Show HN: A random startup generator | Hacker News Reader

Show HN: A random startup generator

tiffzhang.com

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I opened a dozen hackernews tabs and then went to go do something else. When I came back to this I found myself looking at the home page of "MEMERABLE", a progressive member monetization service, and I spent a good few minutes trying to figure out what in the hell they actually did...

A+

Same exact thing happened to me. Was looking at this page and headscratching, convinced it was real for about 45 seconds

> I opened a dozen hackernews tabs and then went to go do something else. When I came back to this I found myself looking at the home page of.... and I spent a good few minutes trying to figure out what in the hell they actually did...

so, in other words, just a normal day browsing HN...

Reminds me of my dial-up days- go to /., click every link and open all the comments, then go take a shower, make dinner, and by the time I sat down to eat all the links had loaded!

Same thing happened to me!

Some thing happened to me!

Same thing happened to me also.. This is one of those times when I really wished that my browser would tell me how the heck did I end up on this particular page..

KnowHeckHere - Have you ever wondered how the heck you got here, with KnowHeckHere give up wondering and start KNOWING.

"KnowHeckHere was knowing about where I was, where I'd been and how the heck I got where I was, all the things I wanted in an app" Barston McReedy - Mitchell, Nevada.

same thing happened to me!

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=462210424477

"BlackLink is a detailed black service that makes it easy to turn your blacks into cash."

....uhhhhhhh....Startup from the 1830s?

Charles Partain from your team looks like he's seen some shit.

I'm going to hope it is a New Zealand sports merchandizing startup.

Go the all blacks!

Looking at text and image I would assume a startup from gothic mountain climbers.

"We’ve tried every black program available. BlackLink was the easiest to setup & the most effective."

-- Thomas Jefferson

"MEET WIFE." http://i.imgur.com/nI9wcuS.jpg

I got offered an alternative to that:

"SQUEEZE SOMETHING INTERACTIVE"

http://i.imgur.com/BfYOkLo.jpg

Offendy is my favorite: http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=841700001154

Perhaps targeting the defense sector...

Plantlink on the other hand looks viable: http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=11714700372

Facebook for plant-lovers. What PG would call a "sitcom" startup idea, I think...

Offendy has both a CKO and a CNO? Presumably the Chairman is the only one doing any work.

This quote was on the money: "It’s an unique opportunity to meet awesome people and change the world!" It reminds me of the old (old, old...) fake Army recruitment slogan something like "Join the Army! Travel the world, meet interesting people, and then kill them."

I just turned up "WasteIgnite": http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=31556537750 -- "WasteIgnite was founded by people who love wasting just like you! Enter your favorite ways to waste and we'll help you fit it all in. Since we're using righteous technologies, you can count on us next time you waste."

Could be worse- what horrors would a "MEAT WIFE" start-up entail?

Must be the successor to 'Girlfriendable' http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=816444855649

Just got to Balln.

"We Are Balln. Balln is a professional ball service that makes it easy to turn your balls into cash."

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=245220439925

Already implemented: http://www.spermbankdirectory.com/donating-sperm#paid

;-)

You do wonder why the chap in the picture has his hands in his pockets, and is looking wistfully off into the distance...

I love this:

"The son you've been waiting for.

Sonn is a cheerful son service that makes it easy to turn your sons into cash."

"Yell something responsible.

Yellly is why you'll never yell the same way again.

'One of the biggest challenges we faced after we hit our early goals was how do we stay top-of-mind and keep our users engaged? Enter Yellly. Problem solved.' Chelsey Nino Perry, Florida"

"Grandmother

Mature. Experienced. Tested.

Buying grandmothers just got a whole lot better..."

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=113068361511

Acquisition target:

YOUTOOTH

YOUR TRUSTWORTHY TOOTH. Youtooth was created to help you find teeth in your area. From local teeth to national brands, no one knows teeth like Youtooth. No one.

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=5246736

>Grandmother. Mature. Experienced. Tested.

That is amazing. Do you think its using some kind of graph to link the words or did you just get lucky?

I think they just write a few lines that make sense for each and let the randomization make the page.

In the same, um, space..

Deathy

The evolution of the death.

