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9 Comments

Am I building an app to no one?

Hi,
I'm Ryan I've been a silent reader for almost 2 years, intensively reading IH last 2 weeks and just created my account last week.

I wanted to create a webapp to that can create a dynamic image template and can be reused it by only change / fill the important parts.

The image can be download manually, through API or serve directly with URL.

Why?

There are a lot of times when me and my friend come in a situation where we created images with the same templates with only 1-2 line of text and one image repetitively. Basically, it's the same template but different content.

What does it do?

It allows user to create their own template, and later they can fill certain parts that they choose.
They can fill it through their dashboard, share with public link, generate from api or even serve it directly from url.

Current situation

The main feature is 75% finished, right now I plan to collect waitlist before go live. The landing page is currently live now https://duply.co and I update my progress on my twitter twitter.com/distartin

Questions and Thoughts

  • Interviewed 4 long-time friends, 3 of them seems doesn't really needed it (most of them are handling social media in a startup). Am I interviewed the wrong people?
  • Or Am I really built this webapp to no one?
  • What do you guys think about this idea?
Should I continue?
  1. Yeah
  2. Find another idea
Vote
  1. 2

    Do you host the created images? Or is just download?
    I think hosting might be a good thing to have with share links so that people can easily share right away after creating their image without having to download and upload to different platforms.
    @high_byte has a similar idea. https://www.indiehackers.com/post/bash-my-landing-page-67d3fdc63e Maybe there's an opportunity for collaboration.

    ALl the best!

    1. 1

      thank you for the mention :) @ksp I guess I can see some similarities.

      on topic - I don't think it is an app for no one. it is a sea of similar apps. gg to bannerbear on making it, but do note they have a specific niche with specific market. your idea kinda reminds me of a meme generator.

      1. 1

        @ksp user can download (fill it in the website and download) or call it through an api in which the image will be hosted by us

        @high_byte I think we have some similarities in image generation, yeah more or less like meme generator.

        But one thing is bothering me right now, is it ethical for me to "building in public" if there's other product that has quite similar features and has a big name in IH??

        1. 1

          @distartin
          I wouldn't say it's a question of ethics.

          I can say where I'm at regarding my website - I just build it to refresh my hands-on skills where it comes to web dev. soon I will give it a go with all that relates to marketing, but I expect absolutely nothing of it. Once I'm done with this product, I would have a template to work from and, more importantly, the skill base to work with, so any similar products might be 20% complete right off the bat.

          So to answer your question - I cannot tell you for sure what's right for you, but I have a feeling you will benefit in a similar way from moving forward, building in public, getting feedback and striving for new knowledge.

          I should add that my honest opinion is even though at the current state this product doesn't seem monetizable - it shouldn't at all stop you. you can create features that add value, pivot at any point or find niche markets or specific clients. In my opinion, a product + zero clients is better than zero product + zero clients.

  2. 2

    just created my account last week

    Awesome, Ryan!

    Interviewed 4 long-time friends

    4 people is probably not enough to determine if you have a market. Go interview more. :)

    Or Am I really built this webapp to no one?

    I cannot judge this.

    Ask yourself: Who would be interested in this? Where can I talk to them?

    As a help: What do I need this for? Where can I find more people like me?

    There's also www.bannerbear.com which makes $10k MRR. This shows that there's a market that's interested in a product like yours. You can try to see who is interested in Bannerbear and reach out to those people.

    ---

    For the landing page, I would like to see the example before the signup form. I am never going to sign up before seeing the "how it works" section.

    1. 2

      Thanks mate,
      When you said "reach out to those people" and with the concept kinda similar, is it ethical to do so? And what do you think the best way to do it (reach out those people)?

      1. 2

        You do not necessarily have to reach out to actual customers of your competitors.

        You can:

        • Reach out to people who are dissatisfied them. They might post about it on online review sites or social media like Twitter.
        • Reach out to people who are similar to your competitors' customers.

        You can also always reach out to existing customers of your competitors and

        1. ask them about their biggest pain points while using your competitors,
        2. improve those things in your product, and
        3. let them know afterwards.

        As for how to best reach out, this part is hard and I'm in no way an expert on this. Still learning this myself. Things I've seen recommended:

        • Twitter DMs
        • Posting and replying in online communities where the topic is discussed (e.g. IH)
        • Replying to Twitter threads
        • Cold emails (personally, I hate this one)
        • Ask your friends for introductions to people who might be interested

        If you do research, you'll probably find more ways.

        There will also be people on IH who can answer that question way better than I can. You could create a separate post with that question. Please let me know if you do as I'll also be interested in the replies.

        Last thought: See how your competitors acquire competitors. See if you can use similar methods.

        1. 2

          Thanks a lot for your feedback, this is actually my first time building in public

          1. 1

            Happy to help. Good luck, Ryan!

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