Started as a Goodreads alternative, now it's taking a life of its own
I initially posted this on r/sideproject but thinking it could be interesting for hackers over here as well.
I've been working on https://hardcover.app with Adam, my cofounder, for the past 2y.
We have a lot of stories and challenges that happened during this time. But I want to focus on only one aspect - keep at it!
We've started as a Goodreads alternative, at a time when there were at least 10 other similar sites or apps attempting that (2021). Some really well-funded. We struggled to get feature parity with Goodreads as fast as possible. You can imagine how challenging that is. But we've kept building, listened to readers, and were very responsive to what anyone requested. And after all this time, I feel like we've got there. I guess now we're one of the few platforms that have a chance of taking on the big bad G. Still very small compared to them, but every side project/startup was in this spot at some point (I was reading Paul G's essay on startups and he was saying they spent years being really small but solving problems way better than their competition, knowing that when they scaled they'd be miles ahead).
My takeaway is just don't give up. Try to make it fun. Don't despair when it looks like everything went silent, at first you'll be experiencing this a lot. Not giving up and solving problems faster and simpler is your secret weapon, against much bigger players. And, of course, talk to a lot of people using your app/product. It will change a lot from your initial vision, but that's the point.
Hope this helps you with the stuff you're building.
Very bold doing a Goodreads alternative. Your design is definitely better. How do you monetize? (I guess not only you but that kind of websites like Goodreads as well.)
We have a Supporter plan that gives you extra features like stats, a match percentage with each book, plus a few other power reader features.
Also planning an Author account right now. Ultimately we'll want to become the most attractive platform where authors can promote books to the readers most likely to enjoy them. Still a long way to go, but I think we'll eventually get there.
Congrats on being persistent. That's def something to celebrate.
I'm sure the big bad G also added new features and improved during this time. Have you guys looked at what competitions were doing while you kept building?
Yes, all the time! I'd say this is also part of it. Readers are very peculiar about the things they want, so some features you have to have.
What I wouldn't do is try to copy every move. We have about 10 major competitors, inc Goodreads. Many of them are moving in directions which we consider dead ends, so it's up to founders to judge and not just go for feature parity.
That sounds like StoryGraph! Initially conceived as a Goodreads alternative, StoryGraph has evolved into a robust platform of its own, offering personalized book recommendations, reading analytics, and community features. Its intuitive interface and advanced algorithms have garnered praise among book enthusiasts seeking tailored reading experiences. Through continuous refinement and user-centric design, StoryGraph is carving its niche in the literary world, catering to readers' evolving needs and preferences beyond what traditional platforms offer.
StoryGraph is one of our major competitors. You could say they "made it" made it. We're not at the 2m user mark yet.
I'd say we're doing a few core things differently:
The first year is very difficult, especially when you've built something with a lot of hope and dedication. After that, you'll notice your product is gaining traction and traffic even in the days you're doing nothing. As you've mentioned, the point is to be patient, and strong and never give up.
I've checked your website btw, loved its slick look! Feel free to add it to our directory, webcurate.co for even more exposure.
It's nice to see someone acknowledging that products change from what you initially envisioned. I've seen too many founders get protective over their idea at the expense of actually getting users. Keep up the good work!
Oh yeah, spot on! I'd even say that's the point.
Even now, when I'd say we know we have product-market fit, I'm seeing new things it's changing into.
I think in tech in general at each stage you discover there is a next stage you weren't aware of before. So you gotta stay flexible and not get too tied up into what problem you think you're solving.
Hey! @SteLofo
Thanks for sharing your story. It's an ambitious goal you have there but that's the fun part. Congrats on making it past the trough of death!
I have a question or rather a couple. How do you get users to talk with you? Do you do it over a call? What's your conversion rate in terms of how many out of those requested end up accepting your request to have a chat?
I'm asking cause I have a service with paying users and this is something I've been struggling with. The people who pay to use the service seem to be mostly interested in getting their job done and don't respond to requests for calls. And funnily those that want to speak never end up paying. I'm sure it's different for a service like yours where the number of users are a lot more and the metric you care about is probably engagement rather than paying which is something different. I guess I am failing at incentive design while making a request for a call. Nonetheless, I'd love to read about your experience with this bit.
Good question! It was tough at first. Mostly manual, reaching out to people. Asking for interviews on our Discord. Luckily my cofounder Adam is more structured with this, so he scheduled a lot of interviews with readers to validate our early features.
In our case it also helps that there are a LOT of people frustrated with Goodreads. So they're willing to talk to us.
I'd say:
Definitely helpful to have some users to provide feedback. How'd you build your user base?
Posting everywhere we thought there'd be people who ran into this problem. Launching on PH. That's about it. Just putting effort into talking about it whenever we had the chance.
This is a wonderful prodcut Idea. You should plan self-hosting options I think where people can set this up in their home server like Kavita reader - unable to post link
Maybe in the future. Currently looking for a way to sync your library externally, in a Notion or Google sheets.
It looks good! Where do you get your book data from? I am looking for a book data API.
Goodreads discontinuing their book API was the reason Hardcover started. Adam my cofounder got frustrated about it and decided it was time to build.
We import it from OpenLibrary, Google Books, Amazon. There is no single reliable source, book data is generally a mess outside the top bestsellers. Librarians also help us by editing it. There are also paid sources like Inventaire, but they're not as reliable as advertised.
If you create an account you can use the Hardcover API. Long term we're aiming to be that reliable source of book data.
Very nice site
Thanks!