Buying deaths just got a whole lot better…

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=633682077153

Good for them. I think the grandmother space has been ripe for disruption for a while.

Curiously this one isn't number 666... http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=355

But idea number 1 just stinks http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=1

I hate to do this, but I did the same thing several month ago. www.launchnik.com

Yikes! http://www.launchnik.com/slaveio

https://github.com/saw/launchnik/blob/master/words

Jesus Christ!

Makes so much sense. Owning your own slaves just doesn't make sense, especially in an urban environment.

There are 20 million people being trafficked around the world. Might as well make an app around it.

http://www.launchnik.com/footio

Receive feet

No fancy algorithms (yet), no automation (yet). I will personally send you a foot I think you'll like every day, entirely determined by your preferences. Each foot will come as a surprise, probably not at the same time every day.

http://www.launchnik.com/whaleio

OP's doesn't have enough io. Yours does. Is winner.

I just laughed out loud at this: "It’s the 21st century my friend—you should have someone that brings you whales"

> A ninja armed with sustainable bags will arrive at your door to pick up your baby

> http://www.launchnik.com/babyio

o_O

except you just added O to everything.....

>I will personally send you a thief I think you'll like every day, entirely determined by your preferences. Each thief will come as a surprise, probably not at the same time every day.

http://www.launchnik.com/thiefio Sounds wonderful.

Appropriate:

Gasio

It's uber for gases.

This idea has been done to death, to be fair.

I got Uberio[0]: Uber for ubers. As a site which spits out "Uber for ____" is this somehow self-referential?

[0] http://www.launchnik.com/uberio

I was quite pleased with Taxiio[1]: Uber for taxis. Now there's a novel idea.

[1] http://www.launchnik.com/taxiio

This is really great!

Refusey DO YOU REFUSE? We're refusing to drive things that matter.

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=61244441196

When my friends need new dealers there's only one word I tell them, Dealr.

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=542136839125

Dealr is a supply-chain solution for Weedly.

I'd consider investing in Refusey!

Why bother? Your investment proposal would be refused most likely.

DESIRE YOUR AFFAIR. Introducing the world’s first delightful affair.

It feels good to be part of the Affairhub family.

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=176349848043

Ok I'll stop now. Some of these are pretty amusing though.

"Body was created to help you find bodies in your area. From local bodies to national brands, no one knows bodies like Body."

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=322017367463

This site literally displays how much talent is required to make a flat design and come up with a startup idea. (none)

Implementation and execution are key.

What happens after you spend a year implementing and executing a bad idea?

Pivot!

> What happens after you spend a year implementing and executing a bad idea?

Choose to get hired at a VC, turn to Page 42.

Continue executing on your same bad idea, turn to Page 56.

Travel to SE Asia, learn the cuisine, come back and start a Food Truck, turn to Page 94.

//Page 94

During the grand opening, several customers get food borne illnesses, resulting in massive lawsuits.

You're ruined.

The End.

Choose your own startup book needs to be a thing. Someone hit up kickstarter.

A whole series of them, please. I'd buy it. I'm holding cash right now.

LIKE NO OTHER SERIES OF THEM. Series of them makes it easy to turn your them into cash now.

If your execution is good enough. You can make it work. For example, this "pet rock" idea:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_Rock

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=763927079982

"Debateable"

"Debateable is a driven debate service that makes it easy to turn your debates into cash."

I'd be rich, I tell you!

> I'd be rich, I tell you!

That's ... debatable.

* offensive remark

I'm not so sure it is

Your credit card has been charged $0.99 for your contribution to this debate. Thank you for your business!

You joke about it, but make the experience smooth enough and I bet people would pay a couple of cents per post to participate in an internet argument. It'd be like an auction to see who got the last word in.

It's unnerving how many of the generated startups look like good investable propositions.

"Cousinit is like Tinder... but for cousins!"

Hahaha :)

"Tremblen is like Tinder... but for trembling!"

Imagine two strangers having a date just to tremble together.

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=2435275189

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=49029980379

Girl

"Once again, Girl came through. And even before estimated delivery date! Just impressive! Thank you! You’re awesome!"

Why Girl? Unstoppable. Girl is easy to use, no matter who you are.

