Should I Build It Should I Build It
20 Mar 2025
Cars

A marketplace for renting out unused parking spaces to drivers, ...

...optimizing resource utilization and generating passive income for space owners.

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Run Away

Multiple attempts have failed with clear negative feedback. Continuing down this path would likely waste your time and resources when better opportunities exist elsewhere.

Should You Build It?

Don't build it.

Your are here

Your idea for a peer-to-peer parking space marketplace operates in a well-explored space. We found 8 similar product launches, giving us high confidence in this assessment, but also indicating significant competition right out of the gate. While engagement with similar products is moderate (averaging 4 comments), we didn't detect strong positive signals regarding intent to use or buy in the public discussions analyzed – this is common, but it means you'll need to work hard to prove value. Critically, this idea category, based on analyzing multiple past attempts, is flagged as 'Run Away'. This means many similar ventures have struggled or failed, often due to specific challenges highlighted in competitor feedback, such as building trust (avoiding fake listings), differentiating from established players like SpotHero, overcoming technical hurdles (like cross-platform compatibility), and managing the complexities of a two-sided marketplace. Proceeding with this exact concept carries a high risk of encountering the same pitfalls.

Recommendations

  1. Deeply analyze the feedback for similar parking apps, especially the criticisms. Pay close attention to points about trust issues (fake spots, requiring SIMs), user experience flaws (clunky UI, sign-in barriers), and technical problems (browser compatibility). Understanding why users pushed back against previous attempts is your first crucial step.
  2. Given the high competition (8 similar products identified) and the struggles of past ventures, critically evaluate your unique value proposition. How will your marketplace specifically overcome the hurdles faced by others? Is there a niche within parking (e.g., long-term, event-specific, commercial fleet) that is less saturated or has different needs?
  3. Instead of building immediately, conduct targeted user research. Talk to both potential space owners and drivers who have used (or decided against using) existing parking apps. Focus on their frustrations and unmet needs, rather than pitching your current idea. What problems do they say are most pressing regarding parking?
  4. Consider if the core technology or concept could be pivoted. Could your skills solve a related problem in urban mobility, logistics, or space utilization that isn't direct peer-to-peer parking? Perhaps focus on optimizing existing commercial parking inventory or providing data insights?
  5. Based on your competitor analysis and user research, map out the specific operational challenges: How will you verify space ownership? How will you handle disputes or access issues? How will you acquire both drivers and space owners cost-effectively in a crowded market? Acknowledging these operational hurdles upfront is vital before investing further resources.
  6. Don't repeat the mistakes highlighted in competitor feedback regarding communication. If you engage with potential users or testers, focus on being receptive to criticism, even if it feels harsh. Building trust starts with how you interact with your community.

Questions

  1. Considering the 8 similar products and the 'Run Away' classification suggesting past failures, what fundamental market inefficiency or user pain point related to parking do you believe all previous attempts have missed, and how will your solution uniquely and demonstrably address it?
  2. How will you build and maintain trust on both sides of the marketplace – ensuring drivers get legitimate, accessible spots and owners are protected – overcoming the specific trust and verification issues critics raised about similar platforms?
  3. Given established competitors like SpotHero were mentioned as direct comparisons for similar apps, what is your concrete strategy to acquire your first 100 space owners and 1000 drivers in a way that's significantly more effective or cheaper than incumbents, especially with neutral initial buy/use signals?

Your are here

Your idea for a peer-to-peer parking space marketplace operates in a well-explored space. We found 8 similar product launches, giving us high confidence in this assessment, but also indicating significant competition right out of the gate. While engagement with similar products is moderate (averaging 4 comments), we didn't detect strong positive signals regarding intent to use or buy in the public discussions analyzed – this is common, but it means you'll need to work hard to prove value. Critically, this idea category, based on analyzing multiple past attempts, is flagged as 'Run Away'. This means many similar ventures have struggled or failed, often due to specific challenges highlighted in competitor feedback, such as building trust (avoiding fake listings), differentiating from established players like SpotHero, overcoming technical hurdles (like cross-platform compatibility), and managing the complexities of a two-sided marketplace. Proceeding with this exact concept carries a high risk of encountering the same pitfalls.

