How quickly did you start charging for your MVP?
The question above. I've been developing my app for about one month now and am unsure if I should start trying to implement payments etc.
Want to know what other people are doing!
If you have iOS, would you please post some feedback here? Do you think I could start selling the product as it is?
Here's the beta link:
https://testflight.apple.com/join/kvHScsNb
My main product is going to launch with a free beta just for testing, but anyone not in the beta will be charged immediately once officially launched
I'm hoping to do something similar with Lifetime deals. I can't charge for the beta since it's an iOS app.
I could charge thru a website, but don't know how hard it will be to get them the paid version of the app once released.
What are you building?
Ahh that’s understandable. iOS apps are very different but maybe you could implement a pricing page within the app? Come out with a free or trial version, and require cc up front. Say they can cancel at anytime?
I’m nervously outsourcing a web app that’s optimized for mobile (since I’m not technical).
Outsourcing can be very delicate. Hope you find a good team to do it.
Honestly, I wouldn't be too worried, but it depends on the use case. I'm making a productivity app (todo) so having it on the phone is super important. I'm lowkey building it for myself, so don't care for cross-platform for now.
Yes, apple lets you create the pricing in beta, but it won't work until it's published to the app store.
However, I want to get a lot of feedback from beta testers (free) so I can make see what sticks but will try to charge soon.
It seems like you're on the right track. Validate and Iterate to find your value. You'd have already built a community of users by then for social proof.
I'd love to test it myself if you're offering haha.
For sure, I'm also working on building a community on Twitter and product hunt.
Twitter is hard, but I followed a bunch of tech builders, and the algo shows me great content. I've been getting a few followers from my comments and some posts, so with time, I believe it will grow.
Here's the link for the iOS beta:
https://testflight.apple.com/join/kvHScsNb
Great! Well there's your start right there.
Awesome. I've already made a couple of tasks. So far so good
I think it’s great to validate early what and if users are willing to pay for it.
https://keyframes.studio - A tool to create TikTok videos of your computer screen.
Almost immediately, mostly to seek validation. I already have a couple subscribers so I am glad I did.
Sounds nice, I might actually need that in the future, so will give it a try if you have a free trial!
We are working on ERA since 2 years. We are in public beta, so everyone can try and use it for free.
Later this year we will start charging for ERA. It will be a one-time purchase, because there are too many subscription based services already on everyones bank account.
That's a long time! I'm sure you've built a community, or else you wouldn't keep working on it right?
I'm curious how big your community is and how they have helped stir you towards product market fit.
The product looks cool, will def. check it out
In the beginning we kinda build in secret. I did not know that build in public is a thing and had no clue about marketing.
This year we started to go public, with the public beta, etc.
It is not that big, currently we have around 350 users, and a lot of them provided feedback at least once.
Thank you! Always happy to hear your opinion.
Great to hear you survived the building in secret part. It can be tough!
350 who all give feedback is pure gold, especially if they start recommending your product through word of mouth!
Congrats!
I've heard the argument, that if you intend to charge, do so from the beginning. I tend to agree with it.
I wouldn't put it on a timeline, but maturity stages.
When to start charging in an MVP? As soon as you can get a user the result you promised them. Especially if you're bootstrapped, you don't win by keeping your product free.
You need to get to validation as fast as possible and you only get validation by paying customers.
You can do free trial, but not because you don't want to hear a 'no' ;)
Do you any users on the app already?
It's in beta, but yeah I've got 125 testers, but from what I can see only like 60 are using it consistently
Simply put I think you should charge as soon as you can, money is the lifeline of a business. 'as soon as you can' does not mean right away in terms of time, but right away after certain validation.
How did the testers make it onto the app, did they sign up on their own, or were they sourced and given a "free" app? Also, do you have new users signing up consistently, and what is their source?
Thanks for the response. The users are pretty organic. I went on Reddit and posted on communities I think need the product ( communities I'm in), like ADHD and getting disciplined.
I wrote an engaging and honest post about my problem and stated that I was making an app tailored a bit more for my needs (ADHD and simplicity) and asked if anyone was interested in testing the app I was building.
In some posts, I asked them to leave a comment, and I'd DM them, and for others, I just posted the link.
I only made three posts, and I occasionally leave comments on relevant posts, but they keep increasing each day slightly. It was a good response since it took about 2-4 days to get all these testers.
I will try to charge as soon as possible, but I started learning iOS dev one month ago on the side and very inconsistently.
I wasn't planning on starting a business, but I shared my progress, and many people asked me to release it that's when I joined indie hackers and started posting on Reddit.
I've only been working on it consistently for less than a month, so I plan to monetize it in January or February.
Unlike my past failed startup, I don't mind if this fails because I made it for myself and will keep working on it even if it doesn't take off.
It's very refreshing not to have this urgency to launch and be super quick and take my time, but on the other hand, I do want to test if there is demand, etc...
The best app is the one you make for yourself, and hopefully, there are a lot of people with the same need :)
here are my top 3 principles, when I am starting something:
seems like you hit all 3 requirements
I think you should have a conversation with all the users, For the ones that are active you should ask if they find value in it, if the answer is Yes then you are ready to start charging. What's the name of the app, I would like to check it out as well. Thanks
I'm just now kinda hitting all three. Just started learning SwiftUI a month ago, but my react experience made learning SwiftUI smooth. (CS Degree too)
The name is pending, but for now, it's called Divergent App.
My landing page is https://divergentapp.com.
It needs some work, but I'm not using it much since it's an app.
Here's the test flight link if you want to try it out.
I'm curious what are you working on?
Also, if you want to support me at launch ( 2 months), please subscribe to my product hunt page! I only post once a week at most with updates!
https://www.producthunt.com/upcoming/divergent