The systems I wrote were independent of HN and didn't slow it down. I got significant grief for them and pulled them.
Standard "wisdom" for start-ups includes "If you're not embarrassed by your first product then you didn't launch early enough," and "Try the minimal viable product before investing too much time." I both launched early, and made sure the "product" was absolutely minimal. It got slated by the people it was trying to help, so I didn't bother refining it.
The experience was educational and instructive.
(minor edit to remove some inappropriate snark - apologies)
Standard "wisdom" for start-ups includes "If you're not embarrassed by your first product then you didn't launch early enough," and "Try the minimal viable product before investing too much time." I both launched early, and made sure the "product" was absolutely minimal. It got slated by the people it was trying to help, so I didn't bother refining it.
The experience was educational and instructive.
(minor edit to remove some inappropriate snark - apologies)