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Idea validation: Would you pay for these services for special needs children?

Hello fellow indie hackers,

New member here. I’m looking for feedback on two ideas that I'm pursuing as well as both landing pages.

The first idea is called ‘David’s Care’, which is a platform made specifically for families with special needs children where they can find sitter

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    Hi Dennis,

    Firstly I want to mention that I appreciate the heart behind both ideas. It's great you have decided that this is something you want to put your time and effort behind. It's super easy to forget that so many thing we take for granted are not that normal for many, so anybody that is working for those people I have a lot of respect for. 🙏

    I'll just walk through both and will try to provide as much feedback as I can. I might be given some super specific suggestions and you can obviously take them with a grain of salt. You probably know better than me how to word or convey what you are doing. These might just help give another option or idea:

    David's Care

    • Think it is a great name and really like the logo. The font family/style gives off that feeling of warmth, care, and softness that you want to have associated with the platform. I can imagine you might want to change it in the future but I think it is absolutely perfect for now.
    • Although I think the tagline is sufficient, I would probably go with a tagline like this: Special needs care tailored for your child, provided by our amazing caretakers.
    • Text I'd go for something like: "We know it is hard for parents to find suitable caretakers for their special needs kid when needed. This is why we are here to help. With a community of incredible caretakers that have experience with other wonderful children like yours, we make sure that when you have to work or be off, you have the piece of mind that your child is getting the best care possible." "We are currently working on the platform to ensure you will get the best service we can offer. Sign up below to get an update when we go live." This is all just to give a different approach. I think what you have set up is already really nice and should be good enough to test the idea for sure.
    • Design wise: I notice that the box in which the text lives is rather big and it means I need to scroll down to see the signup form. I think with the amount of text you have it should be possible to have it all visible above the fold, just making it look a little bit cleaner. Other than that, I'd say maybe make the background image high-quality so it is a bit less pixxelated and maybe if we can see the entire image with the child as well (now covered by the text box) that might be nicer. Could be an option for example to just split the screen (62% on the left is the image, 38% on the right is the text).
    • Idea wise: really hard for me to judge as I have no exact experience that can give me insight into your target group but I can imagine you are solving a real problem.

    Axess Ride

    • Again, hard for me to judge exactly how much of a true problem it is but I can imagine offering the option of ride sharing for ANYBODY that is mobility impaired (also special needs children) is a great service to have.
    • Text wise I think it is clear what you are providing and should be good for what you are testing.
    • Design wise: Same points as above. Just make sure we can see everything above the fold. The text is a bit on the large size which I think is not necessary, dropping the input field below.

    I hope you can use it in some shape or form.

    I wish you all the best with whatever project you'll end up pursuing. Think both their concepts are really great. ❤️

    Valentijn

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      Hey Valentijn, thanks so much for the very thorough feedback, and I really appreciate the encouragement! Yes, the special needs space is close to my heart as my brother had cerebral palsy and I saw first hand some of the struggles my parents had to go through with him.

      I do like the more personal verbiage in your suggestions of the tagline and text which will definitely lead to an emotional reaction. Thanks for providing feedback on the design, that's something I don't have too much expertise so it's something I overlook, so I'll definitely look into applying your suggestions.

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        Anytime Dennis! All the best with the projects. If you need some more feedback, do not hesitate to reach out 👍

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    You would likely want to either be charging the sitters and vehicle owners for access to the platform or take a cut of their revenue.

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      I hadn't thought about charging them but it's something worth considering. Thanks for your feedback!

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    I can't really speak to the vehicular one, although I am a big proponent of car sharing. I recently lent my van (through Turo) to someone who had a child in a body cast.

    The care-giving one is a good idea. I have used Care.com in the past, and my kids while having special needs, don't really require a special needs sitter. Despite all that, it's probably my own anxieties that keep me from hiring a sitter that we don't know.

    My wife and I were kicking around some stuff in the special-ed space. So this is kind of exciting.

    1. 1

      Thanks for that feedback! That's great that you and your wife are exploring ideas in the special ed space, that is much needed!

      A few questions based on your post:

      1. Might be an obvious answer but, when you lent your van on Turo, did they choose your van because the need they had with their child?

      2. Have you used the same sitter to care for your kids for a while? Did you choose this person because of any prior experience caring for children with similar cases as your kids, or did this not have anything to do with your choice?

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        1. Yep. She was local and she had 3 kids one was in a body cast. So she needed the space to lay flat

        2. We usually use family or friends. Or parents night out programs.

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