Why I decided to build FormBeep
I was working on a client project a couple of months back. A small website built with Hugo for a local business. Simple stuff: business info and a contact form for capturing leads. I routed the form submissions to the client’s email.
But there was a problem. They weren’t checking their emails regularly. In their line of business, turnaround time is everything. By the time they saw the inquiry and replied, the customer had already gone with a competitor.
So they asked me to set up a webhook to send form submissions directly to WhatsApp as a notification.
I delivered it, but the whole process was painful. Setting up automation, Twilio config, getting Meta Business approval for the WhatsApp API. It was so much overhead for such a simple need.
While this was clearly a real problem, I never acted on it.
Until a few weeks back when I missed an inquiry for a project from my personal blog. It landed in spam. I only saw it days later.
That’s when it hit me. People actually do check WhatsApp more than email. And for small business owners, getting a notification instantly on the device already in their pocket makes way more sense than checking an inbox.
What I built
I wanted a simple solution. One line of code that you can add to any website or form and it would just work.
So I built FormBeep. The idea was simple: paste one line of code, get form submissions on WhatsApp. No dashboard you never log into unless you want to upgrade or cancel your subscription. No learning curve.
The privacy bit was important to me. I’ve worked with enough client data to know that the best way to protect information is to not keep it around. FormBeep stores form submissions just long enough for you to view them, then permanently deletes them. Not “soft delete.” Not “archive.” Gone.
It took about three weeks of nights and weekends to get the MVP working. The hardest part wasn’t the code. It was getting WhatsApp’s Business API approved (their verification process and documentation is so bad).
It’s actually working
The product is ready and sort of on auto-pilot since there aren’t many users yet. Most users are a couple of my friends who signed up after I forwarded it to them. Most early users so far are friends and developers I shared it with while testing.
But yesterday, I got this message:
Someone wanted me to work on a Hugo project and reached out via my website. The notification hit my phone instantly.
While I would have checked my inbox anyway, the instant notification felt amazing. I replied back immediately with a meeting time.
The product is working. Forms are being submitted. Notifications are being delivered. Even if this doesn’t succeed as a business or product, at least it works for me.
But there are some challenges
I suck at marketing and distribution. In fact, this is the first time I’ve built something and shipped it as a product. I have close to 50 website visits a day, but very few signups. I think I really need to work on the copy.
WhatsApp is huge in India, Brazil, Middle East, Southeast Asia. Places where FormBeep makes the most sense. But these are also markets with very different purchasing power.
A $6/month subscription might be reasonable for a US small business, but I’m not sure if a small business owner in India or Indonesia would spend that much. Can I make the unit economics work at lower price points? Should I have regional pricing? Do I need to?
And then there’s the elephant in the room: WhatsApp isn’t really a thing in the US. The biggest market for SaaS products doesn’t use the platform my entire product is built around. Most Americans are on iMessage or SMS.
I don’t have answers yet. Maybe FormBeep stays a niche tool for businesses in WhatsApp-heavy markets. Maybe I add SMS support later. Maybe the US market isn’t the right fit for this product.
These are questions to be answered.
What’s next
For now, I’m looking to get some real feedback from free users. If you’re reading this and you’re one of the first 50 free users, you get 50% off for lifetime on all plans.
I’m also looking to improve the hero copy. I’m not sure if it conveys the message well. I also received some feedback that the website looks too technical for many business owners.
I’m also working to improve the documentation. At least as a developer myself, I feel more confident if the documentation is solid.
A public roadmap of FormBeep can viewed here: RoadMap
I also have to bump up marketing to get some more signups. Hoping for the best.
So, if you’ve ever missed an important form submission because it ended up in spam, or if you’re just tired of checking yet another inbox, give FormBeep a try.
And if you have ideas (especially marketing) on how to make it better, or thoughts on the challenges I mentioned above, I’m all ears. Reply to me on Twitter or just send an email.
With love, Rishi
Want to try FormBeep? If you face any issues or just want to chat, feel free to reach out to me anytime:
- X (Twitter): @rishikeshshari
- Discord: Message me
rishikeshs - Email: hello@formbeep.com