My project got too big, thinking about pivoting - need advice
I'm working on workflow web app, doing full-stack. The app lets you create web forms, design their flow, and even expose forms to the public, like Google Forms do, for example. Our home page, https://new-desk.com is not finished yet, but screenshots will give you the idea how the end product looks like.
Initially I wanted to make it a SaaS for other web developers, so they could make their own apps in it, and earn on them. We've got end user UI in (let's say) MVP stage, but UI for designers is far from perfect. It won't be ready for the public at least for a couple of months. But we can use the Designer part internally, though. Working on the whole project is taking waaay too long and I need money to pay the bills, otherwise I'll have to find a full-time job in a couple of weeks.
My non-technical co-founder came up with the idea to create a complaint resolution workflow in our app, make this our MVP and earn on this first. It also takes time - separate website, separate branding, setting up payments, social media, tutorials, knowing the business, and probably much more. We're slowly filling our website with content (https://szybkareklamacja.pl - it's polish, sorry). There's almost no traffic, but we've already got 2 paying customers this way. NewDesk is basically a process factory, we can spit out new end-user solutions even daily, but selling is the hard part.
I've started working without a solid plan, without current market validation. It was a huge mistake. But now I have to make a decision which way to go.
What would you do, having only 2-3 weeks of time left? Focus on mass building other workflow apps for end-users, find customers for the one app we've got, doing some social media stuff, finish the designer part, look for day job or... maybe something else?
I'd appreciate any feedback.
A common mistake when you first start building products is to build a big solution without validating the market first, you will hear people that have successful businesses tell you several times to "Create the smallest possible product to sell", "Validate" or to "Make an MVP" and then we think we are different and that our idea will sell without considering the labor that products need to be established in the market. (This has happened to me too don't feel bad).
If you are having sales of the complaint resolution workflow (Congratulations, you already have a product that sells, now refine it) I would focus on that, buy a new domain in English a .com would be better but if not there are many other extensions that can work like .io or .app and translate your software by default to English, start offering a free trial maybe x days (14 would be OK) without a credit card required and check how many people you can capture with a small marketing campaign (even if it is with your own connections) or offer a good package for limited time if you need money faster and you will see if you can acquire enough interest for your app.
It is very hard to work on something "Because it sells" but maybe in the future you can focus on the stuff that you and your team really want to have. I have learned that if the market is yelling at you to do something it is time to act.
Since I don't know your situation it is very hard to tell what to do, but if you can hang in there for some time and try to sell this product that has customers in a relatively small market for a bigger audience give it a shot (Everybody on the team should be selling). You might as well try to find a job and continue growing the product on a side, but in my experience that is very hard if you are the only technical founder, you need big chunks of time to make significant advancements to your products.
Be careful with pricing, low pricing and high pricing will kill a business.
I hope my comments help in some way.
Check this: https://www.toptal.com/designers/ux/saas-ux-design
Have a nice day.
Thank you for this post, and your time, @cesarrdz! You read my mind.
You're absolutely right, that it's hard to work on something that's not your passion. That's why I try to start my own business instead of working full time for somebody else. It'll be also hard to find free time and focus, having a day job, wife and a little baby ;) Normally i wouldn't even publish this post and gather feedback slowly another way. But I want so hard for this project to succeed, that I'm going all-in. Day job will be probably financially OK for me, but thinking about failure of the project because lack of time is a little depressing.
Anyway, you and helped me a lot. Your ideas and arguments will surely help me to choose the right thing to do. Thanks!
No problem, I hope everything turns out alright. :)
I've never been full-time indie hacker, but I've had to pivot from a large project, to a much smaller one - but which has realistic goals for a husband and father of 3 to complete inside of 12 months. For me, the decision to tackle something smaller, that can reach $$ in a quicker time-frame has been a good one, and much better for my morale.
So my vote is that if there's something smaller, that will get you paying customers sooner, then imo that's a good move - esp. if you run into time constraints because you have a job that has to pay the bills.
Thanks, @InquisitorJax. You're absolutely right. That taking your approach would give me much better results.
My problem is that I haven't seen things like that when i started ;) My appetite have been (still is, I guess) too big and I wanted to start big from the beginning. I got over-optimistic and thought it's gonna be easier. And then i dove straight into ...cutting edge libraries, like Polymer for example :] Whoever's reading this: DON'T do it :] It's really hard to estimate time when working with things you don't know.
I'd focus on getting a day job and then work on something small on the side, maybe 10 hours a week.
Thanks, @alchemist. That's the safest choice for me, but my pride will be tough to swallow ;)
I think it might help force you to focus on either 1) audience building or 2) something simple where you can get to a finished product more quickly.
FWIW, I've never spent more than twenty hours in a week on Alchemist Camp and the average is less than 10hr/week. It's just been slow and steady progress, first just putting out videos, then building an email list, slowly improving the site, and now working on a 2nd product.
One thing that forced me to pursue this strategy was wrist injuries that forced me to limit my time working on it. In retrospect, though, two years earlier when I had the opportunity to spend 60+ hours a week working on a product, I bit off something too ambitious and failed.
I would vote for mass building and earning more capital to maybe start on other options later. Also by building those apps you may find more insights for the future ideas.
Thanks, Povilas! My intuition tells me the same thing. The only thing i worry about is that not enough clients will know about these apps before we're out of cash, and will have to pause for a couple of months working on somebody else's dreams ;)
Oh I misunderstood, I thought you already had clients for these apps :) then I don't know what you should do, but it feels that you need quick income to feel less stress and then come back with more power.