[MicahWedemeyer]

Yeah, I'd say DoLeaf is a me-too product. I don't look for things that are earth-shattering. Instead, I look for ways to bring existing technologies or practices to underserved communities. I think that can be incredibly profitable, while also being predictable.

[cjbos]

I do have a question for you, I really like your other startup/app (The tabletop gaming one.). I read your post yesterday so and found my way to another blog post about how you managed a huge surge of traffic from Penny Arcade, which seems like it was 2-3 months ago.

So the question is why not concentrate 100% on that one? If you are holding down full time jobs do you have enough bandwidth to spread across 2 startups, and why not concentrate on the one that has started to gain some traction? (If you don't mind me asking)

[MicahWedemeyer]

It's a good question and I don't mind (much).

I'm not sure I have a good answer. I've been frustrated at the rate of growth of Obsidian Portal, and social networking sites are tough to monetize. Our subscriptions are doing pretty well, but it's not a perfect situation.

I wanted to pursue a startup with a much clearer business model. I think a lot of the "we'll figure the business model out later" startups are in for some pain when they do try to monetize. Oh, and forget about ads.

Plus, growth of a site is related, but not directly, to the amount of effort you put in. OP grows at its own rate now, and it does so regardless of my efforts. That's why I'm not a huge fan of the quit-your-dayjob mentality. It just takes time to grow these things, and you have to eat during that time.

[pclark]

I really like your product (and model) because it scales so beautifully from the word go. As you said, from the moment you launch you'll be making money (in theory) - want more revenue? pour more resource in that side of operations.