IdeaWell

Project ideas from Hacker News discussions.

Show HN: It took 4 years to sell my startup. I wrote a book about it

Original Article

Hacker News Discussion

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

Three dominant themes in the discussion

# Theme Key points & supporting quotes
1 Choosing the right banker for a small‑to‑mid‑market SaaS deal “Now should you hire a banker when there is no actionable inbound interest… I would recommend no… bankers would typically rely on their network of Corp Devs and present your company to a laundry list of potential companies that likely have nothing to do with your space or business.” – einarvollset
“If they're just sending you to a handful of corp devs then they're not taking your business seriously and you should get another banker.” – einarvollset
2 Readiness prerequisites for a successful sale “Having gone through it, I’ve come to believe there are certain prerequisites for even kicking off a process, primarily business fundamentals and pre‑existing relationships.” – zhyan7109
“Every inbound deserves respect, even if you think you’re not ready. Because the truth is, readiness in M&A isn’t a moment—it’s a mindset.” – nubg
3 Critiques of AI‑generated book format and content quality “It kind of feels like reading the world's longest LinkedIn post… it’s literally too fatiguing to get through much in one sitting.” – gbnwl
“I think maybe this person actually had some real lived experience and wrote bullet points and then generated the book… the whole thing, including anecdotes, might be generated.” – neilk
“I wish there was a tool that is similar to what a book editor does which suggests changes as opposed to changing the styling.” – zhyan7109

These three threads—banker selection, sale readiness, and the quality of AI‑generated M&A literature—capture the bulk of the conversation.

🚀 Project Ideas

SaaS M&A Navigator

Summary

  • A SaaS‑as‑a‑service platform that matches founders of $2‑$20M ARR companies with a curated list of 100‑150 highly relevant acquirers (PE, strategic, and other buyers) based on product fit, financial health, and timing.
  • Provides a readiness assessment, automated outreach, and fee‑negotiation tools to replace generic banker outreach and reduce deal friction.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience SaaS founders, small‑to‑mid‑size M&A advisors
Core Feature AI‑driven acquirer matchmaking, deal readiness scoring, automated outreach pipeline
Tech Stack Node.js + Express, PostgreSQL, GraphQL, OpenAI API for matching, Stripe for payments
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Revenue‑ready: subscription tiers ($99/mo for founders, $499/mo for advisors)

Notes

  • HN commenters lament “bankers would typically rely on their network of Corp Devs and present your company to a laundry list of potential companies that likely have nothing to do with your space” – this tool eliminates that waste.
  • Enables founders to “see 100‑150 (well sourced and properly targeted) potential acquirers” in one place, sparking discussion on data‑driven M&A matchmaking.

RepoBook Converter

Summary

  • A web service that ingests a GitHub repository containing an HTML‑based book and outputs a polished ePub or PDF with consistent styling, table of contents, and metadata.
  • Adds optional AI‑powered formatting checks and a “one‑click” PDF export, solving the frustration of “not a single page” and “hard to manipulate as a single object”.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Authors, open‑source book projects, content creators
Core Feature Repository scanner → ePub/PDF generator with styling presets, optional AI formatting suggestions
Tech Stack Python (FastAPI), Pandoc, WeasyPrint, GitHub API, Docker
Difficulty Low
Monetization Hobby (open‑source core, optional paid premium styling packs)

Notes

  • Addresses the “I’d rather download a PDF or ePub” pain point and the “hard to manipulate as a single object” complaint.
  • Encourages community contributions of styling templates, fostering discussion on best practices for converting web books.

EditAI – AI‑Powered Copyeditor

Summary

  • A browser‑based editor that integrates with GitHub repos or local files, offering real‑time suggestions for style, flow, clarity, and consistency—exactly what commenters wanted instead of “just changing the styling”.
  • Provides a “human‑like” review workflow: highlight, comment, accept, or reject suggestions, with version control.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Authors, technical writers, open‑source book maintainers
Core Feature Contextual editing suggestions, style consistency checks, versioned change tracking
Tech Stack React, Node.js, OpenAI GPT‑4 fine‑tuned for editing, GitHub API, SQLite
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Revenue‑ready: freemium ($5/mo for advanced analytics, unlimited suggestions)

Notes

  • Directly responds to “I wish there was a tool that is similar to what a book editor does which suggests changes as opposed to changing the styling.”
  • Sparks conversation about the role of AI in editorial workflows and the balance between automation and human nuance.

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