Best part about Girl is the team behind it.... no girls!

Including the guy who, according to his title, is the product.

I love this. it reminds me of the "Postmodernism Generator" [1]. More info on wiki [2].

[1]: http://www.elsewhere.org/pomo/

[2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodernism_Generator

Reminds me of the New-Age Bullshit Generator: http://sebpearce.com/bullshit/

Somebody should get some stand-up comedy actors, outfit them with hidden cameras and microphones, and have them pitch one of these to YCombinator.

Unfortunately, most of them would be accepted.

You then send them to the 2nd tier VCs -- there they'll have a real chance.

Nailed it.

The way the webpage looks is like every startup ever. Heck, even my company's website looks like that (It had a great design, until my boss decided it wasn't startupy enough)

Hah, I absolutely love this one. By a lucky stroke, almost every detail fits together.

(nsfw) http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=879752450855

"Build enchanting relationships with your customers."

"One of the biggest challenges we faced after we hit our early goals was how do we stay top-of-mind and keep our users engaged? Enter Undressme. Problem solved."

Perfect. Just perfect.

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=355909111211

DO YOU SUCK? Manage you organization's sucking online, with our cloud software.

(Y)

My favorite http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=197744525037

Scrubn

"THE AGGRESSIVE WAY TO SCRUB."

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=964297131756

"We Are Cooki.

Cooki was created to help you find cookies in your area. From local cookies to national brands, no one knows cookies like Cooki. No one."

I would pay for that. Gimme cookies!

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=174266581889

Deliveryable - Manage your organisation's deliveries online, with our cloud software.

This one sounds actually realistic. The dev team seems competitive, too!

Already posted to HN a few days ago, actually. Shipping as a service.

OP this is actually very interesting and a potential money maker.

The designs it generates are quite distinct and pleasing. You can actually sell this as a template generator.

except, it only generates one template.

Easy, switch to Templatizer, the startup for people with only one template.

OTaaS (One Template as a Service)

One Template to rule them all…

Best one:

    DO YOU LOVE?
    You like to love. Lovely does too.

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=648423843085

Screwable: Screw together with your team

I'm not sure what definition of 'screw' we're using here.

Your period. Attentive.

Periodn is revolutionizing the way people think about periods.

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=878320260177

Thank you, I laffed so much.

Love the random C-level positions.

>Your interactive football. >FootballWork is a different kind of football app.

>We searched through a lot of providers and plans to find a good fit for our business. FootballWork made it easy to find the right fit for my business and my budget. -Marisa Stewart, Buffalo, New York

>One of the biggest challenges we faced after we hit our early goals was how do we stay top-of-mind and keep our users engaged? Enter FootballWork. Problem solved. -Christian Escovar, Ellinwood, Kansas

It's a... B2B Football As A Service company? Genius!

I find this very amusing and disturbing. I feel like I've worked for a couple of these companies.

You absolutely nailed the blur that these startup pages and mission statements become. Lols were had!

They... they just pitched Love to me.

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=61547547278

As Seen On Disasterly

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=1

START SMELLING.

Oh lord! Gold! Where do I invest?

Can you make it so after 100 people visit the site, it turns into an acquisition/"Our Incredible Journey" type message?

Or a "5 things I learned" random post.

The unstoppable way to suck.

Motivate your niche in the sucking ecosystem with online branding that’s built by unstoppable people for able consumers.

I... er....

I get the hint startup generator, off to my corner to sob.

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=202396160948

What's old is new. I wrote a cgi script 17 years ago that did, well, exactly this, though in late-90's language.

Upvote for every single startup.

"ChildhoodStrike is revolutionizing the way people think about childhoods." hahahahahaha...

this is amazing..much more entertaining than i expected, can you tell us some secrets on how you pulled it off?

Found her code here: https://github.com/zhangtiff/startup

edit, Here is the generator: https://github.com/zhangtiff/startup/blob/master/js/generato...

Here's all the possible word combinations: https://github.com/zhangtiff/startup/blob/master/js/data.js

Nice that it's all clientside

UndressLink is a different kind of undressing app.

