Do I even have a product if I'm just calling APIs?
I've started building out a product and on the journey, I came across an API provider which basically gives me everything I need to satisfy my product's requirements. I'm basically just calling a bunch of APIs and presenting the result nicely in a webapp. It's starting to feel like I don't actually have a product, if this API provider disappears tomorrow, so does my business. I could build the functionality that the API provides but that will take lots of money as what they provide is quite complicated.
Also, the API is quite expensive to use, thus making the end product not feasible from a monetisation perspective. I'm thinking I should use it in the interim, raise money, and then use that money to build out the same functionality.
Any thoughts?
Of course it's product.
Thousands of profitable products are build upon the Facebook graph API, Twitter API, Amazon API and also other 3rd API provider who consolidate APIs from other platforms.
The most important thing is the way you "presenting the result nicely in a webapp". If someone find your presentations helps, so there's market (either big or small) for your products.
What I’d add is additional benefits to leveraging APIs to build products:
At the same time, platform risk is real. In your case, I think cost is also important, as the API you are using is not free. Maybe the question there is whether or not you can build features or target customers such that you can raise prices or whether or not you can reach the scale you need to cover your costs, depending on how the API is priced.
This is a great question, and I agree you do have a product. I am considering the same usage of APIs for my product, cost long term is a big concern for me, but you could tie it to consumption of the data you present via your webapp. Perhaps, consider a tier pricing model and a free trial period, if you haven't already.