Recommendations

  1. Deeply analyze the feedback for similar parking apps, especially the criticisms. Pay close attention to points about trust issues (fake spots, requiring SIMs), user experience flaws (clunky UI, sign-in barriers), and technical problems (browser compatibility). Understanding why users pushed back against previous attempts is your first crucial step.
  2. Given the high competition (8 similar products identified) and the struggles of past ventures, critically evaluate your unique value proposition. How will your marketplace specifically overcome the hurdles faced by others? Is there a niche within parking (e.g., long-term, event-specific, commercial fleet) that is less saturated or has different needs?
  3. Instead of building immediately, conduct targeted user research. Talk to both potential space owners and drivers who have used (or decided against using) existing parking apps. Focus on their frustrations and unmet needs, rather than pitching your current idea. What problems do they say are most pressing regarding parking?
  4. Consider if the core technology or concept could be pivoted. Could your skills solve a related problem in urban mobility, logistics, or space utilization that isn't direct peer-to-peer parking? Perhaps focus on optimizing existing commercial parking inventory or providing data insights?
  5. Based on your competitor analysis and user research, map out the specific operational challenges: How will you verify space ownership? How will you handle disputes or access issues? How will you acquire both drivers and space owners cost-effectively in a crowded market? Acknowledging these operational hurdles upfront is vital before investing further resources.
  6. Don't repeat the mistakes highlighted in competitor feedback regarding communication. If you engage with potential users or testers, focus on being receptive to criticism, even if it feels harsh. Building trust starts with how you interact with your community.

Questions

  1. Considering the 8 similar products and the 'Run Away' classification suggesting past failures, what fundamental market inefficiency or user pain point related to parking do you believe all previous attempts have missed, and how will your solution uniquely and demonstrably address it?
  2. How will you build and maintain trust on both sides of the marketplace – ensuring drivers get legitimate, accessible spots and owners are protected – overcoming the specific trust and verification issues critics raised about similar platforms?
  3. Given established competitors like SpotHero were mentioned as direct comparisons for similar apps, what is your concrete strategy to acquire your first 100 space owners and 1000 drivers in a way that's significantly more effective or cheaper than incumbents, especially with neutral initial buy/use signals?

  • Confidence: High
    • Number of similar products: 8
  • Engagement: Medium
    • Average number of comments: 4
  • Net use signal: 0.0%
    • Positive use signal: 3.4%
    • Negative use signal: 3.4%
  • Net buy signal: -3.4%
    • Positive buy signal: 0.0%
    • Negative buy signal: 3.4%

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.

Similar products

Relevance

I'm 17 and built a startup to find or sell parking spots

31 Aug 2024 Android

Hey HN! I'm Dris, I'm 17, and for the past few months, I've been solo-developing Parkt, an app that lets you quickly reserve or sell parking spots.Parking sucks - it's expensive, hard to find, and you usually overpay or get a ticket.With Parkt, you can reserve parking in 2 taps, or list your unused space in under 5 minutes.It's now free to download on iOS (with Android coming soon)! You can also check out a demo on the site if you're interested.If you know someone who might use Parkt, sharing the app would be super helpful! Feedback is also appreciated.

The Show HN product received mixed feedback. Users praised the app's aesthetics, landing page, and professional execution, with specific compliments on the terms of service, value proposition, and marketing. Concerns were raised about compatibility issues with Firefox/Linux and MacOS, and there were questions about the app's differentiation from competitors like SpotHero. Some users experienced UX issues with transitions and text color, and there were suggestions to improve context for certain elements like scrolling brand logos. The concept was likened to an AirB&B for parking spaces, and while some comments were flagged or criticized for tone, overall sentiment was cautiously optimistic with wishes for success.

Users criticized the product for requiring a SIM for use, confusing beta/alpha release order, and a sign-in barrier. There were technical issues with links not working on Firefox/Linux and poor readability due to grey text. The UI was critiqued for odd scrolling logos and irritating transitions. Users felt the tone of replies was pretentious and dismissive, and there were concerns about brand trust and the risk of selling non-existent spots. Suggestions included avoiding age sharing, updating descriptions for clarity, and tuning out without ignoring criticism.

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-3.6%
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Relevance

UrParking - Your Canadian parking marketplace

14 Nov 2024 Android Maps

Struggle to find parking in Canada? Spend less time circling and more time enjoying your day with Urparking, the hassle-free parking marketplace connecting drivers with hidden gems – unused parking spaces!

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