New Software Marketplace

[Andrew G]

Hi everyone,

We’ve just launched CodeHost, a platform connecting anyone — from individuals to businesses—with developers to buy, sell, and customize software solutions.
Our goal is to help businesses go 80% faster to market and cut costs by at least 30%.

Looking for feedback—check us out: CodeHost.

 

[antropy]

Hi everyone,

We’ve just launched CodeHost, a platform connecting anyone — from individuals to businesses—with developers to buy, sell, and customize software solutions.
Our goal is to help businesses go 80% faster to market and cut costs by at least 30%.

Looking for feedback—check us out: CodeHost.

So it's just another site like UpWord / PeoplePerHour / Freelancer.com etc.?

What makes you different? Why are your developers charging 30% less than the other sites?

Paul.

 

[fisicx]

Doesn’t seem to work. I searched for Wordpress plugin and got two results both of which were wrong.

As @antropy already suggested, what makes you different to the existing freelancer sites? What are you doing that’s different to PeoplePerHour?

 

[Andrew G]

So it's just another site like UpWord / PeoplePerHour / Freelancer.com etc.?

What makes you different? Why are your developers charging 30% less than the other sites?

Paul.

Doesn’t seem to work. I searched for Wordpress plugin and got two results both of which were wrong.

As @antropy already suggested, what makes you different to the existing freelancer sites? What are you doing that’s different to PeoplePerHour?

Thanks for the feedback, seems like our message is not so clear.
We are not like Upwork or Freelancer, but you can relate to it somehow.

Our focus is on software sales, white-labeling and software customization.

In a nutshell, we believe almost any application you need for your business already exists and you should not develop it from ground up. You should buy an existing solution and customize it further to fit your business needs, with or without in-house developers.

On CodeHost you can buy software source code and further customize it yourself or have the original developer(s) make the customizations for you.
If you have invested in software development, on CodeHost you can sell that code it in other regions which you are not targeting, avoiding competition while recovering your investment.

Apart from this, something that’s similar to Upwork, is that we connect customers to experts (freelancers) on certain Apps (Hubspot, Salesforce..etc)

 

[antropy]

In a nutshell, we believe almost any application you need for your business already exists and you should not develop it from ground up. You should buy an existing solution and customize it further to fit your business needs, with or without in-house developers.

Yes that's how most developers work anyway.

I don't see anything new here?

Paul.

 

[fisicx]

Suppose I'm a business making widgets. I need a new widget testing tool. I contact a testing tool manufacturer and they will do their research to see if a suitable bit of software exists.

Where do you fit into this workflow? How will anyone know you exist?

As you say, it's not at all clear what you are offering.

I did browse the software on the site but it's just a bunch of blank pages telling me to contact the seller. It's just pointless.

 

[antropy]

Where do you fit into this workflow?

Generally the workflows we find are either:

1. Client has done their research and is already sold on a platform, then finds a developer for it.
2. Client finds a developer and the developer finds a suitable platform to start from.

It's a very rare case where a project ends up being totally custom coded.

Paul.

 

[fisicx]

It's a very rare case where a project ends up being totally custom coded.

I agree. My point was that CodeHost is outside the normal research process. If I want something to measure windspeed or whatever that's what I'm going to search for. Unless CodeHost pops up in the search results with a suitable product I will never know they even exist.

 

[antropy]

I agree. My point was that CodeHost is outside the normal research process. If I want something to measure windspeed or whatever that's what I'm going to search for. Unless CodeHost pops up in the search results with a suitable product I will never know they even exist.

Exactly. I find sites like:

https://alternativeto.net/

Open-source Scripts List & Software Directory » Open Source CMS

OpenSourceCMS.com is a central resource for all things related to Open-source CMS and gives you the opportunity to “try out” most of the best Open-source CMS tools in the world without marketing fluff or sales people. Feel free to browse around on the site and try fully configured standard demos...

www.opensourcecms.com

Softaculous – Apps and WordPress Manager

https://sourceforge.net/

to be the best starting points when looking for a new platform.

