All Side Hustle Ideas
Software and apps

License trading models and financial tools

Builds trading models and financial tools and licenses them to others.

At a glance
Estimated by a classifier that read the source. The bar shows how sure it was.
Category
Software and apps
68% sure
x
Earns from
RentLow confidence
48% sure
x
Startup cost (estimate)
Under $100Low confidence
54% sure
x
Time it takes (estimate)
Hands-off
84% sure
x
Where
Online
97% sure
x
Coding
Needs coding
94% sure
x
Source
Hacker NewsComment by tansey in “Ask HN: Are you working on any side projects that make "small/passive" income?”, March 23, 2011

  • Software and apps
    Began hosting game servers for friends, grew into renting servers including scientific computing to universities.
    Over $10kHands-offOnline
    Hacker News, 2022
  • Software and apps
    Built a compression tool that was slow to compress but fast to decompress and licensed it to big software vendors who shipped floppy disks.
    Hands-off
    Hacker News, 2022
  • Software and apps
    A consumer app that teaches languages through music and singing. The founder tested the idea with viral content before building a simple first version and runs it solo.
    Online
    Starter Story, 2026
  • Software and apps
    An indie health and fitness app. The founder credits a repeatable marketing playbook built on paid ads, rather than the specific app, for its growth.
    $1k to $10kOnline
    Starter Story, 2026
  • Software and apps
    An iOS fitness app built to solve the founder's own problem at the gym. The founder had never shipped code before and grew it with content and a personal brand.
    $100 to $1kOnline
    Starter Story, 2026
  • Software and apps
    A mobile game built by a former big tech employee after leaving a full-time job. It grew with no paid marketing.
    Online
    Starter Story, 2026