I don't know if I f*cked up, I spent 3 years building this, can I get feedback on it?

[angelena]

I spent 3 years building this API. I did it without really validating the idea but I am confident there are users for this since affordable data is a really big pain point for the retail market and its a problem I had myself.

I guess you can say I'm more of a technical guy than a sales guy. With that being said, I can't get any signups, I've gotten maybe 4 signups in 1-2 weeks and no usage. Can I get some feedback? Feedback on pricing would also be nice. My product is BeamAPI .

Also, I'm not sure if the pricing page has rendering issues but there doesn't seem to be any in real life usage so if you can help me confirm that as well that would be nice.

Any feedback and tips are appreciated. Thanks.

 

[scot21t]

@angelena Well the good news is that you have a feature filled MVP to get feedback on. Just don't get too attached to it once you start getting customer feedback.

If you spent 3 years on this you could probably spend a few hours going through startup school

How to get your first customers

How to Plan an MVP

Or even better start reading the startup owners manual

I'm not your customer so I can't say much else

 

[angelena]

@scot21t Thanks for the resources, I will look through them!

I have already become very attached to this lol

 

[mae19681995]

@angelena I have an app on the App Store and would love to integrate with this. I think the paid tier is just a bit too high as a flat rate, would it be possible to introduce some form of metered billing?

 

[thaotran4]

@angelena We’ve all been there brother, just move on quickly if everyone thinks ur idea is shit and try to pivot (im projecting)

 

[araina]

@scot21t Never heard of The Startup Manual. Quickly checked the link and it was published in 2012. How relevant is the context today?

Some writings age like fine wine, sometimes not. Before I dive deep into what are your thoughts?

 

[scot21t]

@araina Yes it's definitely still relevant. It's not a book you really want to read front to back. Think of it more like a textbook that you refer back to with nuts and bolts guidance on whatever particular part of the process you're in.

Some of it has aged but much of the guidance on customer development is pretty timeless

 

[testifysss]

@scot21t Great resources

 

[beachsidebob]

@scot21t Hey they’re I’ve completed startup school but haven’t heard of the startup owners manual. Do you think it’s worth taking the time to read or is it redundant with startup school

 

[scot21t]

@beachsidebob Just replied to another comment. I like startup school because it's very information dense. I think the startup manual is a good textbook for the school imo. Some of it you're already familiar with but will give a more complete process to follow.

It's not a book you really want to read front to back. Think of it more like a textbook that you refer back to with nuts and bolts guidance on whatever particular part of the process you're in.

 

[sarsath]

@angelena Your website claims that your product is for developers.
But that's not the case. Developers don't need/want your data/api.

When I am coding in c# I never say sentences like: "I wish I had some financial data from Edgar.

So the question is: who needs your data?
Economically, this project only makes sense when there are use cases where customers need your api on a regular basis.
When they need it just once you cannot build a sustainable revenue stream.

 

[cocacola10]

@angelena Have you put it on API marketplaces like RapidAPi?

 

[angelena]

@cocacola10 I will look into this. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[echidna]

@angelena Who is your primary target group?

 

[angelena]

@echidna This is where I realized my product is falling through the cracks a bit. Big firms would most likely build out their own data pipeline to be safe so my product is mostly for academicians, researchers (whether in academia or firms), small/individual shops that don't want to build out their own data pipeline.

Any tips on how I can market to these people?

 

[saddle]

@angelena You could target algotraders.

 

[ellegiuliana]

@saddle Agree, I think it's worth posting in their sub too.

 

[echidna]

@angelena I'm not in that niche, so I can't offer specific advice.

However, from my perspective as a developer, it seems your target audience consists of developers who are building the tools for, as you mentioned:

mostly for academicians, researchers (whether in academia or firms), small/individual shops that don't want to build out their own data pipeline.

From the other hand, can you make some Lead Gen tool out of it?

 

[angelena]

@echidna What do you mean by "Lead Gen tool" ? I plan on making a list of some people in these areas and cold emailing them (particularily starting with universities). Is that what you mean? If so, any particular approach you recommend or any tips for closing these people?

 

[echidna]

@angelena Lead Gen tool is a tool where you can get some data based on query parameters. Give me top 100 companies where annual whatever was ... kind of query filters.

If you can do that w/ data you have then do proper SEO, advertise it a bit etc.

Your niche will be any agency targeting companies from your db: lawyers, marketing, accounting, seo etc.

Also, you have an API, so you can expose it for any agency which is building such a tool (or such a feature in their existing tool).