Hey IH 👋

I'm building Howzit, a free surf forecasting app for East Coast surfers (Maine to Florida).

The problem: Surfline has basically monopolized surf forecasting after buying up competitors like MagicSeaweed. Their Premium costs $120/year, and surfers are frustrated with inaccurate forecasts and aggressive paywalls.

What I'm building: A transparent, data-driven alternative that blends multiple open wave models (NOAA, ECMWF, WaveWatch III) and shows you how they agree/disagree. No black box—you see where the data comes from.

Current state:

• 76 surf spots across 14 East Coast states

• Free forecasts with model confidence ratings

• AI-generated daily surf summaries

• Interactive maps with color-coded ratings

Monetization plan: Founding member lifetime access for $250 (vs. Surfline's annual fee). Positioning as the "second opinion" rather than trying to beat their proprietary data.

Looking for: Early feedback from any surfers here, and general thoughts on going up against a dominant incumbent by carving out a niche rather than competing head-on.

What's worked for you when building alternatives to established players?