idheitmann

I have a great idea for a startup. My idea has cash flow built in. My idea provides value even with a very small user base, but is highly scalable. My idea is social by nature, and can piggyback buzz on social capital from FB and Twitter networks. My idea appeals to one of the biggest web demographics, is fun and clever and has an intrinsic sense of irony. My idea is really useful, and has some great options for marketing strategies just oozing out of it.

I am a serial HN lurker & I am technically savvy, very intelligent, and learn quickly. I am not a designer. I am not a developer. I have never started a business. I have worked in branding, marketing and strategy for 2 teeny companies and that's where my value is.

I would be willing to throw myself headlong into learning RoR or JS or whatever, except that I don't want to be designer or a developer. I want to bootstrap and manage a lightweight site that will look awesome on my MBA applications in a couple years. I also have no money.

What do I do?

1. Try to find a technical cofounder who has time to devote to a new project, buy a theme. 2. Partner with a designer (I know some of those), and learn to code it myself via: a) Youtube b) Some technical college c) Trial and error 3. Other

Next question: What communities out there can offer support for newb SaaS entrepreneurs? I am not in SF, so where can I find people to learn from and bounce ideas off of online?

In the spirit of looking for assets I already have to monetize, I have been thinking about iStockPhoto as a possible way to add a few bucks of monthly income.

I have thousands and thousands of hi-res RAW images that just sit on my HD, mostly because I'm unsatisfied with 99% of them (what photographer isn't?).

After reading "Developer income report #6", I was struck by the fact that his non-negligible income from iStockPhoto is over a smallish portfolio of a bunch of cat5 and a decently framed picture of a plane being loaded.

Please tell HN about your experience of selling stock photography to iStockPhoto:

What's the relationship like? Does anyone have problems? How much money do you make (ballpark) on what size portfolio? Are they photos that you are tremendously proud of or just whatever seems like it might sell? Are there certain personal rules or guidelines that you keep to when deciding what to submit? How much post-proc will you do with a photo before submitting it? What else do you have to say about selling stock photography in general and wherever?

I've learned that in order to get what I want from graphic designers, it's really worth it to know Photoshop, even if I have no interest in being a PS monkey. As a corollary, can I plan ahead and learn the rudiments of CAD if I have aspirations of pursuing product development? Would that be a useful endeavor for a biz-guy?

For everyone that's sick of Pandora never quite delivering what you want, what are some young companies doing exciting things for music consumers?

Everyone knows hypem.com; what about songza.fm? Any other suggestions of where to go to get a customized streaming experience?