01 Jul 2025
Investing

a webapp to talk to famous investors/ entrepreneurs and ask ...

...intellectual questions or ideas

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

Your idea of a web app to connect individuals with famous investors and entrepreneurs falls into a challenging category, which we call 'Swamp'. This category is characterized by numerous existing solutions that haven't quite hit the mark. With 4 similar products already identified, the competition is present and could become fierce. The engagement, measured by the average number of comments (3) on similar product launches, is low. This indicates that while there's some interest, it may not be strong enough to sustain a new entrant without a truly compelling differentiator. Furthermore, we don't have enough data to tell whether people even want to use or buy similar products. Given these factors, you should tread carefully. Be real with yourself: it's a tough market, and only a radically different approach stands a chance.

Recommendations

  1. Begin by thoroughly researching why existing platforms attempting to connect people with industry leaders haven't become widely successful. Identify the pain points, unmet needs, and areas where these platforms fall short. Don't build another me-too product.
  2. If you decide to proceed, focus on identifying a niche audience or a specific group of individuals that are currently underserved by existing platforms. Tailor your platform specifically to their needs and offer a unique value proposition that resonates with them. What makes your target audience's intellectual questions or idea different than others?
  3. Explore the possibility of creating tools or services that can be integrated into existing platforms or used by existing providers in the industry. This could involve developing features that enhance the functionality of these platforms or providing services that help them better connect with their audience. Given the criticism of matching algorithms in similar products, consider how you could drastically improve this element.
  4. Consider exploring adjacent problems or related challenges that may offer more promising opportunities. This could involve focusing on a different aspect of networking or mentorship, or addressing a specific pain point within the industry. Think about the user retention concern and explore ways to build a community that provides ongoing value beyond initial connections.
  5. Before investing significant time and resources into this idea, take a step back and evaluate whether it's truly the best use of your energy and skills. Consider exploring other opportunities that may offer a higher potential for success and align better with your goals. Maybe use your expertise in other areas for now.
  6. Given the positive feedback on innovative uses of AI (from the 'Ask Warren Buffet Anything' launch), explore how AI could make your platform drastically better than existing solutions. What can AI do to make conversations uniquely insightful or beneficial for both parties?

Questions

  1. What specific mechanisms will you implement to ensure that the interactions on your platform are genuinely valuable and not just superficial exchanges, considering the challenge of extracting meaningful insights from busy, high-profile individuals?
  2. Given the potential for a 'Swamp' scenario, how will you create a defensible moat around your platform to prevent competitors from easily replicating your offering and eroding your user base, especially considering the need for constant fresh content and active involvement from investors and entrepreneurs?
  3. Considering the concerns about matching algorithm relevance in similar products, what specific data points and algorithms will you use to ensure that users are connected with investors/entrepreneurs who can genuinely provide relevant and valuable insights based on their specific questions and ideas?

Your are here

Your idea of a web app to connect individuals with famous investors and entrepreneurs falls into a challenging category, which we call 'Swamp'. This category is characterized by numerous existing solutions that haven't quite hit the mark. With 4 similar products already identified, the competition is present and could become fierce. The engagement, measured by the average number of comments (3) on similar product launches, is low. This indicates that while there's some interest, it may not be strong enough to sustain a new entrant without a truly compelling differentiator. Furthermore, we don't have enough data to tell whether people even want to use or buy similar products. Given these factors, you should tread carefully. Be real with yourself: it's a tough market, and only a radically different approach stands a chance.

Recommendations

  1. Begin by thoroughly researching why existing platforms attempting to connect people with industry leaders haven't become widely successful. Identify the pain points, unmet needs, and areas where these platforms fall short. Don't build another me-too product.
  2. If you decide to proceed, focus on identifying a niche audience or a specific group of individuals that are currently underserved by existing platforms. Tailor your platform specifically to their needs and offer a unique value proposition that resonates with them. What makes your target audience's intellectual questions or idea different than others?
  3. Explore the possibility of creating tools or services that can be integrated into existing platforms or used by existing providers in the industry. This could involve developing features that enhance the functionality of these platforms or providing services that help them better connect with their audience. Given the criticism of matching algorithms in similar products, consider how you could drastically improve this element.
  4. Consider exploring adjacent problems or related challenges that may offer more promising opportunities. This could involve focusing on a different aspect of networking or mentorship, or addressing a specific pain point within the industry. Think about the user retention concern and explore ways to build a community that provides ongoing value beyond initial connections.
  5. Before investing significant time and resources into this idea, take a step back and evaluate whether it's truly the best use of your energy and skills. Consider exploring other opportunities that may offer a higher potential for success and align better with your goals. Maybe use your expertise in other areas for now.
  6. Given the positive feedback on innovative uses of AI (from the 'Ask Warren Buffet Anything' launch), explore how AI could make your platform drastically better than existing solutions. What can AI do to make conversations uniquely insightful or beneficial for both parties?

Questions

  1. What specific mechanisms will you implement to ensure that the interactions on your platform are genuinely valuable and not just superficial exchanges, considering the challenge of extracting meaningful insights from busy, high-profile individuals?
  2. Given the potential for a 'Swamp' scenario, how will you create a defensible moat around your platform to prevent competitors from easily replicating your offering and eroding your user base, especially considering the need for constant fresh content and active involvement from investors and entrepreneurs?
  3. Considering the concerns about matching algorithm relevance in similar products, what specific data points and algorithms will you use to ensure that users are connected with investors/entrepreneurs who can genuinely provide relevant and valuable insights based on their specific questions and ideas?

  • Confidence: Medium
    • Number of similar products: 4
  • Engagement: Low
    • Average number of comments: 3
  • Net use signal: 11.4%
    • Positive use signal: 11.4%
    • Negative use signal: 0.0%
  • Net buy signal: 0.0%
    • Positive buy signal: 0.0%
    • 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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Ask Famous People

Hey HN, I built Ask Famous People - an app that uses GPT-3 to let you talk to famous figures like Abraham Lincoln, Harry Potter, William Shakespeare and more. It's a fun way to explore different topics with some of the most well-known figures of all time. Let me know what you think, or if you have any suggestions for new figures to add!


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Team-Up - Real-time AI powered entrepreneurial networking

Connect with startup enthusiasts through spontaneous live interactions. Find mentors, talents, and partners. Share ideas, seek advice. Expand your network, uncover opportunities. Secure platform for spontaneous business networking and unexpected connections.

Team-Up's Product Hunt launch garnered positive feedback, with users praising its ability to facilitate connections and its understanding of the startup environment. Questions arose regarding the matching algorithm's effectiveness in ensuring relevant connections and preventing inappropriate encounters. Users also inquired about privacy and security measures for video and text chat. Concerns were raised about user retention, contingent upon the relevance of matches and having a large enough user base to guarantee matches.

Users express concern regarding the matching system, specifically its criteria and relevance. Clarification is needed on how the matching system works and how user experience can be tailored for different user needs. The relevance of matches is seen as a key factor for user retention and needs to be addressed.


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