The Sandwich Test: How I Check If A Dev-Tool Idea Is Actually Winnable Before I Build It

Short summary

Solo dev-tool makers often fail when funded competitors give away the exact free-tier product as customer acquisition. The author developed a two-question framework: is a funded company already freely offering your wedge, and do buyers need trust infrastructure (SSO, compliance) only large companies can provide? If both are yes, the market structure won't change—the idea should be abandoned.

• •Funded competitors use free-tier dev tools as customer acquisition for expensive upsells (Trunk.io free, Datadog $8/committer/month)
• •Two-question test: (1) Is your exact free wedge already free from a funded competitor? (2) Do customers need enterprise trust infrastructure?
• •If both questions are yes, stop building—market structure won't change without funding or existing reputation

Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.