IdeaFit: A new journey
I'm a serial solopreneur wannabe.
While I did see some success in the past (see Candl or Vim From Scratch), I failed to reach a point where I could leave my day job to fully devote myself to my projects (and my family).
Hoping to change that with my new venture.
The project is called IdeaFit and is about collecting user's feedback - ideas, defects, questions all on a public board with the ability to vote.
It's nothing new — there are tons of similar products on the market. But I'm hoping to differentiate with my unique view on design and my aim for simplicity.
Starting from now on I'll try to post regularly about my decision-making regarding UI/UX, pricing, promotion, etc. Why I'm doing this? I believe it can help solidify ideas, and of course, I also hope to learn from you guys.
So here we go (again)!
Best of luck, Ianis. Just followed you on Twitter :)
Thanks mate 🙌
Unpopular opinion: if you don't have strict ideas how to distinguish from others don't do it.
Don't get me wrong: I know these days almost impossible to find a niche without thousands of competitors but this one is not only crowded but also it's very hard to be different. Such apps are "low fruits" - very easy to implement. But they are very hard to sell. I'd recommend to try to "sell" first to see if you are ready - send cold emails, try to find potential customers to talk etc.
If you are 100% sure you will not give up after you build it (but who can be sure?) try to find a subniche - say you create feedback boards for airspace companies. Doing so, you will know their needs and pains better - and will able to create a unique solution with really low competition.
Anyway, good luck!
That's a valid concern. I'm constantly thinking in fact how can I differentiate among hundreds of similar products out there, and I still don't have an answer.
Couple ideas I have right now is to try to make it easier for people to track the statuses of ideas, and for developers to send out the list of changes. I imagine that if you create or upvote an idea you'll end up receiving email notifications when status changes, new feedback appears, etc. Its not easy to get right, but probably could work.
Plus I will need to think through the pricing. I will most probably make the entry plan completely free, and then the top one will not be higher than 29 per month. The idea is to make it super simple for webmasters to start up, and let them know they won't pay a penny.
So, we'll see how it goes. Thanks for this comment.
Well, right, but making the product better from the end users doesn't make it more appealing for those who pay. In this business model, they are different. Good luck with whatever you decide to go!
I had a similar idea a while ago, but I couldn't come up with concrete reasons why my solutions would provide better value than others'.
I'm a noob so I don't know but can design and simpler UX be enough to attract customers?
Well, good point. I'm noob as well. I can't answer this question unfortunately, but we will have to see. My mindset is that if it fails at least I will learn some lessons.
Godspeed bruh!
Good luck @yanis! I'm keen to follow along.
Good luck. It's not easy being a solopreneur. Most important thing is not to quit, and genuinely keep trying. If your not building in public on Twitter I recommend doing it as it's a great way to get some exposure!
Oh yeah I see your on Twitter. I gave you a follow. I hope you post about your journey so I can follow it 😁
Thank you sir. I'm not that active on Twitter, but I'll try to change that
It's been an amazing experience of using it for myself. In terms of reaching customers / prospective customers and customer discovery. I also see it being used as a great marketing tool. There's really huge benefits to using it! Anyways those are just my thoughts on it 😁
Wish you good luck with the new product!!
Awesome! Good luck Ianis 💪.
Best of luck for the new journey I am also working on a new idea you can see here and if you need any help regarding this field you can visit here.
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Exactly! I tried several of them, and they are usually overpriced or overloaded with features, or most commonly both