Validating the idea for a new project
Hey, Andy here! 👋
I started working on a new project, but this time instead of building it first and then trying to find users interested in what I built, I decided to do things properly.
This time, I am going to validate my idea BEFORE starting building anything, or at least, before building the entire thing. 😁
The idea is simple, it is an API testing framework very easy to use and running 100% locally. No servers, no subscriptions, no api keys. Just plug and play off you go!
I know there are many tools like this like Locust, Blazer, etc.. but I most of them are really complex with a gazillion of parameters and most of them run in the cloud, which means subscriptions, accounts, etc.
My tool is simple.
I plan on building the project in two main flavours:
A CLI library, which is going to be released as an NPM package which can be used as part of a deployment pipeline to test API endpoints, or just as a command line console app. (See the picture for a mockup of what I have in mind for that).
A desktop app, which is going to be available for Windows, Mac and Linux. The desktop app is going to show fancy charts, analytics, history of past test runs as well.
Keen to know what you think of this project! My main reason for writing this post is to understand if there might be any interest from the dev community in using a platform like this.
If you like the idea join the waitlist at this link!
Thanks!
Are you taking Neil Patel’s way of monetizing?
You build a really great product -> you provide for free -> you monetise other sides of the business? If not, how are you planning to monetise with no subscription?
Validating an idea is great, but I believe it’s just half of the equation. You also need to validate your idea for long-term: if its sustainable, scalable etc
This is the kind of project which might be good enough to be monetized with a one time payment. I am not going to have servers to manage, the user will run the tests / api runs from their own machine.
Are you trying to build a sustainable company or just help the dev community? Although it may seem the same, on-premise software is not creating a long-term sustainable business.I'd give it a second thought or as @petyaaa6 said I'd look into other revenue streams.
Also, paying for something which add values has x2 rewards for the user. 1. spending money 2. constant conviction that they've made the right choice.
I for once haven't used free software for more than 1 week. They usually don't improve their product because they haven't monetized so I feel like stuck in time. Just a thought... good luck @dev_bre! The solution is indeed needed, at least on our end.
Thanks a lot Alvaro! I definitely aim on monetising the solution. I am seriously considering releasing the cli as an npm library, hence free, and then having the desktop apps behind a paywall to get some return.
if you want to provide an npm package, you will have to consider the idea of not monetizing the product directly, perhaps with external consultancy or adding features for a fee.
Your code must necessarily be open source.
I'm curiously for your stack, all in JS/TS?
I just released the cli and core packages on npm.
I am considering on monetizing the desktop apps which can be downloaded from the website and maybe from stores like Microsoft and Apple.
Yes the codebase is 100% TS!
good! imho you made the best choice, anyway, I follow you on twitter. I like doing secure code reviews, as soon as I have time, I test the app and contribute!
Thank you so much! Feel free to contribute!
Hi, I like this idea. The landing page also looks really great but I. think the main image's resolution could be better :)
Thanks! I think you are right. I have to spend more time of improve the images.
sounds great! some quick advice — I would take the image you attached to this IH article, and make it the hero image on your page. It's a cool pic, and your landing page is pretty spares right now. just a thought
Just a quick update Harrison, I just updated the landing with an image and improved the copy. hope you like it!
very nice. just joined!
Thank you so much Harrison!
That's a very good point Harrison! I am actually in process of updating the landing page.
Feel free to join the waiting list if you are interested in the service!
Hey, that's a great idea! I'll definitely look into it.
I would recommend using Mailchest for collecting emails. This can be very helpful if you're trying to validate your product.
I am using something much simpler. Just a notification sent to LogSnag does the trick!
Any visuals to illustrate how the results are displayed?
For now I have the visual for the CLI. You can see in the image at the top of this article.
Still designing how the desktop app would look like.
Looks interesting, best of luck!
Thanks a lot!
I really like your tool as it is a great product. Is it free to use?
not yet, I just built the basic console CLI, but I want to wait to validate this before starting building.
Seems interesting, but developer tools usually need to be quite mature to gain the market. Good luck
Yeah I am having a feeling that this is going to be pretty tough to sell.
Looks really cool Andy! Best of luck on the product!
Thanks I appreciate!
Hey! I wonder how you plan to monetize your platform if it's without subscription?
I am thinking about going for a one time purchase to sell the desktop app and maybe open source the core and the cli.
Validating your idea before spending months working on it is a very good idea! 😄
Yeah this time I really want to do things properly and if this doesn't work out, I will just do something else!
nice article, you can post it also on Reddit to validate :)
Good idea Stacy thanks a lot!
Can't wait to see where you take this, Andy!
Thanks Joe! I really hope I can pass this validation phase and start building this!
I like the idea of building for the desktop. I myself also build apps for desktop and was considering whether my next project should be for desktop or the web. I decided to do both, as my project can fit into that.
So I would suggest you to also do that. Provide a cli and desktop app, but also a server option with advanced capabilities that could only be provided through a server. You have to find what's that for your app. And monetise that too. Maybe have an enterprise option with subscription that fits more in a business. Of course, you need to find what value you can bring to a business for that to work.
I've been slowly moving to this formula as well. Simple landing page (no product) --> Validate --> Build.
Shamelessly plugging in SenecAI. This is the exact use case we are trying to solve for. Founders wanting to validate fast so they can start building ASAP.