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Bootstrapped to $1M ARR: How ProjectionLab’s Founder Turned Persistence into Profit 💪

7/10/2025

The turbulent evolution of Twitter/X under Musk

  • Elon Musk’s takeover has damaged the platform’s brand and led to leadership upheavals, including CEO Linda Yaccarino’s recent exit.
  • Despite losses, the platform remains relevant for journalists and politicians, thanks to strong network effects that have staved off collapse despite staffing cuts.
  • User migration toward LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, and Threads signals shifting social media dynamics and audience fragmentation.
  • The content environment on X is increasingly toxic, dominated by spam and extremist voices, contrasting with the more diverse discourse on Threads.
  • Linda Yaccarino’s tenure is seen ambiguously: as either a figurehead who added little or a stabilizer for advertisers amid valuation drops.
  • Controversial hires like Nikita Bier reflect ongoing internal turmoil and inconsistent leadership.

Revisiting true REST: Fielding’s original architectural vision

  • REST is an architectural style focused on hypermedia-driven state transitions (HATEOAS), not merely CRUD-based HTTP APIs.
  • Most modern “RESTful” APIs neglect hypermedia controls, leading to tight client-server coupling and reduced evolvability.
  • Fielding’s six REST constraints insist on protocol independence, strict adherence to underlying protocols, and navigating via hypermedia links rather than fixed URIs.
  • Pragmatic trade-offs—like tooling limitations and developer experience—explain widespread departure from pure REST.
  • Developers should clearly distinguish “REST” style from RPC-style APIs and incorporate hypermedia when it benefits flexibility and loose coupling.

From side project to $1M ARR: Bootstrapping ProjectionLab

  • Kyle Nolan bootstrapped ProjectionLab to $1 million ARR over four years without external funding, balancing a day job and building nights and weekends.
  • Persistence amid emotional highs and lows was critical; “not giving up” emerged as the key entrepreneurial superpower.
  • Transition from solo developer to growing a complementary team—including a trusted marketing partner and user-community-based support staff—was essential for scaling.
  • Community engagement and personalized support prioritized over cost-cutting offshoring enhanced customer loyalty.
  • Advice: post-validation, incremental daily improvements compound into meaningful growth, akin to dollar-cost averaging in investing.

Origins of “call a function” traced to library science and early computing

  • The phrase “call a function” stems from the analogy of “calling for” a book by its call number in a library, predating phone or social call metaphors.
  • Early computing used subroutine libraries stored on magnetic tapes, invoking routines by referencing their “call numbers.”
  • Historical sources from the 1940s–1950s (e.g., Mauchly’s 1947 papers, MANIAC II assembly) document “call” as subroutine invocation terminology.
  • Fortran II (1958) formalized the CALL statement, embedding the term into programming language syntax and semantics.
  • Conceptual evolution moved from assembly transfer-of-control jargon toward intuitive “call” usage programmers know today.

Mapping Canadian English: The typology and methodology of DCHP-3

  • The Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles (DCHP-3) categorizes Canadian English into six types, from indigenous coinages to culturally significant terms like eh and parkade.
  • Entries contain time-stamped meanings, hyperlinked semantic relations, and sourced quotations from Canadian speakers, supporting detailed linguistic analysis.
  • Frequency charts normalize term prevalence internationally using reference words and Boolean operators to identify shifting usage patterns.
  • Over 55 domain labels cover diverse topics—Indigenous culture, climate, digital life, racism—reflecting Canadian English’s sociocultural breadth.
  • Regional and syntactic labels document geographical and grammatical variation within Canada.
  • While freely accessible online through UBC and Nelson Education cooperation, content reproduction requires permission, underscoring its scholarly value.

Linda Yaccarino is leaving X

The central development is the resignation of Linda Yaccarino as CEO of X (formerly Twitter), a move emblematic of the platform’s turbulent leadership and controversial transformation under Elon Musk. Yaccarino, who was brought on in 2023 to help restore advertiser confidence and stabilize business operations, found her role complicated by Musk’s direct involvement and the company’s persistent brand and revenue challenges. The ongoing exodus of users and marketers to other social media platforms, combined with reports of increasing toxicity and content extremism on X, signal a steady erosion of its mainstream influence despite its continued importance for certain public voices, such as journalists and politicians.

Further compounding the situation is X’s internal atmosphere and product strategy, where operational upheaval and aggressive cost-cutting measures implemented since Musk’s acquisition have not led to an outright collapse, but rather a survival sustained by strong network effects. The leadership vacuum left by Yaccarino and appointments of polarizing figures to key positions point to an unsettled corporate direction, and the overall environment on the platform has drawn criticism for its surge in misinformation, spam, and right-wing propaganda. Attempts at restoring trust—particularly with advertisers—have been met with limited success, as policies and public actions by Musk frequently reignite controversy, including legal disputes with watchdog groups and negative press related to moderation and brand safety.

The Hacker News community’s reaction is characterized by skeptical and often humorous commentary that recognizes the resilience of X’s network effects while acknowledging the deteriorating user and advertiser experience. Many commenters question the necessity and impact of Yaccarino’s tenure, suggesting she was largely a figurehead with constrained influence, while others reflect on how the platform’s decline exemplifies both the fragility and stubborn endurance of social media giants. There is a general consensus that, while X remains operational, its long-term significance is increasingly uncertain, particularly as alternative platforms offer more appealing environments for both users and businesses.

