Should I Build It Should I Build It
10 Apr 2025
Community

a platform to help people meet other like minded people offline in ...

...their area

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Swamp

The market has seen several mediocre solutions that nobody loves. Unless you can offer something fundamentally different, you’ll likely struggle to stand out or make money.

Should You Build It?

Don't build it.

Your are here

You're entering a crowded space. Our analysis puts your idea for a platform to meet like-minded people offline into the "Swamp" category, meaning there are several existing solutions, but none have truly captured the market's heart. With 13 similar products identified, the competition is high, and standing out will be a significant challenge. Engagement with similar products is low, averaging only 3 comments per launch, indicating that these solutions haven't sparked widespread conversation or adoption. There is neither positive nor negative net use or net buy signals from the similar products, so it appears that people may not be expressing a strong will to use or buy such products. All this suggests that without a very novel approach, you'll face an uphill battle.

Recommendations

  1. Deeply research why existing platforms haven't fully succeeded. Don't just look at their features; investigate their marketing, community building, and user retention strategies. Understanding their failures is crucial to avoiding the same pitfalls.
  2. Focus on a specific niche or underserved group. General "like-minded people" is too broad. Consider targeting a specific hobby, profession, or demographic. As 'OpenQuest' feedback suggested, a focused approach is crucial for initial traction.
  3. Explore partnerships with existing community organizers or local businesses. Instead of building a competing platform, offer tools or integrations that enhance their existing efforts. This could provide a faster route to market and leverage existing networks.
  4. Prioritize mobile optimization from the outset. 'Vibe IRL' faced criticism for lacking PC support, but in the context of meeting offline, mobile experience is paramount. Ensure your app is seamless and intuitive on smartphones.
  5. Carefully design the user experience to be as frictionless as possible. The feedback on 'Meet people, have more conversations about what truly interests you' highlights the importance of clear sign-in instructions and feature explanations. Make it easy for users to understand and use your platform.
  6. Implement robust scheduling and location features. The 'WAYF' app received criticism for missing time and timezone support. As 'Find a Mutually Convenient Coffee Shop to Meet' tried, you have to make it dead simple to find a good, accessible location.
  7. Focus on building a community first, and then build the platform. Start with local events or online groups, and use that community to inform the development of your platform. This will help ensure that your platform meets the needs of your target audience and will give you a built-in user base to launch with.
  8. Consider implementing a feedback loop that incorporates user suggestions and features request. As we saw in the similar products, this is crucial for product iteration and for making sure your product market fit is solid.

Questions

  1. What specific unmet need are you addressing that existing platforms fail to fulfill, and how will you validate this need before investing significant resources?
  2. How will you overcome the cold start problem of attracting enough users to create a vibrant community, and what are your strategies for maintaining engagement over time?
  3. What is your plan for monetizing the platform in a way that aligns with user value and doesn't detract from the core experience of connecting people offline?

Your are here

You're entering a crowded space. Our analysis puts your idea for a platform to meet like-minded people offline into the "Swamp" category, meaning there are several existing solutions, but none have truly captured the market's heart. With 13 similar products identified, the competition is high, and standing out will be a significant challenge. Engagement with similar products is low, averaging only 3 comments per launch, indicating that these solutions haven't sparked widespread conversation or adoption. There is neither positive nor negative net use or net buy signals from the similar products, so it appears that people may not be expressing a strong will to use or buy such products. All this suggests that without a very novel approach, you'll face an uphill battle.

Recommendations

  1. Deeply research why existing platforms haven't fully succeeded. Don't just look at their features; investigate their marketing, community building, and user retention strategies. Understanding their failures is crucial to avoiding the same pitfalls.
  2. Focus on a specific niche or underserved group. General "like-minded people" is too broad. Consider targeting a specific hobby, profession, or demographic. As 'OpenQuest' feedback suggested, a focused approach is crucial for initial traction.
  3. Explore partnerships with existing community organizers or local businesses. Instead of building a competing platform, offer tools or integrations that enhance their existing efforts. This could provide a faster route to market and leverage existing networks.
  4. Prioritize mobile optimization from the outset. 'Vibe IRL' faced criticism for lacking PC support, but in the context of meeting offline, mobile experience is paramount. Ensure your app is seamless and intuitive on smartphones.
  5. Carefully design the user experience to be as frictionless as possible. The feedback on 'Meet people, have more conversations about what truly interests you' highlights the importance of clear sign-in instructions and feature explanations. Make it easy for users to understand and use your platform.
  6. Implement robust scheduling and location features. The 'WAYF' app received criticism for missing time and timezone support. As 'Find a Mutually Convenient Coffee Shop to Meet' tried, you have to make it dead simple to find a good, accessible location.
  7. Focus on building a community first, and then build the platform. Start with local events or online groups, and use that community to inform the development of your platform. This will help ensure that your platform meets the needs of your target audience and will give you a built-in user base to launch with.
  8. Consider implementing a feedback loop that incorporates user suggestions and features request. As we saw in the similar products, this is crucial for product iteration and for making sure your product market fit is solid.

Questions

  1. What specific unmet need are you addressing that existing platforms fail to fulfill, and how will you validate this need before investing significant resources?
  2. How will you overcome the cold start problem of attracting enough users to create a vibrant community, and what are your strategies for maintaining engagement over time?
  3. What is your plan for monetizing the platform in a way that aligns with user value and doesn't detract from the core experience of connecting people offline?

  • Confidence: High
    • Number of similar products: 13
  • Engagement: Low
    • Average number of comments: 3
  • Net use signal: 8.4%
    • Positive use signal: 12.2%
    • Negative use signal: 3.8%
  • Net buy signal: -2.2%
    • Positive buy signal: 0.0%
    • Negative buy signal: 2.2%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

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Hey HN, we've just launched Vibe IRL, an app designed to bridge the gap between online connections and real-world interactions. In an era where digital interactions often replace face-to-face encounters, Vibe IRL aims to transform how people meet and interact in their local environments.Key Features:Mood-Based Matching: Users can find others based on current mood, promoting more meaningful and relevant meetups. Instant Local Meetups: Designed to encourage spontaneous real-life interactions, making socializing effortless and immediate. We created Vibe IRL as a free platform to help make genuine connections in local communities. We're excited about the potential to not only enhance how people socialize but to also provide a tool that combats the increasing sense of isolation in the digital age.The app is free to download and we're keen to hear feedback from the community to make it even better. Check it out here https://vibeirl.app and let us know what you think!

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