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5 Comments

"Can I afford it?" - Rate my idea.

The problem

As a fellow indie hacker, I'd love to try more products created by the community.

The issue is that I don't always have the disposable income to commit.

The solution

I was thinking of a service where a user signs up to offer their assistance in beta testing products from the community.

In return, they get a promo code for a paid tier.

For the creator, they get valued feedback.

The business model

I'm not sure whether people would pay for something like this.

If they would, I'd imagine it would be based on usage.

For example, I've been beta testing 3 products, I now have access to them which has now saved me $20/month - I'd then probably be happy to pay $5/month.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

  1. 2

    Archie, something really nice about this idea! Is it a bit like Appsumo though?

    1. 2

      Hey Steve, thanks for putting Appsumo on my radar! - looks really cool and interesting how they monetize it.

      I've just had a brief look so please correct me if anything I say below is wrong.

      A similar aspect of Appsumo is the discount aspect. As a user, I get to experience a product for cheaper than I usually would. As a creator, I get to give my product to a wider audience.

      I think what's different is that most of the projects on Appsumo look finished? Or at least not in a testing phase. I think if I was going to put a product on I would want to be sure everything works 100%. I'd then still have to reach out here or on Twitter to find people to test.

      I was also thinking about the feedback format. I know twitter feedback is a big trend because you can easily embed it on a landing page. However, Appsumo seems to only contain reviews in the app. I think I'd hope to make that process a bit smoother.

      What do you think?

      1. 2

        yes we used appsumo for www.clickacall.live last year and in terms of £££ it was very exciting for us. but they usually have 6 month waiting lists because they want your product to be tested and working fairly well; they don't take everybody. they have a massive audience and put a lot into social spends to promote you. the audience is fully happy that the product isn't 100% finished but must be fairly well complete - and then they give you some amazing positive feedback. in return you do give appsumo a decent cut of a lifetime offer that you need to setup (not sure if I'm allowed to say how much). But it's worth it once your product is fairly complete.

        So, by the sounds of it you are for "much" earlier ideas that still need validating and some real beta testers?

        Can you run through how the model would work. If beta testers pay you $5/month are you saying they then have free reign to sign up to hundreds of early stage services for free in return for giving feedback to the service? how do you see the feedback loop working?

        Sounds interesting. But wouldn't you need to have a big audience already - how do you acquire that?

  2. 2

    Hi Archie,
    Love this idea, I'd definitely see myself using this!

    Seems like such a great way for indie hackers and SaaS companies to get beta feedback, while the user can also get access to new features for a reduced price. I'd tend towards using this as a creator, offering products to users. However if there are products I'd be interested in from other companies, I'd also be interested in giving beta feedback to those products too.

    Would definitely be interested in this, do keep me posted if you decide to work on this idea! :D

    1. 2

      Will do, glad you like it! :)

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