What to do with a product that won't die
Years ago, I built a simple spending tracker that works over SMS. No downloads or installs.
It's the simplest solution I could think of to a problem that had vexed me and my partner for years: How do we track our spending together without the complexity or data sharing that every other app seemed to impose?
I have no website. No sign-up flow. You can't find it anywhere.
Long story short, I got some early users on it (about a half dozen; friends) and even though I don't use this thing any more there's this one user that's been on it religiously for years now. I've promised to keep the service running for her as long as she wants it.
So anyway, it feels like there's an opportunity here. I'm not pursuing it for reasons best summed up by a mentor of mine: "You could make a million dollars with this spending tracker. But you could make 10 million from [other thing you're working on]."
Doing a spending tracker over SMS is not great for unit economics as compared to an Internet-based app. And it feels like the rules around SMS have become more restrictive since I built it (although I think those rules kick in at higher volume, so it hasn't been an issue).
Anyway, this thing is humming away on Heroku/Twilio. Requires no effort from me at all at this point.
Not sure what to do with this. But it feels like a crime for me to be sitting on it while others are looking for opportunities. This almost certainly isn't a Big Opportunity™ but it is a greater than zero opportunity.
How can we help each other here?
I'm just thinking out loud here: If you think that this could be developed further and you are not gonna do it, you could either: Sell it on MicroAcquire of Flippa, or if you don't want to give up control , set it up according to Slicing Pie and find someone here to work on it.
Selling it now will probably net you close to nothing. You still being involved would be a risk if you are literally not gonna do anything about it.
Personally I'm not convinced yet that the idea could work (I'm taking your word for it), there is just to little detail on it (maybe deliberately).
This is perfect. I'm out of the loop and didn't know about MicroAcquire, Flippa, Slicing Pie. Will take a look.
This would be my bet too. I agree, it sounds there's value to someone. At least one person finds value, but now you have to find everyone that mimics her persona. That's a lot of work, and if you'r e not interested it maybe pass the torch to someone else.
EIther way, wanted to say that's really kind of you to even consider passing it along!
Can’t hurt to make a simple landing page for it or even just open-source it on GitHub. Don’t spend more than half a day on it.
As for not pursuing it, I agree with your reasons.
If some people are enjoying the application then you are on to something. I wouldn't move on to something else when you've already got something working on your hands. Sure, it doesn't sound like its massive profitable at the moment, but if the product is getting used by a few people consistently then it must have some competitive advantage in the market. I'd double down on it and see where you can go with it.
Honestly, if it's got momentum on its own, then I'd run with it — even if it's the bare minimum of creating a website and sharing it on your socials. That'll at least give it a chance to keep gaining momentum, and it wouldn't take much time.
Does the other business have validation? If not, then putting time into your validate product would make a lot of sense.
I'd also consider your enthusiasm here. Which product do you love working on?
This reminds me of one principle with donations; if you say to someone "donate to African children", they're less likely to donate than if you pinpoint a specific child with a name and a face.
This seems to be the indie-hackers equivalent to that. I don't know the exact details to offer specific advice. Maybe this person is close to you and shutting the service down may severe the relationship. On the other hand, this thing is taking up mental space in your brain.
Maybe a good compromise would be to set things up for her in Heroku, give her a Twilio account and tell her how to fund it and let her run the software on her down. Or maybe find her an alternative. I also agree with the previous commenters, you could sell this on Microacquire or Flippa.
Great thoughts. Thank you!