39
93 Comments

Can you answer these 3 questions about your product?

I’ve made the unfortunate mistake of building things that nobody wants and will never make any money.

These three questions help me know I’m on track:

  1. Who is your product for?
  2. What problem does it solve for them?
  3. How does it make you money?

I’d love to hear about your product! Can you post a link and answer the questions about your product?

I’ll post mine in a comment 😁

posted to Icon for group Product Development
Product Development
on May 11, 2020
  1. 8

    premiumjs.com

    1. JavaScript developers who want to make money using skills they already have
    2. It's hard to monetize JS projects and requires a lot of manual setup. It's painful for the consumers to actually get/update the code.
    3. Taking a small percent of transaction fees
    1. 1

      Is this basically a private NPM repo consisting of packages that pass certain quality filters? I mean I'm asking about the technical side of things, not the business aspect.

      Edit: Yeah, the landing page says it is. I shouldn't submit comments after 11pm lol.

      1. 1

        @hkanaktas, on the technical side, yes. There’s an npm-compatible registry under the hood.

        It doesn’t necessarily have to pass quality filters (although that’d be a cool feature), just that someone lists it for sale.

        Let me know if you wanna talk more. You can ping me at [email protected].

        1. 1

          I think a certain minimum quality barrier may bring a lot more customers to you.

          Once the word is out that whatever purchased on premiumjs.com has awesome documentation and fully tested code, people who want good libraries and are not afraid to spend a few bucks on it will be all over your website.

          I think that's how Envato websites (ThemeForest especially) got popular.

          Just an idea though, I might be wrong.

          1. 1

            @hkanaktas, you could totally be right :)

    2. 1

      I have to admin. I like your design. Simple yet nice.

      1. 1

        Thanks @rogovdm! Appreciate it ... but also I can’t really take credit. It’s mostly a theme from carrd.co they I just tweaked. :)

    3. 1

      This comment was deleted 3 years ago.

      1. 1

        Thanks @Gshock. I’d love to hear more thoughts if you’d like to share 😀

        1. 1

          This comment was deleted 3 years ago.

          1. 1

            Thanks @Gshock. You’re the second person in 2 days who has said something similar about vetting packages... I think it’s probably a key thing to ensure high quality/reputation of premiumjs.

  2. 4

    Divjoy

    1. Indie hackers and small teams
    2. Enables them to build their MVP in days instead of weeks by handing all the boilerplate (UI, auth, db, payments, etc).
    3. I charge $59 for code export
  3. 4

    Really intrigued by your JavaScript-based product. I’m not as experienced as many, but I like to think I write (mostly) neat code, so I’m gonna dig into it in a sec :)

    But first! Here are my 3 answers:

    1. Prismatext is for anyone who loves to read, especially those with an interest in studying a foreign language.
    2. Prismatext offers inline translations in classic literature, giving readers the ability to read and study at the same time, with the added benefit of context and storytelling to drill vocabulary (because flash cards are boring)
    3. I sell ebooks in my bookstore. Every week I release a new book, and every quarter a new language. Plus holiday events, author spotlights, etc :)
    1. 1

      Thanks, @zakke! Really fun design and interesting idea. I hope you succeed! :)

  4. 3

    zohunt.com

    1. Agency and recruiters
    2. Help them generate leads based on their defined criteria
    3. I charge $49 for 200 leads export
  5. 3

    afrisurvey.com

    1. Market and academic researchers plus any one that wants to quickly and affordably sample the opinion of people living in Africa about anything.

    2. It makes it easy and affordable for anyone to get quick survey responses from real and targeted African consumers.

    3. We charge $1 per completed survey and pay respondents a cut.

    1. 1

      I really like the idea. Can I ask how do you find the respondents, and why they're all based in Africa?

      1. 2

        Thanks for the like.

        We created and promoted a landing page targeted at Africans who wants to make money by doing tasks online.

        The market for survey responses is super wide. We are focussing on Africa partly to nitche down and because we have a couple of plans for the African audiences.

