone their age was building something they could actually use.</p> <h2> Today </h2> <p><strong>StartupWiki</strong> is now an AI-powered research directory with verified startup profiles, funding data, competitive analysis, and team insights.</p> <p>We just launched our <strong>new Launch Platform</strong> where startups can submit, verify their badge, and get discovered by the community. And the view count is climbing in a way that still surprises me.</p> <p>The metric everyone obsesses over is the one that's already happened. The real signal? Strangers emailing me asking how to get listed.</p> <h2> What I've learned at 15 </h2> <ol> <li><p><strong>Ship ugly first.</strong> My first version had hardcoded data and a broken CSS gradient. It worked. People didn't care that it was ugly — they cared that it existed.</p></li> <li><p><strong>HN is a launchpad, not a home.</strong> That first post gave us the initial users. What kept them was the follow-up: answering every request, fixing every bug, shipping based on actual feedback.</p></li> <li><p><strong>You don't need permission.</strong> I'm 15. I can't rent a car, vote, or legally sign most ToS. None of that stopped me from building something thousands now use.</p></li> <li><p><strong>Climbing view count is a lagging indicator.</strong> The real signal is how many people are asking you to let them in.</p></li> </ol> <p>We're open to feedback, beta testers for the new launch platform, and startup founders who want to get listed. Drop a comment or DM me.</p> <p>Check it out at startupwiki.tech and check the launch page out at startupwiki.tech/launch<br> <a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fd6wz4rbgn7r6e359g34t.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fd6wz4rbgn7r6e359g34t.png" alt=" " width="693" height="57"></a></p> showdev sideprojects webdev