Why I'm launching a purposefully simple organiser

The last few times I've started a project, I've tried to use productivity / organisational tools. However, after a few weeks of fighting with features I didn't need, I'd always end up going back to a simple pen and paper grid.

A grid just makes sense. It gives you a high-level overview of everything at once. But it has a fatal flaw: you can't edit it. It quickly becomes a messy, crossed-out document that adds to the chaos instead of reducing it.

All I really wanted was a clean, digital version of that simple paper grid, without any of the bloat. I couldn't find one, so I decided to build it. It's called Toad and you can see more here - https://www.meettoad.co.uk/

The Philosophy: "Purposefully Simple"

My core bet with Toad is that there's a huge, underserved group of people out there. They're either stuck with a messy paper system that can't keep up, or they're tired of bloated software that gets in their way. They don't want more features; they want more focus.

So, I'm building Toad to be purposefully simple. This doesn't mean "no-frills" in a cheap way. It means obsessing over the details that make the core experience feel great—the speed, the responsiveness, the satisfying feeling of checking off a task—and being ruthless about leaving everything else out.

Growth Strategy - Template as a Product

It's just me based in London, so I'm having to be innovative on how I can gain my first users on limited budget. My growth strategy is focused on providing users with templates that they can instantly use to get going and easily demonstrate how the product works.

Instead of trying to rank for generic terms like "productivity tool," I'm creating a gallery of high-value, pre-populated templates that solve specific, painful problems. People don't search for "grid software," but they do search for:

• "The Ultimate Revision Planner"
• "A Simple Job Application Tracker"
• "Freelance Client Pipeline"

Each of these templates will be a landing page, designed to attract a user at their moment of highest intent. The goal is for them to sign up not for a generic tool, but for an instant solution.

The Launch Plan & Business Model

I'm launching in cohorts to stay focused. The first core market is students. The plan is to partner with university societies and offer a generous "free for a year" plan to get mass adoption and build a loyal user base that will (hopefully!) take Toad with them into their professional careers.

The pricing is designed to be a no-brainer:

• Free: 2 grids, with full access to the template gallery.
• Personal: £2/month for up to 10 grids.
• Pro: £5/month for up to 100 grids and and the ability to create your own templates

In the future there will be a Team Toad option to give teams a simple and cost-effective option to manage a project.

As you'll see, there are many areas to take the templates - https://www.meettoad.co.uk/templates/professionals/.

My Ask

As a thank you for your time and feedback, any fellow Indie Hackers who sign up from this post will get a free lifetime Personal account.

You can check out the beta landing page here: https://www.meettoad.co.uk/

I would love to get feedback on:

• General thoughts on the idea
• Other features which could make it better
• Templates you have created / would like help making
• Any other thoughts!

Thanks for reading.

Tom