  6. 3

    Moon for Indie Hackers

    1. Indie Hackers browsing the forum on mobile.
    2. IndieHackers.com has poor UX in the mobile browser. As a native app, Moon is faster, smoother and more navigable.
    3. I will charge for certain features.
    1. 3

      Hey, I like what Moon is all about. Just wondering, Are you creating the application for Android platform as well?

      1. 3

        Hey Vaibhav I do plan to make an android version but I gotta admit that is pretty far away right now. I’ll keep you posted though!

        1. 2

          This is a cool landing page. Since you made the theme match, for a split second I thought it was under the official domain. The name may be a challenge for organic discovery. Are the maintainers of IH backing you on this project?

          1. 1

            Thanks Neea :)

            The name may be a challenge for organic discovery.

            Would you mind expanding? I'm not sure I follow.

            Are the maintainers of IH backing you on this project?

            Not "backing" me but not stopping me. In fact Courtland has thrown a few pointers my way out of good will.

            1. 2

              Regarding the name, I mean for a user to find it in the app store, do they need to know it is called "Moon" before they can find it, or is it sufficient to type "indie hackers" in app store search and it comes up?

              1. 1

                Ah I see. Yea I plan to title it Moon for Indie Hackers in the app store when I release it. So hopefully anyone searching for indie hackers will find it 🤞

        2. 2

          Sounds great! Let me know if you need a hand in android development. I would be happy to assist you :)

          1. 2

            Do indiehackers have an API?..

            1. 1

              No, I don't think so.

  7. 2

    http://mightyforms.com/

    1. For business owners that want to scale by automating lead generation
    2. MightyForms is a form builder that goes beyond the simple contact form. It has lead capturing tools that recover lost leads from abandoned forms, and it can automate complex tasks after each form submission
    3. The form builder is free, but premium subscription plans include the more powerful features. Starting at $10 a month.
  8. 2

    https://anyform.co/

    1. Developers who want to customize Google Forms
    2. Solves the fact that Google Forms can't be styled, by turning it into a stylable HTML form.
    3. Freemium
    1. 1

      @alexfur, love the simplicity of the solution and how clear it speaks to the pain point. Nicely done!

  9. 2
    1. https://nocodesheets.carrd.co
    2. No Code website builder using Google Sheets. Bring your Google sheets data and build websites without writing code.
    3. Subscription/License Keys
  10. 2

    http://centori.io/

    1. Small businesses and teams who want more traffic to their site but aren't sure where to start
    2. SEO is technical and popular tools have steep learning curves or are too pricey for small-business budgets
    3. We have a freemium plan - start free and upgrade to a $50/month plan with more advanced features
    1. 1

      Thanks! What's the link to your product?

      1. 1

        No problem, updated!

  11. 1

    MyMyriad
    https://www.mymyriad.ai
    No Code Predictive Analytics powered by Machine Learning

    1. Data Analysts who want a No Code solution to power their Predictive Analytics
    2. Create data Prediction models on a No-Code platform. This can help small businesses make more intelligent business decisions and increase profit margins on an ongoing basis.
    3. Monthly SaaS subscription. Free-tier for individuals. $500/month for companies.
  12. 1
    1. Real estate investor teams
    2. Increases operational efficiency
    3. Right now it's in beta but will be charging an annual or monthly subscription fee to use the platform.
  13. 1
    1. Japanese-language learners struggling with reading comprehension
    2. Improve their literacy
    3. Premium-features are accessible through a monthly subscription

    Yomi.ai

  14. 1

    People who like great coffee
    We roast to order so its fresh as can be. We also grind it to the size you want.
    Every sale generates revenue and percentage for charity
    Www.maidabeans.com
    Thanks

    1. 1

      Hey @ypatel! I’m a coffee fanatic ... and London is a great place for coffee :)

      I was working a bit on how to help coffee roasters with software and I’d love connect! What’s a good way to get in touch?

