Should I Build It Should I Build It
08 Apr 2025
Social Media

Anonymous social network that lets you build companies and make money ...

...semi-anonymously. You share however much you want to but you still have stake in the company and such. For coders or people learning.

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Strong Contender

The market has shown clear demand for this type of solution. Your challenge now is to create a version that stands out while delivering what people already want.

Should You Build It?

Build but think about differentiation.

Your are here

Your idea for an anonymous social network where users can collaboratively build companies and share equity, targeted towards coders and learners, puts you in the 'Strong Contender' category. This means there's demonstrated market interest in collaborative building and professional networking platforms. The existence of five similar products suggests moderate competition. With an average of 6 comments per product, engagement seems reasonable. To succeed, you'll need to differentiate your platform effectively and focus on delivering core features that users value. You're entering a space with existing players, so understanding what they do well and finding opportunities to improve upon their offerings will be critical.

Recommendations

  1. Begin by thoroughly researching existing platforms in the collaborative development and anonymous social networking space. Pay close attention to their feature sets, user feedback (both positive and negative), and monetization strategies. The similar products mentioned criticisms around Discord server guidance, so focus on a platform that creates a great user experience for new users, and helps them contribute to projects quickly.
  2. Identify 2-3 key areas where your platform can significantly outperform competitors. This could be in the level of anonymity offered, the ease of company formation, the tools provided for collaborative coding, or the opportunities for mentorship and learning. Clearly define your unique value proposition.
  3. Start with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that focuses on the core features most valuable to your target audience of coders and learners. Prioritize features that enable collaboration, equity sharing, and some level of anonymity. Iterate based on user feedback to refine the platform's functionality and user experience.
  4. Consider charging a fee from the beginning, even if it's a small one, to validate real demand for your platform and its features. This could be a subscription model for premium features or a transaction fee on equity sharing or profit distribution. This provides early revenue and signals user commitment.
  5. Focus intensely on providing exceptional support and service to your first 50 users. Gather their feedback, address their concerns, and use their input to improve the platform. Word-of-mouth marketing and positive reviews from early adopters can be crucial for attracting new users.
  6. Based on feedback from similar product launches, make onboarding smooth. Offer an email-only registration option. Offer clear instructions to new users on how to connect, contribute, and build on your platform.
  7. Given the potential for abuse in anonymous environments, implement robust moderation tools and community guidelines to ensure a safe and productive environment. Clearly define the rules of engagement and enforce them consistently.
  8. Explore integrations with popular coding platforms, version control systems (e.g., Git), and project management tools (e.g., Jira) to streamline the development process and enhance collaboration.

Questions

  1. How will you balance anonymity with accountability on your platform to prevent abuse and ensure a productive environment for building companies?
  2. What specific mechanisms will you implement to facilitate fair and transparent equity distribution among collaborators in anonymous company formation?
  3. Considering the existing competition, what unique features or benefits will your platform offer to attract and retain coders and learners seeking anonymous collaboration opportunities?

Your are here

Your idea for an anonymous social network where users can collaboratively build companies and share equity, targeted towards coders and learners, puts you in the 'Strong Contender' category. This means there's demonstrated market interest in collaborative building and professional networking platforms. The existence of five similar products suggests moderate competition. With an average of 6 comments per product, engagement seems reasonable. To succeed, you'll need to differentiate your platform effectively and focus on delivering core features that users value. You're entering a space with existing players, so understanding what they do well and finding opportunities to improve upon their offerings will be critical.

Recommendations

  1. Begin by thoroughly researching existing platforms in the collaborative development and anonymous social networking space. Pay close attention to their feature sets, user feedback (both positive and negative), and monetization strategies. The similar products mentioned criticisms around Discord server guidance, so focus on a platform that creates a great user experience for new users, and helps them contribute to projects quickly.
  2. Identify 2-3 key areas where your platform can significantly outperform competitors. This could be in the level of anonymity offered, the ease of company formation, the tools provided for collaborative coding, or the opportunities for mentorship and learning. Clearly define your unique value proposition.
  3. Start with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that focuses on the core features most valuable to your target audience of coders and learners. Prioritize features that enable collaboration, equity sharing, and some level of anonymity. Iterate based on user feedback to refine the platform's functionality and user experience.
  4. Consider charging a fee from the beginning, even if it's a small one, to validate real demand for your platform and its features. This could be a subscription model for premium features or a transaction fee on equity sharing or profit distribution. This provides early revenue and signals user commitment.
  5. Focus intensely on providing exceptional support and service to your first 50 users. Gather their feedback, address their concerns, and use their input to improve the platform. Word-of-mouth marketing and positive reviews from early adopters can be crucial for attracting new users.
  6. Based on feedback from similar product launches, make onboarding smooth. Offer an email-only registration option. Offer clear instructions to new users on how to connect, contribute, and build on your platform.
  7. Given the potential for abuse in anonymous environments, implement robust moderation tools and community guidelines to ensure a safe and productive environment. Clearly define the rules of engagement and enforce them consistently.
  8. Explore integrations with popular coding platforms, version control systems (e.g., Git), and project management tools (e.g., Jira) to streamline the development process and enhance collaboration.

Questions

  1. How will you balance anonymity with accountability on your platform to prevent abuse and ensure a productive environment for building companies?
  2. What specific mechanisms will you implement to facilitate fair and transparent equity distribution among collaborators in anonymous company formation?
  3. Considering the existing competition, what unique features or benefits will your platform offer to attract and retain coders and learners seeking anonymous collaboration opportunities?

  • Confidence: Medium
    • Number of similar products: 5
  • Engagement: Medium
    • Average number of comments: 6
  • Net use signal: 9.1%
    • Positive use signal: 13.0%
    • Negative use signal: 3.9%
  • Net buy signal: 2.1%
    • Positive buy signal: 2.1%
    • Negative buy signal: 0.0%

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 everyone,I have been doing Indie Hacking for almost 2 years. I was sick of following people on social media or DMing and calling it networking.So, I built a network/platform where professionals meet with fellows via scheduled video calls. We as a community believe that this is a better way as an initial contact than follows and direct messages. Our platform is open for free, early access, currently.Feel free to check us out at https://makermeet.me and if our mindsets match, you may join us at https://app.makermeet.me/Whom is it best for?It's perfect for entrepreneurs, indie hackers, developers, designers, social media marketers and more. Whether you're just starting out or looking to expand your network, you are welcome.What would be the gain?Strong network is our need as a member of the community. We need an audience for our products, clients for our services and professionals to hire them or make them hire us. First time meeting people in need would work much less than asking people already in our network that we build via more than just following each other or direct messages. And this is the network where you meet people face to face without immediate requests/needs.

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Criticizes invite-only post on Show HN.

Invite-only post not suitable for Show HN.

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The Product Hunt launch received positive feedback, with users expressing interest in the platform's features and requesting more details. The "building in public" approach was seen as a positive tipping point. Users are excited about the new feed and insights provided, and the creator received congratulations for the launch.

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