
Built it and they didn't come. - sharemywin
How many people have built something and no was is using it? On the flip side, did you come up with and idea only to change it or scrap it because you talked to customers first?
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qvikr
We first spoke to prospective users about germ.io and everyone "felt" the
problem (managing ideas and building on them till they get to execution) - but
they thought it was too big a problem to be solved through software. But at
that point we were only looking to see if the problem we were trying to solve
was real - not fit our solution in.

Once you know you're solving a problem that exists, you can't figure out fit
by just talking to people - you need to throw out a (crappy) version and let
real people play. We don't have the time/ $$s to spend months and THEN know we
don't have a fit. So decided to roll out an MDP in pre-beta cycles called
"Omega's" (story: blog.germ.io/wtfs-an-omega/). In the last week, we've had
over 800 signups and 200 users we've opened access to, so I guess the
challenge is to build -> ship -> iterate.

The family and friends you talk to before you have a prototype are the people
who'd _tell_ you they think your stuff is cool, but would never take their
wallets out if they weren't doing you a personal favor. Their word and opinion
isn't really worth much.

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idoh
Happens all the time, unfortunately. Now, whenever I work on a project, the
very first thing I think about is how the distribution is going to work, and
then build the app around that.

The interesting thing I've found is that in the successful apps I've worked
on, distribution has been 90% of the effort, and the actual app people see is
like 10%. So in a way distribution _is_ the app.

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ASquare
The latter.

Ideally you should always talk to potential users/customers first to validate
if you you idea truly is one that solves a genuine problem (ie
problem/solution fit).

Only then go and build an MVP and test it with these same people - who can
then also refer other interested people (ie product/market fit).

Here you will truly validate the need for the product and/or pivot to
something else that can get to product/market fit.

Then, and only then should you look to do things like marketing to get the
product in front of people.

This is the lean startup approach.

Following (something like) this significantly raises the odds of success.
Building it in the hope of someone finding it/using it is a waste of
time/money/energy.

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ceeK
Yeh, I built Firework Flare ([https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/firework-
flare/id513766705?m...](https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/firework-
flare/id513766705?mt=8)), an iPad game, in 2011-12.

It was my first venture into iOS development, and I used it as a learning
tool. The idea was one I had for awhile: to blend two cool games.

It gets about 1-10 downloads a day. I never did any marketing. I was quite
naive in my thinking; it's almost as if I had to make that mistake to fully
grasp it though.

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jipy9
Could you explain a bit - users used it and then stopped using it? Or, nobody
discovered what you built?

If earlier, did you try to find out why users stopped using it?

If later, how do you expect me to find this great product that I don't exists
yet. You didn't even provide a link here.

Famously, before Ford built cars, he asked users and they said they wanted
faster (horse) carriages (cars were too expensive, clumsy and broke down all
the time). Thankfully, Ford didn't set out to make carriages or the horses
faster.

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AbhishekBiswal
Recently I (with my friend) created this tool called reedme.in which is
getting like 70 pageviews / day. Excluding our pageviews. It's live :
[http://reedme.in](http://reedme.in)

We don't have any idea what to do right now, so we made it open source and
we're focusing on our main project.

~~~
dsschnau
Nice - make a Firefox Extension and I'll be a daily user.

~~~
AbhishekBiswal
Will do. Thanks!

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amac
I learnt the hard-way that pre-marketing is an absolute must. Start by
engaging with folks in your space and your potential audience/customer base.
Blogging and starting a email newsletter are obvious examples but there's a
ton of other digital marketing techniques you can use.

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amac
> Happens all the time, unfortunately. Now, whenever I work on a project, the
> very first thing I think about is how the distribution is going to work, and
> then build the app around that.

This. Make something people want is the first step, then you need to figure
out the distribution.

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gburt
Pretty much anyone that has ever built something has been there. You either
built something in search of a problem (i.e., something no one wanted) or
failed to reach the audience that did want it (a marketing issue).

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mattwritescode
As someone who is currently working on a project it is something at the back
of your mind.

That being said I think if you have done the research and know there is a
market you should have no reason not to have users.

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jesusmichael
sourceforge is full of cool shit only a handful of people use... This is why
you need a salesperson... the pet rock sold 1M units in 8 months, why because
people thought it was cool. Most stuff never gets any thought because dev guys
think they can create stuff without sales guys to pitch it. Doesn't work like
that... If your light is hidden under a bushel, it doesn't it make it any less
of a light... it means you don't know how to get the bushel off.

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dsschnau
This is one of those things I'm afraid of whenever I start a project.