Most RESTful APIs aren't really RESTful

The central theme of this article is that most APIs labeled as "RESTful" today diverge significantly from Roy Fielding's original concept of REST, primarily by omitting the use of hypermedia to drive application state, a tenet known as HATEOAS. Rather than equating REST with CRUD operations over HTTP, Fielding defined REST as an architectural style centered on clients discovering actions and transitions through dynamically provided links in resource representations. The article highlights that the widespread misunderstanding and misuse of the term “RESTful” reduces it to conventional HTTP contract-based APIs, missing the architectural benefits envisioned by Fielding.

A deeper examination reveals that APIs widely considered RESTful typically fail several key constraints Fielding laid out—especially in making hypermedia the engine of application state. Many real-world implementations opt for simpler, static interfaces, sidestepping the complexities of hypermedia controls, protocol-independence, standardized media types, and dynamic link navigation. This trend is driven by practical challenges, including steep tooling and developer experience barriers, as well as the demands of tightly integrated frontends and backends, where leaner, more predictable interfaces often trump architectural purity. Ultimately, the article advises that API designers weigh context and consumer needs over dogmatic adherence to REST, leveraging hypermedia only when its advantages will be realized.

Hacker News commenters predominantly agree that the common use of “RESTful” is a misnomer, echoing Fielding’s own frustration with APIs that neglect hypermedia and reduce REST to “HTTP with JSON.” The discussion further explores the nuanced distinctions between conceptual resources, actual REST constraints, and the realities of modern web development. Many highlight that the cost and complexity of implementing full HATEOAS are seldom justified, noting that for many use cases, pragmatic RPC-style APIs are preferable. Commenters also provide actionable suggestions, such as considering hypermedia for public or evolving APIs, but not for tightly coupled internal services, reflecting a broad consensus that clarity and loose coupling, rather than terminology, should guide API design.

Bootstrapping a side project into a profitable seven-figure business

Kyle Nolan’s account details the bootstrapping of ProjectionLab from a personal side project to surpassing $1 million in recurring annual revenue in just four years, accomplished entirely without external funding. This journey exemplifies persistence and emotional resilience as the crucial drivers of success, rather than sheer intelligence or outsized resources. Nolan’s story is grounded in a candid timeline: early growth came slowly and often stagnated, fueled by long nights, weekends, and the inner struggle to stay the course when customer churn or flat metrics stung motivation.

Team expansion—with a focus on shared values and community involvement—emerged as a pivotal turning point. Nolan highlights how bringing in a growth and marketing partner, plus hiring community members as customer support contractors, facilitated both operational scalability and a more genuine, engaged user base. Rather than outsourcing support to cut costs, choosing contributors from within the product’s enthusiast community helped foster loyalty and high satisfaction, further reinforcing sustainable long-term growth.

Hacker News commenters responded by emphasizing the primacy of perseverance and daily incremental progress—a recurring motif in indie SaaS and entrepreneurial circles. Many praised the strategic choice of augmenting solo development with complementary skills, notably in marketing—areas where founders often stumble. The community noted the authenticity in Nolan’s openness about emotional hardship, the realities of non-linear growth, and the value of cultivating a genuine customer community over tactics chasing rapid, unsustainable expansion or hype trends.

Phrase origin: Why do we "call" functions?

The article explores the etymology of "call" in the context of invoking functions or subroutines in programming, tracing the term’s origin to library science and early computing, rather than to telephony or social gatherings. The central insight is that “call” referred to the practice of "calling for" a subroutine from a physical or magnetic tape library, much as one would call for a book by its call number in a library. This metaphor was adopted during the formative years of digital computing, visible in both the language of technical manuals from the late 1940s and early 1950s and in the syntax of early high-level programming languages.

Supporting historical evidence includes specific terminology from the EDVAC era, MANIAC II’s assembly routine documentation, and the debut of the CALL statement in Fortran II (1958), which cemented "call" as a verb in programming. The transition of "call" from literal library retrieval to syntactic shorthand in computing highlights how technological vocabulary often borrows from established practices. Furthermore, subsequent languages like Algol continued to shape "call" as both a noun and a verb, marking a linguistic evolution from mechanical operations to intuitive programming concepts.

Hacker News commenters appreciated the illuminating research on a seemingly mundane term, with many expressing surprise at its non-obvious, library-based heritage. The discussion touched on the prevalence of metaphors in computing, nostalgia for early computing’s tangible processes, and the elegance with which esoteric historical practices can quietly persist in modern software culture. There was also light humor about programmers imagining themselves as digital librarians and a broader appreciation for etymological deep dives that reveal the social and procedural roots of technical language.

A Typology of Canadianisms

The article provides a detailed analysis of how Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles (DCHP-3) systematically classifies words and expressions unique to Canadian English. The central insight revolves around the identification of six distinct Canadianism types, ranging from original coinages and regional word preservations to culturally significant terms and those marking Canada’s complex history. This typology not only highlights linguistic diversity but also situates Canadian English as an evolving reflection of national identity, regional experience, and historical context.

Methodologically, DCHP-3 employs a robust set of lexicographic tools, including sophisticated frequency charting and over 55 domain-specific, social, regional, and syntactic labels. Each dictionary entry is hyperlinked, timestamped, and accompanied by sourced quotations, enabling granular analysis of semantic shifts and usage trends across Canadian society. The resource’s free online availability—contingent on certain permissions—underscores its academic value, aiming to serve both linguistic research and public education.

The Hacker News community responded enthusiastically, with multiple commenters remarking on the rich interplay between language and Canadian identity. The ability of the dictionary to memorialize both whimsical and painful chapters of history (such as Indigenous-related terms and the legacy of residential schools) drew praise for its cultural sensitivity. Community members also appreciated the technical rigor behind frequency normalization methods and the potential applications for similar digital word databases. Quips about beloved Canadianisms like "pencil crayon" and "eh" highlighted a sense of national pride and humor within the discussion.