Andrew Zusman

Meeet - Find Devs and Designers for Side Projects

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Andrew Zusman
I can't wait to use this! I had www.52designers.com but it finished in March and I have been side-project-less for a few months now :-(! I really believe in the power of side projects, and a lot of times it's the give-and-take that produces the coolest stuff!
Nathan Baschez
@UXAndrew totally agree re: "power of side projects". This very site is one great example :) But also smaller stuff like http://nbashaw.github.io/ritual/ keep me going. Honestly, most of what I know I learned by doing side projects
Noah Buscher
@nbashaw YES! This is exactly how we feel. It's not always turning a profit or selling to some large company. Sometimes you just want to experiment and learn.
★ Karan Goel ☂
@nhbschr Agree. This is what drives me - start messing around with new stuff, and before you know it, you have something amazing!
𝐍𝐚𝐫 Նար
@nhbschr This is really dope you guys nailed it in keeping it super simple. I am curious how you guys are thinking about broadcasting these open projects with people who aren't on Meeet? Also, is there a feature being considered to email out opportunities I'd be interested on a weekly basis? That would be cool.
Noah Buscher
@narekk @nhbschr Mainly twitter at the moment, but we may implement an email-based system like you suggested in the near future.
Andrew Zusman
The challenge, and hopefully @rrhoover will chime in here to talk about this, is getting shit done. The motto of every product manager in the world worth his salt is: SHIP! So, for example, the entry barrier for me to ship as a non-dev/designer is much higher than designers and devs. Possible, yes, but more difficult. Meanwhile, you're not a dev/design and neither am I, so lets start our own project called Meeeet (four e's) for non devs/designers to meet and start projects! :-) haha
Cole Townsend
@UXAndrew @BlendahTom One thing I noticed when looking at similar sites — as this certainly isn't a unique idea — was that the ideas to production ratio was really high. A lot of people had ideas and most of them ended up going belly-up. This seems like it would be fine; the best ideas get built and the other ones sink. After looking at these other sites though, that's not always how it worked out. It just felt overwhelming to see so many ideas and a lack of investment. We're all about finishing stuff. We're thinking about opening it up to top notch product managers in a later stage, because we're with you: a lot of people have side projects, not just developers or designers.
Andrew Zusman
@twnsndco Is it only duos? I would think that, for example, as a UX designer I could really contribute something even if it isn't graphics/FED...so what if I'm the third banana here? Does that make me less tasty?
Cole Townsend
@UXAndrew For now, we're limiting to two people. The accountability level is higher, communication is easier. Larger groups grow a bit cumbersome and slower. Our aim is to keep it really lean and streamlined. We're going to integrate third people as a Pro feature. I think UX designers would be incredibly useful and be just as tasty as the other two.
Andrew Zusman
@twnsndco Accountability between strangers is an interesting point. Well, if the hacker, hustler, and designer triumvirate is ever in the cards and someone needs a hustler you can hit me up on Twitter :-)!
Ross Rojek
@UXAndrew I'm in this camp. Not a designer or developer, but have minor projects I'd like to test, but don't want to either retask our programming team or go through the effort of a whole odesk/PPH proposal and weed through the responses.
Melinda Byerley
Neat idea. Curious why you don't include marketers as well.
Noah Buscher
@mjb_sf Hi! Thanks for taking interest in the project. We believe in the valley-scene startup with two creative minds working together with little/no funding and one great idea. Bringing another person onto the team adds another layer of complexity. We talked about this for a very long time, and decided it would be the best route to go into the future with the goals we have.
julieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
@nhbschr What about having 2 person teams that could be a mix of skills, so this group is a Dev/Designer but that is a Dev/Marketer. Or perhaps don't call it marketing, but rather community building. Not about $ as much as finding people who want to use/enjoy what you've created.
Noah Buscher
@thejulielogan Absolutely. Our current Meeet design actually allows for exactly that, but we're "marketing" the dev/designer combo, as that's generally the most common, but yes, we will allow a group of any two people with mixed talents to work on a project together. But only two. :)
julieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
@nhbschr I like the simplicity of that. Can always expand to collectives of duos as the community expands, collaborating to create something bigger. But keeping the unit lean promises accountability and speed.
Cole Townsend
@thejulielogan exactly my thoughts.
Andrew Zusman
It's also super cool that no images are allowed! :-) Only taglines. ....reminds me a of a certain website we all know and love.... ;-)
Tom Masiero
@UXAndrew Would be cool if they included a non dev/designer option too. Great talk here by @davemcclure re: perfect startup team. Hacker.Hustler.Designer http://techcrunch.com/2011/04/10...
Noah Buscher
@BlendahTom Hi, Tom! Thanks for the suggestion. You're not the first person to request this. We decided that we will launch with two people per project, but will potentially up the number with some strings attached, as we really dig the "garage startup" feel of two people creating something they love. The more people you add, the more complexity. Yes, the two people will have more jobs to do and it may take longer, but we feel that more people can pose as more distractions.
