Tender

"A personal finance app with a mailbox-style UX (swiping, keyboard shortcuts, inbox-based workflow) for reviewing transactions, built on Automerge CRDT and SQLite in the browser."
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tender.run
Maker: stpn
no rev. info provided; creator notes growth has been slow)

Marketing Channels

Secondary

Hacker News

Shared in HN project thread; creator acknowledges struggling with marketing and slow growth

Growth Levers

  • Emphasize the unique mailbox-style UX in marketing materials — it is the key differentiator against Mint, YNAB, and others
  • Target the privacy-conscious and local-first communities who value CRDT/SQLite browser-based architecture (no cloud dependency)
  • Create demo videos showing the swiping/keyboard shortcut workflow to make the UX tangible
  • Write content about the technical architecture (Automerge CRDT, browser SQLite) to attract developer early adopters
  • Explore partnerships or integrations with bank aggregation APIs (Plaid, etc.) to reduce onboarding friction
  • Consider open-sourcing parts of the stack to build community and trust

First Customer Strategy

Built the app for personal use and started sharing it, but the creator openly admits struggling with the marketing side. Growth has been slow in a competitive personal finance space, suggesting the product has not yet found a scalable acquisition channel.

Pricing Insight

No pricing details mentioned. The creator's focus on the technical stack (Automerge CRDT, SQLite in browser) suggests a technically sophisticated product that may struggle to communicate its value to non-technical users.

Key Takeaways

  • • A technically excellent product can still struggle with growth if marketing is neglected
  • • Personal finance is a crowded space — a strong UX differentiator (mailbox-style workflow) is necessary but may not be sufficient
  • • Creators who build primarily for themselves may face challenges translating personal utility into market demand
  • • Local-first architecture (CRDT, browser SQLite) is a compelling privacy story that can be leveraged as a marketing differentiator
  • • Honest self-assessment of marketing struggles is valuable — it is the first step toward addressing distribution gaps

Sentiment Analysis

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