What should I do next? Should I keep building or stop and seek validation? Appreciate your feedback.
Hey community, would really appreciate your feedbacks on what to do next :).
I recently working on a product called Demokit. It provides a library of product demo videos to indie hackers and startup teams to watch excellent videos of different types and analyze the video scripts through AI technology, enabling users to learn about the production ideas of these videos, providing inspiration for their own product demo video creation, reducing the difficulty of video production and improving efficiency.
My current confusion lies in whether just providing users with text scripts for reference can really bring them value. I'm thinking if I could provide a simple web-base video editor and present the scripts as video templates, allowing users to directly edit them, would it be better?
However, doing so would extend my development cycle, which makes me uneasy. I don't know if this is meaningful or not, and I'm afraid that users don't actually need it and I've spent too much energy on it. And personally, I prefer to use tested video scripts as a reference and my familiar video editor to complete the video creation.
I need to understand the opinions of ohters in order to further improve and develop this product. I hope this product can bring value to indie hackers and small startup teams, and I need your feedback and suggestions.
Thank you for your time and help. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please share them in the comments section. Looking forward to hearing your opinions!
Thank you!❤️❤️
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and challenges with the development cycle.
1️⃣ I feel that a working prototype is crucial for seeking quality validation. It allows you to showcase your product's potential and gather valuable feedback. 💡📈
2️⃣ Be mindful not to overinvest (time, effort, money etc.) in the prototype. Only allocate resources that you can afford to lose. The goal is to create a lightweight early version effortlessly, gracefully accepting outcomes, and taking the next step. 🌱💸
3️⃣ Set a budget and deadline for your prototype. This helps in assessing progress and making timely decisions. If you don't receive X validations or gain active/paid users within Y days after spending Z amount, it's a sign to take action and reevaluate your approach. 🗓️💼
4️⃣ Remember, seeking validation may involve exploring other approaches and addressing various aspects of your product development. Adaptability and resilience are key to handling any situation. 💪🌟
Feel free to ask more questions or write to me😀
All the best 👍
Thank you very much for your valuable advice, I much agree with your idea that it is crucial to make a product prototype first, and I have already started to do it.
Thanks for sharing!!
I believe that it will be an invaluable asset to independent creators and startup teams by drastically cutting down the complexities attached to video production.
As per your quandary, whether text scripts alone can deliver substantial value to users or not, both paths you've outlined have merits to consider.
Deciphering scripts into captivating narrative structures is indeed an art, but one many may find abstract to grasp without concrete examples. Providing scripts in a simplistic web-based video editor as visual templates might bridge this gap, make things more intuitive, reducing 'text to screen' time significantly.
Conversely, extending the development cycle comes with its own set of risks. Spending more time on a feature that users might not require could divert resources from focusing on refining what already works.
However, herein lies an alternative approach - validation. Before making a significant pivot in product development, why not ask your potential users directly? Poll them regarding features they'd find useful, or conduct a beta testing group for receiving constructive criticism. This way, you can adapt to user preferences efficiently and create something truly tailormade.
Every product begins as an idea; it's the constant evolution based on real-time feedback that makes it successful. It's equally imperative to trust your instincts; after all, you understand your vision best.
Please share your thoughts below. Eager to hear from you all!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and providing insightful suggestions.
It is true that plain text scripts may be too abstract and suspicious for users to incorporate into their workflows. Therefore, I believe that developing a web-based video editor may help make it more intuitive for users to directly use it and improve productivity.
And you are right that potential users should be allowed to vote on the features they find useful to obtain constructive feedback. Therefore, I would prioritize the development of text script parsing to ensure its accuracy. After completed the product prototype, I will collect user feedback and analyze visit data to determine if there is a need to develop an editor.
Thank you again for your help！
You're welcome!
If possible I'd love to join your project as a tech guy and is there any better way to communicate?
I'm really honored that you are willing to join this project, but I don't have the ability to hire others at the moment. 😂
I'd love to join this project as a partner and want to make it happen. :))
Thank you very much for your kindness and trust, but at this stage I am not ready to have a partner.
Oh. I understand.
What I mean was that like gathering ideas and validate together kind of things.
Through your post I found common interests and it would be great to work with together from scratch.
Please let me know if you're interested!!!