Ask HN: Should I build an affordable tech toolkit for Startups?
The toolkit will contain:
1. A website 2. A REST API 3. A chatbot
Today, there are no shortage of free to affordable options for setting up either one of these. However, if you're not tech-savvy, figuring out how to put all the pieces together could easily set you back weeks to months in time, and hundreds to several thousands in real dollars.
In addition, the numerous SaaS options available compel you to put all your content [and trust] in the company hosting the service. And, once this content goes in [to these service platforms], you can't just download/backup your site/app or migrate to another provider [or host it yourself]; there's somewhat of a lock-in.
This tech toolkit is designed for a specific type of user who:
- is in need of a solution that costs a maximum of US$200 and can be deployed in 60 minutes or less to commodity cloud services - would rather pay a reasonable, fixed upfront fee to setup their tech infrastructure, rather than multiple, perpetual subscriptions - would like to have direct access to the source code powering their tech infrastructure - would like to be able to customize things without having to wrangle with too many obscure/opinionated technologies - is open to following clear, step-by-step, deterministic, technical instruction to install and setup the solution - is open to [quickly learn how to] tweak markup/markdown or update human-friendly configuration files if they need to make updates - would like to have the ability to easily outsource updates/customizations/extensions to a developer if they need to
Using this toolkit is probably not going to be as 'easy' as one of the [no-code] SaaS options, but life just isn't meant to be.
It's not designed to be a one-size-fits-all solution. It's also not designed to be competitive and/or exclusionary; there is no 'Us vs Them' model in play here because you can still integrate other third-party services. It's meant to be an available option for startup founders [and existing business owners] to get basic tech assets for their business going at a reasonable initial cost.
My current execution strategy is thus:
A. Validate: via a small group of early customers/feedbackers (20 to 30 to raise $2K to $3K) B. Launch: in 60 days [post-validation] to the public C. Sustain: update the solution post-launch to make it as good as possible, plus add relevant features at a manageable pace
Currently, I'm bootstrapping a startup called Restive. We're in the process of pivoting away from the traditional client-services approach, and instead focusing on building a suite of productized, open-core services that developers, designers, and enthusiasts can harness to build things for the Web.
One of the ways I've considered funding our growth is through a Series SP [for Side Project :)]. This way, I can eliminate the need to partner with non-aligned [with reality] capital sources. 'Experimenting to see if this project could assist with that effort.
I apologize to anyone reading this who would have liked to see some hard specs + features, but this post seems too long already. I'm happy to share more info in discussion here or via email [ohill@restive.io]. What I can say is that I'm sticking as close to native [HTML + CSS + JavaScript] as possible with a small set of extra tooling where absolutely necessary.
Again, I'm grateful for your feedback. Thanks for your time.