A detailed look at the development process and learnings
Identified a gap in the market for local-first online communities. Initial research with 20+ potential users revealed that the primary user pain point was not the lack of a platform, but the difficulty in discovering existing local Discord servers. I pivoted the strategy to focus on this discovery problem, designing and launching an MVP discovery platform as a "wedge" to validate the market. The MVP launched in one day, attracted 179 unique visitors in the first week, and achieved a 10.6% click-through rate to listed servers, validating user demand for a dedicated local community discovery solution.
Original Idea: An online community platform similar to discord, but built specifically for local community.
Problem: Dissatisfaction with social life; lacking in-person community and friends
Hypotheses:
Initial Approach: Originally conceived a Discord-like platform optimized for local communities, with the belief that existing platforms weren't tailored for location-based interaction, IRL meetups, and creating an environment where the participants can easily make new friends
Features: Community discovery, meetup planning, voice communication, text channels
Main Differentiator: Discovery tailored for finding communities near you that match your criteria
Customer segments: College graduates, discord users/gamers, hobbyists (D&D players, hikers, etc.)
How I Investigated the Problem:
Research Methods:
Conducted 20+ initial qualitative interviews via digital channels to understand user behaviors and pain points.
User Interviews:
Conducted interviews with wide range of customer segments:
Methods:
Market Research:
What the Research Actually Revealed:
Finding #1: Interest in but no easy way to find local niche interest based groups
Evidence:
Finding #2: Wide range of reasons people go to discord, but some go because they feel more comfortable and find it easier to find those who share interests, and some who want to transition more to in-person, confirming hypothesis
Evidence & Quotes:
"I have some social anxiety that I'm trying to work through but I also love to meet new people"
"[Discord] just gives me a way to feel someone out before I talk to them I guess"
"i [tried to shift from online to in person] but still isn't as smoothly as online feels and honestly irl its kind of hard to find ppl w the same interests like gaming i feel like online u find ppl w same interests easier than irl thats why u can bond quicker"
The Pivot Moment: I realized that people do value online communities for the reason I thought they would, but may already be satisfied with what is already available just on discord. However, the biggest gap that I noticed discord did not provide was the ability to easily find such communities. I realized I could pursue discovery, and even use it as a wedge if I did want to create my own platform.
| Factor | Original Problem (Platform Quality) | Discovered Problem (Discovery) |
|---|---|---|
| Market Size | High | High |
| User Pain Level | Low | Medium/High |
| Solution Complexity | High | Low/Medium |
| Time to Validate | High | Low |
The "Wedge" Strategy Decision:
Reasoning: Discovery seemed like a bigger issue, would be easier to solve and validate, and was something anyone looking for a community would want meaning the market was big
This approach de-risked the project by focusing on validating the most critical user assumption (the need for local community) with the lowest possible engineering investment.
Transition: I could build a discovery platform alongside performing more research, trying to identify pain points with existing platforms other than discovery, and could later use discovery platform as a wedge for my own specialized platform, or make the discovery the entire platform
Risk mitigated: Time risk of building a platform that no one wants
Discovery-First Strategy:
Phase 1: Discovery Platform
Core features (MVP):
Phase 2: Platform Transition
How discovery insights will inform platform features:
What I Built:
Simple discovery platform for Bay Area discord servers
Key features:
Launch timeline: I collected the servers over the period of my research, and created the platform in a single day using lovable
Quantitative Results (First Week):
Traffic: Acquired 179 unique visitors through organic posts on Discord and Reddit.
Engagement: Achieved a 10.06% click-through rate, with 18 users clicking to join a community, signaling user intent
Growth: Received 11 new server submissions from the community, demonstrating value for server administrators and validating a potential growth loop.
User Behavior Insights:
Qualitative Feedback:
What I Learned:
The initial results validated the core hypothesis: a significant user need for local community discovery exists. The 22.3% engagement rate is a strong signal of early product-market fit. The next challenge is to determine if this need is frequent enough to build a sustainable, standalone product around.
Next Steps: Based on the results, I would propose the following actions:
What This Process Taught Me:
What I'd Do Differently: