Do you build and launch products anonymously? Why or why not?

Frank Sondors @franksondors

Mailforge

I always build everything in public. I only see the disadvantages of not doing it in public!

@profy17, I think you're doing it the right way! But sometimes I think of something kinda stupid, but I think I can build in a weekend...maybe learn a thing or two about a new platform. And hopefully generate some cash! 🤣 All of those, so far, have been with products/markets that I never really engage with (or plan to for long), and I think that's the main reason I've launched them anonymously.

smoul @moulshree_211

Kaizen Productivity System

I do it anonymously because I like it that way. If I am new in market I don't want people to have pre-notions about me. I want people to know me for my work only.

@moulshree_211, yeah, sometimes I think of something I want to build in a market that I never really engage in, or plan to much in the future. It would be cool to build something that's well-received and useful, and to be able to run it solo, anonymously...especially if it required little effort to maintain and was generating some cash!

Viktor Brešan @viktorbresan

Nautical Calculator

Mostly unanimously, but just as you mentioned, if it's a new market and the product is an experiment, I will launch it anonymously. If it fails, I will shut it down. However, if it succeeds, I continue publicly with it.

Peyt Spencer Dewar @psd

Lyrist

@viktor.bresan how long does it take to distinguish between a failing and succeeding project?

Ivan Ralic @ralic

Collabwriting

I've built some products anonymously but it was mostly because of boredom with my previous startup when we sold majority of it to a big corpo and everything became tooo slow and tooo corpo. And I had some possible implications of doing anything besides. But I don't believe you can build anything great behind the curtains. Whatever you do the easiest and the fastest way to do it is by talking to customes and spreading the word as much as humanly possible 😄 Even though you think you understand your audience and the problem you're solving, you most likely don't. And even if you work 9-5 just tell everyone about your side hustle, if it doesn't succeed start talking about the next one 😂

@ralic, haha! I agree with everything except I do think many great things can be built behind the curtains! There are still some anon indie devs out there launching products in niche markets, generating enough income to keep away from a 9-5! That's great imo! It definitely makes it much harder to succeed though. I see that. Appreciate the insight!

Ivan Ralic @ralic

Collabwriting

@danielshinall it sounds to me that we just have different views on what "great" means. Staying away from 9-5 for me is good but not great. Building a product that will make your whole SWAT team Angel Investors in 5-7 years is great for me. If you are a Senior Developer in a 2nd or 3rd World Country, you can have a pretty damn good life with 2-3 hours of work weekly. Your employer might think you work more, but in reality 2-3 hours is what it takes now to satisfy Enterprise Employers.

@ralic, agreed! What you've described sounds "really great", imo! 🤣 While I want to build amazing products, I'm not trying to build anything that would require me to hire full time employees, or that creates a lot of work for me. I deliberately try to build products that I could manage by myself going forward, without too much work. I'm not trying to create a ton of work for myself as that would take away from the time I need to work on my next idea!

Pauline_Cx @pauline_clavelloux

IACrea

No, as a "user" I prefer to support project where I "know" the founder than anonymous / unpersonal projects. So I apply it to myself

@pauline_clavelloux, I agree with that! But I've also downloaded and used many apps where I knew nothing about the founder(s), just because they were useful or cool, or someone recommended it. I know building/launching anonymously makes it harder to be successful, but sometimes it's fun to put something out there that I'm not publicly connected to, especially if I've learned a few things in the process.

Carmela Padasas @carmela_padasas

Linkify

To add to the trail of answers here, "If you should launch a SaaS product anonymously or in public?" You might want to check the competition and market status if it has competition built in public while if it is an innovative product you built alone and you want to test it first - you could launch it anonymously.

@carmela_padasas, THIS IS EXCELLENT ADVICE! Yes, if it's innovative enough, I don't think most people will care who made it.

Johnny Price @john_price_kp

Better build something before launching something.

Melissa Phillips @meli_phil_45

I've launched a few side projects under a pseudonym. Gives me the freedom to experiment without the baggage of personal branding. But, there's also value in attaching your name for credibility and trust

Julien Fayad @julien_fayad

Sections serverless engine

I can see this happening on web3 but it's not usual on web2. Would you say the fact it was anonymous has any impact on the success or failure of the products you launched ?

@julien_fayad, for sure! I see it all over the place in web3, and not too often in web2. I've launched a few products publicly and a few anonymously. The ones I've launched anonymously never got much traction at all, but I did very little marketing for them. I also built them quickly, with few features, and some in crowded markets I was just exploring.

Yohan Penny @yohan_penny

Generally speaking, I tend to be very close with my work. I communicate directly with my clients anyway, so it seems natural that I also am the face of it. I've found that people tend to appreciate and trust businesses with a face on it more often. It shows that you've got some non-material skin in the game :)

@yohan_penny, 100% agreed, and I believe that's the best way to do it! But do you ever think of something outside your usual style that you just want to try quickly, and not really be tied to...maybe in case it's terrible? 🤣 It's been a fun exercise!

Yohan Penny @yohan_penny

@danielshinall oh yeah, man. I used to run a new e-commerce shop every month just to test products. It is exciting…kind of like that chicken you’ve been training for it’s first cockfight.