𝐍𝐚𝐫 Նար
@BlendahTom I am mostly non-technical and it actually does allow me to add tags like Product Design, UI Design, UX Design, and such.
Andrew Zusman
I don't think their goal was to generate new startups. I think the goal was to generate new side projects. There is a difference between the two. Dev+Design is a powerful combo!
Tom Masiero
@UXAndrew lots of non Dev/designers have side projects too :)
Cole Townsend
@UXAndrew Nailed it.
Cole Townsend
Hey guys! Thanks @UXAndrew for posting us. I'll be live for a bit and you can always reach me via Twitter @meeetco or @twnsndco.
Andrew Zusman
@twnsndco Can you respond to the discussion above-- Why the design/dev couple? Is it exclusive, inclusive, or something in between?
Martin Bavio
@twnsndco When is it gonna be opened to those who are signed up?
Cole Townsend
@mbavio we're cranking on development right now. We should have a solid beta by the end of this week. We have a working testing server up now and just a few pages left to build.
Adrian Phillips
Great idea, would rather use something like this then have to hunt people down in forums, Twitter etc. I just signed up for early access as I have an iOS app that I'd love to collaborate with an iOS engineer on. Might have missed this on the site, what are your thoughts on parties dropping out of the side project? Does Meeet help facilitate the transition to a new person?
Noah Buscher
@rustydingo Thanks, man! Absolutely. We are working on a system literally right now to solve that issue. If a person becomes unresponsive or drops out, you'll have the ability to "fire" them from the project. After that, they'll have a week to respond, otherwise the project will be opened for new applicants.
Adrian Phillips
@nhbschr excellent. I'd imagine having a "fired" state would be great down the line if the fired person ever tried to claim a part of an idea they abandoned (legally speaking).
Noah Buscher
@rustydingo Totally, man. This shouldn't be a huge problem in our community, though, as everyone needs an invite (from another community member, but you can still create an account) in order to post or join.
Connor Montgomery
I need this so badly.
Noah Buscher
@connor You're in luck! We're launching next week.
Michael Champlin
Signed up. Can't wait to check this out!
Noah Buscher
@mjchamplin Thanks, man!
tom meagher
@rrhoover @meeetco has launched in public beta and now has "as featured by Product Hunt" on the homepage.
Duane Wilson✌️
I found a collaborator for a side project on Meet and they are running a kickstarting. Chip in $25 (or more) and see if it can become awesome.... i did http://kck.st/1kYExFk
Nathan Baschez
I just backed it as well!
Andrew Zusman
I'm not a dev or a designer (UXD, but not visual) and I have had side projects, so I understand where you're coming from...but I do think that the majority of side projects I see are dev/designer combos. Who else do you think they should include? Hopefully we get an AMA with these guys and see what's on their mind regarding this issue!
Tom Masiero
@UXAndrew for example @rrhoover and the creation of ProductHunt would be prime example. Agreed on the majority of projects comment you made.
Tyler Hayes
Definitely like the idea but—and I'm noticing this as an increasing trend in my own personal PH usage—I'm going to reserve an upvote until I can actually use the product. Side note: I hate saying things in the form of "I like [x] ... but ..."
Noah Buscher
@thetylerhayes Good idea! I'd do the same thing as well.
julieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
@thetylerhayes as the community grows, definitely a good habit to get into. Ultimate value is that these are quality new products :)
Miles Matthias
This would be awesome! I often find myself looking to partner with people on small side projects but am stuck between sites that find "co-founders" and sites that hire freelancers. I requested early access!
Noah Buscher
@miles_matthias Awesome, man! We have got an amazing request, and this is only the third website we've been posted on. We plan to do a press release very soon along with a launch next week. We're well over 1000 people who just signed up for the early access so far, and we're going to try our hardest to make the transition into early access smooth.
julieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
@miles_matthias Agreed! Too much focus is put on finding a co-founder NOW. (a) not everyone is looking for that level of commitment and (b) working with someone on a few side projects is probably a better way of finding a co-founder anyway
Sebastian Rumberg
I love this. As a hobby designer with a few ideas I always had trouble finding the right people to work with – especially when all your dev friends are busy. Can't wait to use this!
Noah Buscher
@rumberg Thanks, Sebastian!
Matt Jacobs
Has anyone tried using http://collabfinder.com? It's been around for a while and has a good group of people in there already. It's a lot like dating though — you need a big pool of people to find what you’re looking for.
Noah Buscher
@capndesign Nice! Meeet is geared towards solely digital products that are made in spare time that will most likely remain that way. I think that you should really get to know the co-founder in person for a project that will be your full-time job. * This is my personal opinion; not that of Meeet
Paul Jarvis
I'm all about this, can't wait.
Noah Buscher
@pjrvs Awesome, man! The interest in Meeet has been humbling. Thank you.
Erik Torenberg
i know the hackathon community would be interested in this @davefontenot
Noah Buscher
@eriktorenberg That'd be pretty neat!
Andrew Zusman
Very simple-- Anyone want to start a side project with me? I'm the hustle, so we need the hacker and the designer :-) AndrewZusman gmail