"It feels good to be part of the UndressLink family"

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=741408305719

Poking around the generators.js and data.js files for a while, it's an interesting quick-and-dirty approach to producing a surprising variety of passable copy. After perusing the word lists, it makes me wish I had the time to figure out the seeds to generate BuzzKill, KnitJogr or TerrifyAdvisr.

I guess I'll have to content myself with RobInspire, a different kind of robing [1] app:

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=220474692826

SUCCEED. ANALYZE. ROB.

[1] sic; typo in conjugated verb list - there's no conjugation logic

This is great! After I clicked through a few of those I switched to another open tab in my browser, where an actual startup website was displayed and for a few seconds I wasn't sure if it was another random one.

I love the way the "as seen on" logos link to other invented startups.

This is hilarious. I started doubting this is random. http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=1256537720 "START SPELLING. Spelling. Everyone talks about it but only the truly delightful are able to spell day in and day out. Here at Spellly we understand your commitment and want to give you what you need to take your spelling to the next level." It is hard to tell though whether the audience is dyslexic or spelling bee participants.

HA HA HA HA "Dare to Reproduce."

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=145038787741

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=765998801449

"Death" - "The Evolution of Death"

"With Death you never know what you might find." How philosophical.

"Say goodbye to spreadsheets forever"

Spreadsheets, among other things...

I guess one of the ways they generate names is to take an "er"word and remove the e. Didn't work quite right in this case... http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=639366650

"MEET STER. Steering. Everyone talks about it but only the truly discreet are able to steer day in and day out. Here at Ster we understand your commitment and want to give you what you need to take your steering to the next level."

I love this so much.

"Tiffzhang -- taking BeepBoopStartup[0] to the next level."

[0] https://twitter.com/beepboopstartup

Nice! Kinda reminds me of this in terms of the concept: http://www.badstartupidea.com/

But some of those ideas are good! Seriously, though:

> First, go and find out about Github. Figure out what it is they do, how they attract users, and how they make money. Github is already operating well in the Programming space, but perhaps the same basic ideas can be applied in the Photography space. That's where you come in.

IMDB for programming.

> Duolingo, but for Cooking

That's… not a terrible idea actually.

I liked the part where your investors are also random startups.

This needs an "Request a prospectus" button. Get an email, send a prospectus, if they want to fund it figure out what the hell you just got funded! :)

This is great—well done. I've been looking at this for the past half-hour now.

A few weeks ago, I made a Twitter bot with a similar concept, centered around the "Show HN: A[n] {adjective} {noun}, written in {trendylang}." It has more variation of words (it pulls from WordNet), but it just generates headlines: https://twitter.com/hn_ideator

By the same author - http://tiffzhang.com/spacebears/

I swear I've built a couple of these for clients...

This is awesome!

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=3530699443

> "Employery is the Facebook of employers"

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=1039985957

> Turn your economies into cash!

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=695909360423

Rubstr

FOR THOSE WHO RUB. Rubbing. Everyone talks about it but only the truly cheerful are able to rub day in and day out. Here at Rubstr we understand your commitment and want to give you what you need to take your rubbing to the next level.

No employee pets in the "About Us" section?

A real life example?

http://ubercatbnb.com

Uber + Cats + AirBnB <- gotta be the perfect startup, right?

How many of these are Y Combinator backed companies?

Anyone else disappointed that all these domain names are already taken? Guess I need to add a "get" in front of them... ;)

>Contact us

(click)

>The Startup Generator is a collaboration between Tiffany Zhang and Mike Bradley. Girl is not a real company.

Just in case you get too excited! :-)

"Youhoney is a bright honey service that makes it easy to turn your honeys into cash." http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=628003271762

Hilarious service. Thanks for the laughs :-)

This thing is hilarious. The best ones I've seen:

YOUR RIGHTEOUS FUNERAL. Funeralable is the last word in righteous funerals. We know you never settle for less than the best and neither do we. Drive with professional grade tools and strike your future.

SWEATING YOUR DEPRESSION. Share your favorite depressions and discover new ones. With DepressionBenefit you never know what you might find!

start sinning. Sinning. Everyone talks about it but only the truly dashing are able to sin day in and day out. Here at Sin we understand your commitment and want to give you what you need to take your sinning to the next level.

