Been iterating for 6 months. What do I do next?
I've been working on a side project for 6 months and approaching it in a way against all standard advice and my own judgement -- I'm building a solution in search for a problem. And now I'm trying to figure out what to do next.
My app, ChatPC, brings AI to Mac automation similar to Windows Copilot. It currently has over 100 registered users (not very active), and one paying user!
I started off building a unique ChatGPT plugin that connected ChatGPT to my local MacOS. I had no concrete use case then, but wanted to build a plugin for fun and learning.
Unfortunately, the plugin was rejected by OpenAI since it required the installation of a native application. I had a few users at that point who were interested in the idea. These users, along with my own stubbornness, gave me the drive to pivot to building a fully native AI powered Mac automation app that can function without being a plugin.
Throughout this whole time, I've never had a strong use case myself, and people interested in my app were also seeking to find use cases themselves. My goal is to build a product that has a set of customers that would be "very disappointed" if they could no longer use ChatPC. But I'm not sure if that will ever happen, or if I will be forever searching for a problem with my solution.
What do you think I should do next? Should I continue searching, or should I move on?
I'm not an avid MAC user myself, but what makes this product different from Siri? I think the implementation is really cool, but maybe users may find Siri more accessible than your product as it is right now? And if that's the case, maybe a more niche use-case would be better to pursue.
Good job so far though!
Great question! Siri is not as intelligent, and cannot chain multiple actions together. Siri is for simple one off actions, but cannot accomplish more complex tasks or do things like compose an email for you. However, I imagine Apple is working on their own LLM to make Siri more powerful.
I've had some trouble finding the right niche and would love to find one with concrete problems that I can help solve. Let me know if you have ideas on both niches, or ways to find a niche!
Thank you!
Gotcha, i hope your search for the niche goes well, and i will keep my ears and eyes open if i come across any. This seems like a pretty powerful tool though so i'm sure there is some use case this fits. If i had to guess, I would say maybe a user who does alot of work on MAC's and they need some extreme productivity. Or maybe a training tool to help people learn to use a MAC?
I know my old parents want to learn how to use them but they get confused very easily but something like this that guides them through what they want to do wouldnt be so bad.
Just thinking out loud though, I'll give you a follow to see where this project goes as I've had similar ideas in mind myself.
Have a good one!
Thank you and also appreciate the suggestions! I can definitely see the idea of having a more powerful Siri that can help users get better at using the Mac be very useful.