Paul.

 

[Andrew G]

Exactly. I find sites like:

https://alternativeto.net/

Open-source Scripts List & Software Directory » Open Source CMS

OpenSourceCMS.com is a central resource for all things related to Open-source CMS and gives you the opportunity to “try out” most of the best Open-source CMS tools in the world without marketing fluff or sales people. Feel free to browse around on the site and try fully configured standard demos...

www.opensourcecms.com

Softaculous – Apps and WordPress Manager

https://sourceforge.net/

to be the best starting points when looking for a new platform.

Paul.

I agree. My point was that CodeHost is outside the normal research process. If I want something to measure windspeed or whatever that's what I'm going to search for. Unless CodeHost pops up in the search results with a suitable product I will never know they even exist.

Thanks, guys, for the honest feedback!

It’s exactly what we need to take things to the next level. I appreciate you mentioning the competition and how we fit in the market.
We’ve already made some adjustments based on your insights, with a stronger focus on white-label software and customization.

Your feedback is really helpful, and I’d be glad to keep hearing more from you as we continue improving!

 

[fisicx]

We’ve already made some adjustments based on your insights, with a stronger focus on white-label software and customization.

Who looks for either of these?

I want a widget counter. I search Google for a suitable developer and they make me a widget counter. How will this developer ever know you exist? Why would they even be looking for white-label software or customization? They will be searching for counting applications or whatever.

Nobody wants what you are selling. They want specific solutions to a problem. Which means you need to market the solutions not means of delivery. The website is irrelevant as are the developers. All that matters is finding a fix for a problem.

 

[Andrew G]

Who looks for either of these?

I want a widget counter. I search Google for a suitable developer and they make me a widget counter. How will this developer ever know you exist? Why would they even be looking for white-label software or customization? They will be searching for counting applications or whatever.

Nobody wants what you are selling. They want specific solutions to a problem. Which means you need to market the solutions not means of delivery. The website is irrelevant as are the developers. All that matters is finding a fix for a problem.

You're absolutely right, people are looking for specific solutions, just like your widget counter example.
In most cases, a widget counter (or similar tool) already exists and just needs tweaks for your specific use case. Once you have it, you can even sell your customized version in other countries, creating new opportunities for revenue.

 

[fisicx]

You're absolutely right, people are looking for specific solutions, just like your widget counter example.
In most cases, a widget counter (or similar tool) already exists and just needs tweaks for your specific use case. Once you have it, you can even sell your customized version in other countries, creating new opportunities for revenue.

But I make widgets. Why would I want to sell my shiny new widget counter to anyone else? I own a factory, I don’t want to get involved in selling software to my competitors.

But this still doesn’t change the fact that I will never even know you exist. I’m never going to be looking for your services. I’m going to be looking for someone to solve my problem. I might not even know I need a developer.

 

[Andrew G]

But I make widgets. Why would I want to sell my shiny new widget counter to anyone else? I own a factory, I don’t want to get involved in selling software to my competitors.

But this still doesn’t change the fact that I will never even know you exist. I’m never going to be looking for your services. I’m going to be looking for someone to solve my problem. I might not even know I need a developer.

On CodeHost, you control where your software is sold, so you wouldn’t have to worry about selling to competitors.

As for not knowing we exist, that’s fair, we’ve just launched, so it’s true we’re still growing our presence. In time, as we expand and build our brand, we aim to become the go-to platform where businesses can quickly find the right solutions, without needing to know they require a developer right from the start.

 

[antropy]

On CodeHost, you control where your software is sold, so you wouldn’t have to worry about selling to competitors.

So rewind a second and just explain simply what the actual idea is? What's the basic premise?

Paul.

 

[Andrew G]

So rewind a second and just explain simply what the actual idea is? What's the basic premise?

Paul.

We differentiate by allowing software owners to sell their software (source code) securely, towards non-competitive markets.

