
Ask HN: Should I gauge interest in my app or go straight to release? - MegaLeon
Hi everyone,<p>I&#x27;ve been developing a small web app as a personal project and I got a fully functional prototype.<p>It got potential, and I&#x27;ve been thinking about releasing a fully polished version as a proper service. That would involve getting a decent hosting plan, run testing, implement a subscription model to monetize the project.<p>My dilemma is: should I instead lightheartedly deploy this first version to gather interest and receive feedback, and then progress to a more adult version of it and redirect users?<p>People who have shipped several web apps and potentially met modest usage in a few of them, what&#x27;s your opinion?
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rcavezza
You don't need to launch this to get feedback. I would cold email five people
who you think will find it useful.

Ask them if they have this problem you're trying to solve. Ask if they
currently use something to solve that problem. Ask them for their feedback and
if they'd be willing to pay for this service.

You can find emails pretty easily by using any of the following tools:
saleshacker, voilanorbert, toofr, curtact, or
[http://emailhunter.co](http://emailhunter.co)

If you can't get people in your target market with this painpoint to answer
your email, you will have a hard time finding your first customers.

~~~
drewrv
Do you really find cold emails effective? Personally, whenever I get a cold
email I make a note of the company name and vow to never purchase a service
from them.

~~~
fucsia
I found them very effective. But I don't ask people to pay, I ask for
feedback. If the software is good, they'll want to use it anyway!

People are willing to help if you are equally open about what the software can
and cannot do. I implemented several features straight out of what people said
they wanted through email, and the product was noticeably better for it.

I've also had people not respond at all or react strangely.

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siquick
This is an excellent read by Justin Mares (co-author of the excellent Traction
book).

tldr;

Find out if people actually want your product before you build it.

`80/20 Validation: The Cheap and Fast Way to Prove a Business How to easily
test a business idea in 2 weeks with less than $100`

[https://sumome.com/stories/80-20-business-idea-
validation](https://sumome.com/stories/80-20-business-idea-validation)

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monknomo
You could start with a landing page to gauge the level of interest, and then
change your deploy plans based on the interest level?

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pavornyoh
Why not post it here and get feedback from here before proceeding to a fully
polished version?

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burkestar
The best book on this subject is Lean Startup. Build, test, iterate. Put
something out there, gather feedback and adjust.

Also consider the "show HN" to get feedback from the hacker news community.

