Had you asked me 6 years ago I wouldn't have thought there was a business in palettes either. But I built COLOURlovers to solve simple problems for creative folks? What color should I use for this? Does this color look good with that one? ...It was just a small idea for some creative folks I knew to play with... and it organically grew into the site it is today.
Had we raised money out of the gate on the premise that there was a business in palettes... we probably would have executed differently and killed what we were growing.
Instead it grew naturally and we took guidance from our users, creating new products and services for them. We're profitable because we're lean and don't need a lot of the large expenses some other founders have to deal with. This has been our greatest asset as we built COLOURlovers.
Now, we have a thriving community of people, a solid amount of traffic and a business model that doesn't take anything away from the experience our users love and use.
And another point about niche... when the whole world is your audience, even the most obscure interests can find a sizable market.
"Had we raised money out of the gate on the premise that there was a business in palettes... we probably would have executed differently and killed what we were growing."
What was your reasoning for joining YC after you already had momentum?
Had we raised money out of the gate on the premise that there was a business in palettes... we probably would have executed differently and killed what we were growing.
Instead it grew naturally and we took guidance from our users, creating new products and services for them. We're profitable because we're lean and don't need a lot of the large expenses some other founders have to deal with. This has been our greatest asset as we built COLOURlovers.
Now, we have a thriving community of people, a solid amount of traffic and a business model that doesn't take anything away from the experience our users love and use.
And another point about niche... when the whole world is your audience, even the most obscure interests can find a sizable market.