1. Both users (buyer / seller) get verified (KYC).
2. Seller selects in what countries/regions they feel comfortable selling to
3. Seller choses the T&C for license and contract for the sale.

Bare in mind that we’re focusing on expanding the marketplace only in regions that respect and enforce IP and copyright laws.
We’re currently focusing on 3 simple licenses for reselling software & copyrights.
https://codehost.market/p/sourcecode_license

Is it more clear now?

 

[fisicx]

On CodeHost, you control where your software is sold, so you wouldn’t have to worry about selling to competitors.

As for not knowing we exist, that’s fair, we’ve just launched, so it’s true we’re still growing our presence. In time, as we expand and build our brand, we aim to become the go-to platform where businesses can quickly find the right solutions, without needing to know they require a developer right from the start.

I don't want to sell anything!

No matter how you market the platform it's still not going to get traction. Your average business owner may only ever need one solution so won't be interested in your platform. They will be looking for someone to build the widget counter which needs a laser, mounted housing and an API to connect to the control panel. The software in many cases is just part of the whole project.

Right now I working on something for a Swedish company that connects real estate listings with realtors. The software is just part of the whole project, there is lots of workflow discussions and legal ramifications.

Your platforms needs to have working MVP for everything. These demos need to be found on Google.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Both users (buyer / seller) get verified (KYC).

There's a nice business cost before you sell anything.

In what other (relatively) low cost markets do buyers have to go through KYC? That would bounce me elsewhere pretty quickly!

 

[antropy]

We differentiate by allowing software owners to sell their software (source code) securely, towards non-competitive markets.

I see so it's like a marketplace for software?

So how's it different from these:

Buy Plugins & Code from CodeCanyon

Discover 34,554 Plugins, Code and Script for Bootstrap, Javascript, PHP, Wordpress, HTML5 and more. Save time, buy Code on CodeCanyon!

codecanyon.net

Hot Scripts - The net's largest PHP, CGI, Perl, JavaScript and ASP script collection and resource web portal.

Hot Scripts is the net's largest PHP, CGI, Perl, JavaScript and ASP script collection and resource web portal. We are an Internet directory that compiles and distributes Web programming-related resources, geared toward webmasters, developers and programmers looking for enhancing their Web sites...

www.hotscripts.com

Buy App Templates, PHP Scripts, WordPress Themes and more

Buy Code, Scripts, Themes, Templates and Plugins for PHP, JavaScript, HTML, WordPress, Android, iOS and more.

www.codester.com

https://www.phpjabbers.com/

?

Paul.

 

[zomex]

Hello,

You're in a very tough industry but nothing easy is worth pursuing so I wish you all the best.

There is already a huge monopoly being Envato (CodeCanyon, ThemeForest). What makes you different? I have a few scripts that I developed on CodeCanyon. They are very compelling as they manually review each submission to keep quality high.

What is your plan for marketing? As ultimately a combination of marketing & offering unique software that has a demand is the key.

When you list on Envato you have the option to provide exclusively there or outside at the same time. You should speak to developers on Envato and create a platform that it would be silly for them not to list their software but even then it will be hard.

 

[antropy]

They are very compelling as they manually review each submission to keep quality high.

You'd hope so but the themes we've bought from ThemeForest have been full of issues.

Paul.

 

[zomex]

You'd hope so but the themes we've bought from ThemeForest have been full of issues.

Paul.

I completely agree with you. Themes are bloated on ThemeForest and it's a huge problem in the industry.

Developers create a very simple theme and then include 10+ plugins which are required to use it. They try and include every design/feature possible to appeal to as many as possible which makes it slow/and cluttered. The biggest problem is it becomes a nightmare to keep the plugins/theme up to date and stop it from breaking.

With that said ThemeForest still verify the code of your theme to make sure it's using the latest WordPress approved standards.

My comment was more focused on CodeCanyon who is the OPs biggest competitor. They won't simply accept any script, they have a base level of requirements before they will approve it. I have 2 scripts approved on that platform and it took a few attempts to get them past verification. For example they require an amount of documentation.