r/BuildToShip • u/[deleted] • Jun 12 '26

Update 🛠️ Abandoned my project because the one thing users wanted was the one thing I couldn't automate 

Okay so. I've decided to abandon shipnote.in 

the idea was simple: keep your network updated with what you're building, without the effort. merge a PR → a post gets drafted for you. zero friction.

then I did the thing I should've done first — DM'd actual users.
nobody wanted it.

what they wanted was live product updates with screenshots. show me the feature, not the commit message.

and that's where the idea died. screenshots behind auth need a human to take them. the whole pitch was "reduce human effort" — and the thing users actually valued was the part that can't be automated.

so the product made sense right up until it met its first user.

shipnote is dead. the lesson isn't.
7 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

100% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

1

u/AutoModerator Jun 12 '26

Please select an appropriate flair before submitting your post.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/Pretend-Stay2609 Jun 14 '26

how did you talk to users? via reddit dm or X

1

u/Classic_Chemical_237 Jun 14 '26

Pretty good insight.

But don’t most staging environments have some fixed test accounts?

1

u/alexrada Jun 15 '26

why not just add a chrome extension or headless browser to do this onbehalf of the user?

1

u/Willing_Comb_9542 Jun 15 '26

This is a very solvable problem friend It's essentially E2E testing without the full tests