Hacker News Reader

Avoid ones that are just gluing together APIs or building generic applications.

Debating if I want to respond to this, because there is fistfuls of cash right now in software consulting for this sort of work. Boring CRUDs and API integrations make a lot of the world go round (quietly).

If you want to start your own, it's kind of a depressing realization to have after working at a start-up or interacting with others. It's not some cool tech or algo that makes the difference, it's things like the CTO is leveraging contacts they made previously in their career to get deals to access data that no mere mortal could get, or board members who broker sweet partnerships with legacy companies that matter.

Invest in startups with a real chance of success.

The difficult part (as it has always been) is identifying these.