Help me validate this idea
Hi, my name is Samuel, and I'm a software developer. We all know this probably means that there's a bunch of side projects I have lying dormant on github😅😅.
With all of my previous ideas and attempts, I had a lot of instability regarding work/life balance and loads of responsibilities, so I couldn't just add them as a "side project" while maintaining my job. This year, the strangest thing happened.
"Amidst all the pandemic and world wars, I finally hit a good work/life balance."
I've had the least time to work and most time to rest. It's more time than I've ever had.
A couple months ago, I came up with the idea of building a platform that collects data from several services businesses use and display them in dashboard of sorts.
These sources could be stripe, intercom, github, doesn't matter really, just an analytics aggregator.
The dashboard can be public or private, users can setup milestones, different teams can have different dashboards, etc.
Essentially, what I'm asking for is do you think this is a good idea? Would you like to beta test in a couple of weeks?
This idea has been tried a BUNCH.
Geckoboard.
Klipfolio.
Dasheroo.
Everyone pivots to businesses because personal dashboards don't make money.
If you want a high quality business dashboard check out Grow.com
I have been building that since 2015 with a full dev team and we still have interesting challenges left to solve.
Ah, grow.com is what I actually had in mind, but I think I need to think about this a bit more, thanks!
Respectfully, I'd change the poll to include an answer for "I'm not sure what this is" just to make sure you're explaining it correctly.
Thank you, I guess I have to think more about this.
It remins me https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klout
From my perspective —as @timosarkka said— there is a "So what?" thought that comes to my mind.
As developers we have the analytics chart on GitHub, "So what?"
As a freelance, I dropped Google Analytics on my website and my KPI is simple: I keep a single counter of clients who complete my onboarding everyweek. My objective is to keep this number stable to give me job opportunities. My actions are aligned with this number. I don't spend time on checking stats, instead, I produce content an see the results.
Think about this example: a platform for farmers where they can aggregate weather forecast and data about their fields locations. I guess with the number they can take better decisions on their next harvest.
You have a targeted niche and I am pretty sure this audience will pay for this type of information.
I'd try narrowing down the target audience and use cases first. Maybe you have already done this but from your post it's pretty vague. Aggregates analytics could be great projects for indie makers but also very competitive. Without figuring out specific target niche and distribution channels first it's just throwing stones into the sea.
Analytics aggregator sounds catchy, but the use case(and the user) for the product isn't quite clear to me
Hi Samuel,
You can use your Twitter to check this idea.
Define the problem in terms of problems this product solves. Try to understand the pain your potential customers are experiencing and define how you going to relieve it.
Set up a simple landing with an email form as fast as you can (I used ConvertKit yesterday and launched landing within hours.) Invite people to join for the beta.
Share landing on Twitter. You have subscribers. Try to find some communities where the problem you're solving is relevant, and
Costs to launch beta-version first: weeks of (probably) wasted time if nobody wants your product, $10-20 for a domain.
Costs to launch landing first: a couple of days, $10-20 for a domain.
You already have your personal domain, so if you don't want to spend any money at all, you can launch the landing on the subdomain. You'll save $10-20 for your favorite drink to enjoy while you making the landing.
That's a great idea @koynoyno and something I'll try out in a couple of weeks
Which data, Samuel? A platform with data of what and for what? Could you please elaborate more this idea?
I think it's a pretty great idea Samuel :)
I would suggest to think about your answers of the following questions before you start implementing anything:
Don't have to write the answers here, just think about them before you take actions :)
Andras
This comment was deleted 5 years ago
Okay, i'll do that and come back with a better response than what I had initially written, thank you!