Show HN: I’m 16 years old and working on my first startup, a study app

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Overall reception

  • Many commenters congratulated the creator and encouraged continuing to build and learn.
  • Others found the project underwhelming or derivative, calling it a typical AI wrapper in a saturated space.

Age, authenticity, and marketing angle

  • The “I’m 16” framing drew a lot of attention; some saw it as genuine and inspiring, others as clickbait or a manufactured marketing tactic.
  • A vocal group suspected the whole thing might be a scam or an adult/LLM-backed project hiding behind a teenager persona; others pushed back, arguing inexperience explains the rough edges better than malice.
  • Meta-discussion: multiple users noted a pattern of “I’m 16/17” Show HN titles performing well, raising questions about incentives and sincerity.

Trust, AI, and content authenticity

  • Several commenters believed the site, copy, and testimonials looked AI-generated or at least heavily AI-assisted, and that this reduced trust.
  • Some accused the testimonial and user images of being fake; others identified stock photos and personal photos. The testimonial was clarified as a real friend’s quote but formatted in a stereotypical “marketing” style.
  • One thread debated whether and how using AI tools for coding and copywriting undermines real skill or creativity.

Privacy and data handling

  • Strong criticism of the FAQ claim that uploads are “never shared,” given that notes are processed via OCR and OpenAI’s GPT models.
  • Commenters argued this is still “sharing” with a third party and may conflict with typical AI provider data policies unless special terms are in place.
  • The creator agreed to update the privacy copy and clarified that only emails are stored long term; notes are said not to be persisted. Some remained unconvinced.

Product design, UX, and onboarding

  • Multiple people struggled with signup: confirmation links pointing to localhost, broken verification, and unclear flows (“Pending”, “Select” buttons doing nothing).
  • Others reported broken navigation links from legal/privacy pages.
  • Strong recommendation to:
    • Let users try the core features without creating an account first.
    • Add a demo video or walkthrough before asking for payment.
    • Reduce button clutter and make the upload → select → generate → save flow clearer.

Business model, pricing, and “startup” framing

  • Some questioned calling this a “startup” versus just an app, and whether the creator is spending too much time on the business side vs. actually studying or learning.
  • Pricing (e.g., $5 for 30 pages, $15 for “unlimited” but capped at 1000) was seen by some as misaligned with heavy university usage and potentially costly; A/B testing and adjustments were suggested.
  • A few contrasted the effort behind OpenAI’s $20/mo product with quickly built wrappers charging similar prices, arguing this feels exploitative unless significant added value is demonstrated.

Learning, professionalism, and career advice

  • Several commenters gave constructive advice:
    • Get a domain-based email and avoid personal Gmail on a commercial site for professionalism.
    • Fix basic polish and reliability issues before marketing widely.
    • Learn to code properly rather than relying entirely on tools like Lovable/LLMs; use AI later to automate boilerplate once fundamentals are solid.
    • Be cautious with “get rich quick” influencer content and focus instead on building real skills and meaningful products.