Testing demand before building: hand-checked local businesses whose listed website is broken
I'm validating an idea before writing any code and would like honest pushback.
The idea (Gap Watch) is a proposed monthly, hand-verified list of local businesses whose publicly listed website is dead, parked, disconnected or unrelated. It starts with Austin hair & beauty and is aimed at freelance web designers and local SEO freelancers.
What I've actually done: I hand-checked 26 Austin hair & beauty businesses. They were pre-selected with gap-focused searches, so this is not a random sample. 10 of them had a listed website that didn't work or showed something unrelated (checked Oct 25, rechecked Oct 28). A "no website" filter would skip all 10, because a URL is listed.
What I haven't done: launched or taken any money. $49/month for one city + niche is a price I'm testing. 10-25 new verified businesses a month is a target, not a promise. There's a free preview and a waitlist: https://gapwatch.carrd.co
Questions for makers here:
If you've sold data or lead lists to freelancers, did a monthly subscription work, or did people want one-off packs?
What would make you trust hand-verified data over a scraped list?
Is a single city + niche too narrow to test with?
Replies
Cornelis, i'd lean monthly but only if the list genuinely refreshes, otherwise freelancers work through it once and cancel. on trust, show the receipts: a screenshot of the dead or parked site plus the date you checked it beats any "hand-verified" label. one city and niche is fine to test with honestly. I'd just DM 20 Austin web designers this week with 3 free rows each and see who comes back asking for the rest.
@bazfurby Thanks Baz, this is the kind of pushback I was hoping for. Agreed on refresh: the idea is that each month only adds businesses that weren't in earlier months, and if a month comes up short I'd rather say so than pad it. Fair point on receipts too. Right now each row has the source link, the date checked and what was seen, and I'm looking at adding a dated screenshot of the dead or parked page. I'm keeping this test to people who opt in rather than cold DMs, but "3 free rows, then see who asks for more" is a useful way to think about the preview.