Why This App Exists

The world really didn’t need another form builder.

There are 98 others out there (yes, I keep a list of competitors.) It’s what is known in the business world as a “red ocean” i.e. a crowded market where this is a lot of blood.

Conventional wisdom says to go where there is little-to-no competition in order to have a greater chance of success, contrastingly known as a “blue ocean.”

Since I was too dumb to think of a blue ocean idea, I decided to pick something that has already been proven (as form building is) and hope my solopreneur, bootstrapped, American brand would be enough to differentiate myself.

In marketing terms, this is referred to as “positioning.” We’re selling the same thing, but tweaking the message to stand out from the other solutions who offer the exact same product or service.

Lucky Strike cigarettes did this by calling themselves the cigarettes that were “toasted”, even though all cigarettes were.

Avis car rental referred to themselves as “trying harder” because they were only #2 in the market, despite no proof of superior service or product quality.

We’re all selling the same commodity. It really just comes down to the positioning and marketing. Consider razor blades, car batteries, health supplements, water bottles, dating apps etc. It’s the same underlying offer repackaged and sold to a different class of customers.

So, the million dollar question: How exactly do I do this with a form building tool?

Honestly, I don’t know. I had assumed if I produce the most templates + tools + offer the product for free, it would just promote itself.

Wrong. (At this stage, at least.)

I don’t have a large following on X or anywhere else. And listing the app on every possible directory didn’t move the needle in the slightest.

Should I position it as “form building for [NICHE]”?

I think that's what FollowUpBoss did with their CRM: positioned it for real estate agents. I could do something similar here. Problem is, I don't know enough about any singular niche to offer something like that.

And I can’t rely on just being a “[COMPETITOR] alternative” either. To be a viable alternative, you should know the reason why that customer is looking to switch in the first place. In browsing my competitor's TrustPilot reviews, it seemed the biggest problem the loud customers had was customer service replying to them in a timely manner OR getting charged when they had already cancelled. I don't anticipate having an issue with either of those.

So, as it stands, there is no marketing strategy or unique positioning. The goal is to simply listen to every customer inquiry, make the best possible product, and listen for any signals in what direction I should take the app in.

One of my criteria before building anything is: if the product fails, but I would still use it, then I should build it. Because even if I am the only customer, it serves a purpose and I need it to exist.

That’s why Fantastic Forms exists.

Not because I saw a gap in the market or anything like that. Founders tend to make themselves sound smarter or wiser than they actually are. It’s usually just fulfilling a personal need, and a large enough portion of strangers needed something similar. That’s typically how it goes (and grows.)

— Sebastian