Like No Other Black. Share your favorite blacks and discover new ones. With Blacky you never know what you might find!

FOR THOSE WHO VANISH. Vanishstr is why you'll never vanish the same way again.

Screw startups, it's all about making nations and converting them to cash!

LIKE NO OTHER NATION. Younation is a bright nation service that makes it easy to turn your nations into cash.

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=528893498703

"BadAnalyze is the last word in devious bads."

"When my friends need new bads there's only one word I tell them, BadAnalyze."

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=91597155402

How are these sites built? Is it a combination of story generation algorithms and static site generators?

Love it. Fun, well done and shows one of the issues with startups (a lot of it is marketing stuff right;)

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=865198583574

"find drawings in your area. From local drawings to national brands, no one knows drawings like Youdrawing. No one."

Excellent!

Combine this with some chatbots and you basically have this comic: http://threepanelsoul.com/2013/09/30/on-local-color/

Smartscold is why you'll never scold the same way again. Just what I needed.

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=359450050396

Built a web tool to help making randomized generators like this (not so pretty, tho): http://lolxml.herokuapp.com/#/eval/15

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=621269333409

Errorme "the last word in diligent errors"

Pretty sure most universities would love this Studently: http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=23867494840

Had some great ones, this one got me: WE ARE TITLE.

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=661187566118

What a great idea... Tumbler! http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html?s=219631401821

So much fun! I actually got a real one: http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=497083847643

Needs more .io

Finally: http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=709206085419

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=52512057824

Warly, like no other war!

Takeaway: Check your copy for the same things that come up in the random websites. If you write the same stuff, it's apparently highly generic and pointless.

Super funny. You really nailed it. Awesome. Thanks!

This is awesome. Been cracking up for five minutes now.

WE ARE STRIPSTR. You like to strip. Stripstr does too.

"Relax is like Tinder... but for relaxing!"

Good stuff :)

My wife is wondering why I'm laughing so hard that tears are rolling down my cheek. Excellent parodies, very well done :-)

A good reminder to not taking ourselves too serious all the time. Good idea and beautiful implementation!

Anyone knows what the hell this is ? None of the startup I visited look like a startup to me.

Ykombinator (www.ykombinator.com) is another similar startup generator.

Ykombinator (www.ykombinator.com) is another startup generator

not randomly generated, but it's pretty spot on

http://www.piedpiper.com

I remember that brand. Is this from the Silicon Valley TV series? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2575988/

yup they actually made a site for the show

This is awesome!

very nice, congrats to the creator

Need to remove some vowels.

Brilliant!

DISASTERABLE

YOUR HIP NEW DISASTER.

Disasterable is the last word in hip disasters. We know you never settle for less than the best and neither do we. Control with professional grade tools and benefit your future.

"When I needed a new disaster my best friend told me about Disasterable. I gave it a try and was completely thrilled!"

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=192936

TERRIFY

DO YOU TERRIFY? Terrify is a different kind of terrifying app.

"Terrifying apps are not for me. Being recommended by a friend on Terrify is exactly what I need."

Why Terrify?

Attentive

Turn Research into a Team Sport.

Righteous

Find out what people are saying using our righteous tools.

Connected

What makes Terrify connected? Our commitment to connectedly pursuing excellence at every turn.

"Terrify was very useful not only in case of our project but just good basis for every business we would start in the future."

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=963310

SMARTSCARE

MODERN. PROGRESSIVE. UPBEAT. You like to scare. Smartscare does too.

"Definitely recommended. Great experience, which gave us a better perspective and helped to solve several business problems."

"As a professional in the scaring industry, I tell all my new clients to start out with an account on Smartscare. It puts them miles ahead of the competition and makes my job that much easier!"

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=107589

This is pure satirical genius. My faith in tech as a higher art form has been reinforced.

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=12342

Governmenthub

Your Devoted New Government. Introducing the world’s first clever government.

> Thanks to Governmenthub we now have beautiful, connected governments every day. Our customers are happy and engagement has drastically increased. Highly recommend!

OWNR

START OWNING. Ownr is why you'll never own the same way again.

"I've been owning for 15 years and I've never seen anything like Ownr. They're really something else."

http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?s=101022

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