  15. 1

    browserreplicator.com

    1. Anyone who uses multiple accounts to do the same thing (online sports betting, general botting [works on majority of websites], etc.). Built in proxy setup for each replicator so that user can easily "change location".
    2. Saves time as they don't have to do the same thing repeatedly on each account. Saves money as they don't have to hire real people do control multiple accounts.
    3. It's paid product. Subscription based
  16. 1

    www.capitalcurbside.com

    1. Restaurants & Liquor Stores, Farms, Small Businesses.
    2. Local on-demand delivery with a dedicated staff and fleet of vehicles.
    3. Onboarding Fee. Percentage of total order. Delivery Fee.
  17. 1

    waterdeep.io

    1. Who is your product for?
      Organized developers who work in teams

    2. What problem does it solve for them?
      Having to search for backfilling or one-time operation scripts in JIRA or Slack, instead they can organize these in one place and have them readily available.

    3. How does it make you money?
      Monthly subscription for premium customers who want all the nice features

  18. 1

    https://azhantest18.pythonanywhere.com/ (domain coming soon).

    1. A payment system for businesses with an improvement.
    2. The product solves the issue of money delay when a customer makes a purchase. At the moment, the work is in development but will be completed soon.
    3. Well, this is in discussion but likely a charge per payment.

    Thanks.

    1. 1

      hey nice I use pythonanywhere for hosting too!

  19. 1

    Dytto.co

    1. Freelancers and small/medium businesses that sell services.
    2. The offer process usually involves negotiations and talking back and forth to agree on the terms. We are providing a systematic way to manage this process. (Well, not yet cause we're in a pretty early stage in software development yet. Only 10 days old by today. 🐣)
    3. Subscriptions and -probably- overuse fees. We are thinking of having decent subscription fees, limiting the usage to average values, and charging gradually more as the usage goes overboard.
  20. 1
    1. People with over 1 year of lifting experience.
    2. Opinionated, cross device fitness tracking with complete customization.
    3. Subscription plans.

    JustFitness.io

  21. 1

    https://knowyourworth.site
    1 - Everyone who has a stable job or is searching for one.
    2- It gives you a better idea of how much you should be earning.
    3- At the moment just by ads. Once I collect more salaries charging recruiter agencies for using the API.

    1. 1

      Really interesting project @ngranja19. I sense that there are other good monetization models .

      Yikes, look at that gender pay gap in the charts. Eep!

  22. 1

    Story Creator

    1. Social media content creators
    2. Makes it quicker and easier to create high-quality videos
    3. When users need more storage to upload their media and want access to premium features they pay a small monthly fee for a large convenience
  23. 1

    https://smalltuts.com

    1. Who is your product for?
      Originally targeted for indie hackers/programmers/entrepreneurs who want to learn things in small bites

    2. What problem does it solve for them?
      Entertainment & learning when they don't have enough time

    3. Not monetized right now

  24. 1
    1. Soon-to-be-SaaS founders.
    2. Significantly reduces the time-to-market by providing a starter kit of code to handle all the common parts of building a SaaS (user auth/management, subscriptions, etc).
    3. One-time purchase of code that comes with a year of updates, which can be extended.

    Nodewood

    1. 1

      Love seeing quality nodejs projects :)

      1. 1

        Thanks! Hopefully I can encourage more folks to use it to start their businesses, too!

  25. 1

    embarque.io

    1. Who is your product for?

    My product is for those who want to rank on the first page of Google through premium SEO articles that also turns users into subscribers.

    1. What problem does it solve for them?

    It helps companies rank on Google through SEO content strategy.

    1. How does it make you money?

    People pay for the articles.

    Oof, easier than I expected!

  26. 1
    1. React Developers and CEOs
    2. Cruu automates 30-70% of the most boring parts of React development so instead of spending 100 hours coding a feature update you can do it in 30 hours
    3. We charge a SaaS monthly fee

    Our website is: www.cruu.io

    Cruu stands for Create React UI UX

  27. 1

    It's super easy to answer them. It's incredibly hard to answer them well.

    mindfulsuite.com

    My mediocre answer:

    1. young professionals and students
    2. find genuine motivation, and stay focused on them
    3. subscription
    1. 1

      This comment was deleted 3 years ago.

      1. 1

        hey thanks for asking. updated.

