Idea to launch on Product Hunt in 1 week - What I learned

I would like to start by thanking the Indie Hackers community, it has taught me so much.

Ok let’s begin.

Idea Generation & Planning

Idea Generation - Firstly I started with a constraint, I wanted a product that could be submitted to the Product Hunt Makers Festival WFH Edition. This allowed me to focus my ideas. Secondly, I wanted the built in a product category that I was familiar with that was not directly software related. Familiarity with category was important here ( as you will see later). I decided to go with building a web app for teachers. For value proposition I decide to go with the time tested “collection of resource” website so popular on product hunt.

Planning - Here I just came up with the type of content that should be featured on the site. This is where “familiarity with category” came in because I have a small network of teachers that could help me.

Tech Stack

Frontend - Gatsby.js - which uses React, GraphQL & I chose to use CSS Modules for styling

Backend - I used Node.js & Express.js to build an API to interact with my email service

Email Service - Email Octopus, I saw them here on Indie Hackers first. User friendly, great customer service & price

Hosting -
Frontend --> Netlity
Backend --> Heroku
Repo --> Github

Development & Design

I focused first on building functionality, then styling after. Finished large tasks first and then worry about the details.

For design I looked for inspiration from dribbble, method.blue, saaspages

In conclusion

I learned about building fast, while rapidly making mistakes and experiencing setbacks all in a short time. I learned that setting constraints, limitations, and deadlines to your projects do wonders for productivity.

I go live on Product Hunt today April 20, 2020 please check it out:
www.teacherwfhchecklist.com

I would love some feedback on the web app. And also some strategies on how to reach teachers.