Building a prototype
Ideas people can use.
Share an address tonight. People sign up with real accounts and every booking is a real row you can read.
The app you test is the app you keep: same database, same accounts, same address. Nothing gets rebuilt when the idea works.
One app, start to finish
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Tonight | You send the sentence. Ask for a plan first if you want to approve the steps. |
| Minutes later | A working app at a preview address, with accounts and a database. |
| Same night | You publish it free and share the address. Real people sign up. |
| When it holds | You keep going in the same app. Their accounts and rows are still there. |
One app the whole way. The test is never thrown away.
Five ideas to test with real people
The swap board
A swap board for my neighbourhood where people list things they lend and others ask to borrow them.
Accounts · Its own database · Each person sees their requests
- Accounts
- Its own database
- Each person sees their requests
Every plan, Free included
The waitlist
A waitlist for my course with a referral link that moves people up the list.
Its own database · Visitor analytics · An instroc.app address
- Its own database
- Visitor analytics
- An instroc.app address
Every plan, Free included
The streaks
A habit app where each person keeps a streak and can share a public page of it.
Accounts · Public and private pages · Its own database
- Accounts
- Public and private pages
- Its own database
Every plan, Free included
The market test
A marketplace test where makers list one piece each and buyers reserve it with their email.
File storage for photos · Its own database · Inbox for messages
- File storage for photos
- Its own database
- Inbox for messages
Every plan, Free included
The paid pilot
A paid pilot of my meal-plan idea where the first twenty people pay a small monthly price.
Accounts · Subscriptions · Payments to your account
- Accounts
- Subscriptions
- Payments to your account
Paid plans
Asked before starting
- What does a prototype cost?
- You can build and share one on Free. Free is $0 with 30 credits a month (5 messages a day). Hobby is $6 a month, Starter $15, Pro $40 and Business $80. Running a published app draws on Instroc Cloud: Free comes with $5 once. Paid plans renew every month: Hobby $5, Starter $10, Pro $20 and Business $25.
- How fast is it?
- Each change is built and published to your preview address in minutes. Ask for a plan first and you approve the steps before anything changes.
- Can my co-founder or designer change it too?
- Yes, from Starter at $15 a month: up to 5 editors and unlimited viewers in a shared workspace.
- What happens to the test data when we launch?
- It stays. The prototype's database is the app's database, so the people who signed up during the test still have their accounts.
- Can I take the code with me?
- Yes, on every plan. The app is real React and TypeScript, and you can view and download the source whenever you want. Paid plans add a code editor in the browser.