  28. 1
    1. Jobseekers looking to get into/reenter technical roles.
    2. Jobseeking is a lonely grind. We put people into small teams of like-minded jobseekers. They meet regularly over video call, work on weekly targets, all while staying accountable and supporting each other (think of an agile team but directed towards getting a job).
    3. Tips, at least until COVID-f*cks off.
  29. 1

    1brand.co

    1. Business owners, in-house marketers who already have a website and a brand. Design freelancers who help these people.
    2. Create custom brand guideline websites in moments.
    3. Subscription that lets you unlock the number of colors, logos and fonts, and gives you more customization options.
  30. 1

    upstamps.com

    1. A feature flag management platform for developers;
    2. Helps devs deploy features faster with central control. Hide unfinished features with ease;
    3. Subscription-based starting at 9$/m including free sign up (no credit card require) with Sandbox mode
  31. 1

    Very important questions to ask. Here's how I answer them for the project that has my primary focus right now, SoVisual.co:

    1. Who is the product for? Three distinct audiences with different problems to solve:
      (a) Social media managers
      (b) solopreneurs
      (c) graphic designers

    2. What problem does it solve for them?
      (a) Takes too much time to create social content (with visuals) every single day and it's hard to come up with new ideas every single day (especially if you're doing it for multiple clients). SoVisual.co Social Packs give (at minimum) a starting point so you can do as much (if not more) work in less time with more effectiveness. Hello increased profit margins!
      (b) Solopreneurs wear ALL the hats. So the idea of taking the time to figure out what to post on social media every day to grow their audience, and then having the time to actually MAKE IT is daunting, and ends up just not happening. OR they spend WAY too much time using something like Canva and other important tasks get neglected. OR they have to hire someone to do it for them. Social Packs = low cost, easy-to-implement solution.
      (c) Coming up with branded themes for graphics is a LOT of work. Starting with a template saves TONS of hours and creative energy. That means you can charge the same amount for less time/energy. Hello increased profit margins!

    3. How does it make you money? Customers purchase the Social Packs.

    I think one important question to ask somewhere between questions 2-3 is this: Does the audience know they have this problem?

    One of the things I ran into with previous businesses is that I solved a problem for an audience that didn't necessarily believe they had. And the amount of education it took to "convince" them was too much. This led to me losing a lot of money for 11 months.

    This is something you can easily discover by doing a proper product validation process--which I didn't really do 100%.

  32. 1

    My product: Kingmailer.co

    My feedback:

    Who is your product for?

    The "small user with big dreams and small pocket", that want to focus on their project instead of focusing on email delivery. Indie hackers, webmasters, developers, bootstrappers, small and medium businesses, solo founders

    What problem does it solve for them?

    It solves email delivery for an affordable pricing -- delivering emails to the inbox, sure you can use Sendgrid for $10, but your email delivery will be very bad, unless you are prepared to throw some cash and have your own private IP there. Which can cost easily $90 p/mo (18x more expensive than Kingmailer.co, lolz)

    How does it make you money?
    SaaS-model, users are charged montly, starting at $5 p/mo

  33. 1

    rawerse.com

    1. For hobby photographers / people with photo archives downloaded from social networks / the Internet.
    2. A machine-learning based tool for removing JPEG artifacts from photos.
    3. Selling licenses (... well, I hope it will happen someday).
  34. 1

    Let's Bookmark
    ✅ For everybody, but target 🎯 are frequent flight travelers
    ✅ They can read offline all the articles they didn't have time to read when they were online
    ✅ None at the moment, but I'm planning to limit number of saved articles for free users

  35. 1
    1. Older men (30+) who want all natural body wash products
    2. No chemicals, can name all the ingredients on the label
    3. Sell the product for $
  36. 1

    onlynights.com

    1. People looking for work that has flexible hours, primarily remote (especially during COVID).
    2. A "side hustle" styled position that won't interfere with their day jobs, to drum up extra income. Inspired by some nighttime consulting I've been doing.
    3. The jobs will cost $200/post to start, similar to other niche job boards.

    The MVP was "soft-launched" on 5/8, so I've been very slowly getting my feet wet (as this is my first true product launch) prior to doing any announcements.

