
Ask HN: What would you like in a simple video editor? - photawe
I&#x27;ve created a video editor, and I&#x27;m looking for ways to improve it. My focus has been on simplicity for you (not looking to compete with Adobe or anything).<p>With that in mind, I&#x27;d like to know what you guys would like in a <i>simple</i> video editor, to see if&#x2F;when I could actually implement it.
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brudgers
I'd like to see what you have built so far.

~~~
photawe
Here it is - [https://phot-awe.com](https://phot-awe.com) \- it's Windows 10
only so far. I may port it to Mac/mobile 10+ months from now, if there's
interest.

~~~
brudgers
_FREE While In BETA_

Turn the beta into 1.0 and start charging. It will validate that a market
exists. Or that one doesn't exist. Get that answer now and find people who are
willing to pay. Don't build a product for people who will never pay.

~~~
photawe
Right, thanks for the advice. I do want to add a few more features and then do
more or less just that.

The way I validated the idea (at least, that was my train of thought) - was by
publishing videos created with my app on twitter.

While a lot of people liked the videos (market validation), I've had to work a
__lot __on making the app user friendly. And making it fast - that was an
insane amount of time.

I can finally say that I've more or less achieved both - and I'm waiting to
see what people trying it will think (I do have a feedback form)

~~~
brudgers
This YC essay might be relevant [https://blog.ycombinator.com/ycs-essential-
startup-advice/](https://blog.ycombinator.com/ycs-essential-startup-advice/)

As I understand it the plan is selling a tool for making videos not selling
videos. Many tools produce likable videos that might be tweeted. Which tool
made a likable video does not matter to the viewer.

Good luck.

~~~
photawe
Thanks! I've read the article - now, I need to read the other articles it
references to ;)

> Which tool made a likable video does not matter to the viewer.

Agreed, what I want to provide is a way for people to build those likeable
videos, very fast and easy.

From the article:

> Surprisingly, launching a mediocre product as soon as possible, and then
> talking to customers and iterating, is much better than waiting to build the
> “perfect” product.

Agreed. I've been gathering feedback for a while - that's basically why I
worked on speed improvements / and better UI. Unfortunately that meant a looot
of time. Basically, I had to change the underlying rendering technology which
took me roughly 5 months. Revamping the UI - another 3 months. Needless to
say, a LOT more than I expected.

> Do things that don't scale

I have a few emails for some small businesses that I'd like to offer this to
try. The idea is for them to create really cool videos - really fast - for
their social media.

I'm also thinking instagram / tiktok - this basically means vertical video -
which is kinda' next on my todo list.

> growth is not always the right choice. If you have not yet made something
> your customers want ... it makes little sense to grow

This is what I need to figure out - if people want my product. And I'd like to
focus on small businesses that want to improve their social media presence.

\------

I used to read asmartbear.com, but then I ended up having no free time
whatsoever. That is probably my biggest problem - working too much, and
focusing too little on the business part.