    1. 1

      Nice! Hope you succeed! Good luck @mattdood

  37. 1

    It sounds like the story of my life, lol!

    I'll answer about my most recent macOS app, PopNotes:

    1. Every Mac user.
    2. Makes note-taking a quick task comparing to other note apps as it's a status bar application and helps keep notes organised in categories and synchronised using iCloud (among others).
    3. It's based on a full free trial version; after 5 days user must pay so they can keep using it.
  38. 1
    1. My product is for indie hackers :)
    2. Helping indie hackers with writing good copy that converts!
    3. I'm building a copywriting editor where your copywriting mistakes are corrected. To help you write better copy we also scan websites where your target market hangs out. This way you'll see which problems your target audience have and what words they use.

    https://targetaudience.app

  39. 1

    programmingproblems.app

    1. Teachers and students of computer science/programming, ~ HS AP / 1st year college.
    2. It has a collection of practice problems that can be used for exercises, labs, assessments etc.
    3. So far I have made money by selling large problem sets and individual labs to teachers; not on this website but in a marketplace. This website is 2.0.

    As a teacher I understand this is a pain and coming up with new creative problems over and over again is hard especially when you are trying to design an exam. It takes me 6 - 8 hours from start to finish to create an exam at the moment. Also creating a series of lab exercises that need to be engaging and educational is a huge time sink. Teaching students about "for loops" you need practical examples to go with that during lectures. I want to ease some of these pain points over time.

  40. 1

    HelloMixy.com - Five $20 gift cards to five amazing brands for only $39.99

    1. Consumers who want to discover and save on great brands. ( And brands who want low-to-no cost customer acquisition. )
    2. Consumers, we are putting savings in their pocket. ( Brands, they lose customer relationships and adspend to other channels when they prefer customers just checkout on their DTCs )
    3. There are margins built in for everyone.
  41. 1

    https://protege.dev

    1. Remote Junior Developers looking for a job.
    2. Pulls in jobs that are specific to their niche.
    3. ... could use some help here.
    1. 2

      Thanks @pickleat! I dig the design.

      For monetization, a strategy I've seen on a lot of products like this is to a) charge for companies to post or b) charge companies to feature posts.

      It's a bad idea to try to charge the junior devs looking for jobs...they don't have any money :)

      1. 1

        100% agreed there. I think that’ll be our model but we’re open to more unique ideas as well.

  42. 1

    pingr.io

    1. Who is your product for?
      For people who have sites with high traffic, people launching ad campaign, PH or something similar, e-commerce sites

    2. What problem does it solve for them?
      Notifying them when their site is offline and they loose traffic and thus money

    3. How does it make you money?
      Monthly subscription

  43. 1

    animesongcovers.com

    1. Who is your product for?
      For people who like anime song covers

    2. What problem does it solve for them?
      Provide efficient searching, let user manage playlist with ease

    3. How does it make you money?
      Expected to use ads & affiliate links

  44. 1

    noorahq.com

    1. Product Managers who want to manage their full customer feedback loop.
    2. It allows them to track feature requests, share their product roadmap and make announcements about new features.
    3. I charge for advanced features like SSO (so they can embed directly within their apps).
  45. 1

    https://toddmoses.com

    1. Business owners
    2. Navigating a company through uncertainty
    3. Consulting
  46. 1

    https://knowhup.com

    1. Software developer teams (distributed or otherwise)
    2. It makes easy the creation, maintenance and sharing of documentation / guidelines/ processes and designs, etc., of those tools and pieces of code which are scattered around here and there (i.e. not in code repos).
    3. Currently we're not charging money as the tool is in early stage of development. We do plan to charge a subscription fee in the future.
  47. 1

    plagiashield.com

    1. Websites owners heavily investing in content marketing
    2. Increases SERP rankings by helping customers get rid of content thefts. The uniqueness of content is a critical ranking factor.
    3. Monthly subscription.
  48. 1

    Hi Spencer - thanks for triggering this thought track.

    https://engineeringcollective.io

    1. Who is your product for? Students and educators interested in STEM
    2. What problem does it solve for them? An ability to solve problems across various STEM subjects (calculus, physics, etc.) with the support of a community.
    3. How does it make you money? Allow educators to create online learning sets for a fee.
  49. 1

    Sketch Runner

    1. Designers using Sketch.app that want to work faster and who prefer keyboard input.
    2. It saves time. Instead of clicking around the UI, they can trigger actions and find components by typing.
    3. Freemium. One-time purchase of $20 for individuals, $25 per seat for teams which includes a license manager.

    It used to be a completely free and well-maintained plugin for 3 years. We started charging for the Pro version ~1 year ago after a complete overhaul.

    1. 3

      I’m a huge fan of Sketch Runner and I recommend it every designer I know. Keep up the good work!

  50. 1

    https://manyletter.com/

    1. People who are subscribing to too many newsletters and their inbox is always full. Creators of newsletters who just want to send regular newsletter messages and invite their audience to their webpages.

    2. Reducing the number of messages from newsletters (no 3rd party service installations or download) to one email a day. Reducing the number of notifications. Automatic unsubscription from the newsletter if you are not visiting it at all. Sorting newsletters based on your interests and directly in the mail inbox. Keeping track of the history of newsletter messages within the ManyLetter admin panel. Keeping your email private if you wish, so the creator of the newsletter can not see who is subscribing to his newsletter but only know that someone is subscribing and if you are active or not.

    3. Small one-time payment for subscribers who want to have full functionality of ManyLetter for subscribers. Subscription for creators of email newsletters who wish to send email messages, base on the number of messages sent.

  51. 1

    1.- People that work multiple projects.
    2.- Saves them time
    3.- We charge a monthly fee.

    simpletasking.com

  52. 1
    1. Website owners, developers.
    2. Localization management for website/apps.
    3. With paid plans. (Still working on this part)

    Site: https://tranzlate.io

  53. 1

    Hi @jones_spencera, this is a great reminder on what we need to focus on as builders.

    Here is mine for opensourcecapital.co

    1. For creators, builder and entrepreneurs who want to build their projects in the digital space.
    2. It bridges the technical gap to help them get started with their online brand or business through community, courses and tools.
    3. Through a subscription that gives them access to community, courses and online tools.
  54. 1

    Designtack.com

    1. For those who create social media content for marketing.
    2. An A.I.🤖 based tool to quickly design social media content, in bulk.
    3. There will be extra features which will be chargeable.
  55. 1

    This comment was deleted 3 years ago.

  56. 1

    This comment was deleted 3 years ago.

  57. 2

    This comment was deleted 5 years ago.

    1. 2

      This is a really cool project! Please don't feel discouraged because of the 3 weeks, I think every success story should be taken with mountains of salt.

      1. 1

        This comment was deleted 5 years ago.

        1. 1

          Sure thing! I'll be honest, your landing page really roped me in. If you want some candid feedback I think that the 'How to get started' section could use a bit more detail.
          It's what held me back a bit because once I started considering how I could use it with MightyfForms, I started questioning it more technically. Like, is it responsive, will it clash with Intercom, how does it pull the data, cookies, and so on.
          Sorry, I know you didn't ask for feedback. I think this is an awesome project, and it's definitely bookmarked. Good luck!

          1. 1

            This comment was deleted 5 years ago.

    2. 2

      3 weeks ago is nothing! This is a long haul, keep iterating and talk to as many people as you can.

      I can't help but notice though, 1&2 are both about the product in your answer. Remember, think about the customer. Customers don't care about us, they care about their goals and the problems that get in the way of their goals. Our products aren't the hero in their story, they're the tool that gets them where they want to go.

      Keep talking to people and listen to their stories and take that back to the product, I've iterated a ton over the past year and with each step you end up getting closer to finally 'making it', good luck!

      1. 2

        This comment was deleted 5 years ago.

        1. 1

          For sure, right there with you it can be really hard at times - but that could be after months of iterating until they finally got it. That's the funny thing about hearing about everyone's success - the struggles along the way are left out.

          And closer but that's not a problem - that's a solution. What problem are you solving? What painpoint do your customers have?

          1. 1

            This comment was deleted 5 years ago.

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