Product Context
Understanding NetPad's Users and Market
Why NetPad Exists
Internal tooling at SMBs is broken. Teams need tools for data collection, routing, and workflow automation, but their options are:
| Option | Reality |
|---|---|
| Enterprise SaaS | $50+/user/month, overkill features, vendor lock-in |
| Custom Development | 3+ months of dev time they don't have |
| No-Code Combos | Typeform + Zapier + Airtable = integration nightmares |
NetPad's insight: Most internal tools follow the same pattern—collect data, store it, route it, act on it. We make that loop fast with native MongoDB integration.
Target Users
Primary: Internal Platform Teams at SMBs
Profile:
- Company size: 50-500 employees (sweet spot)
- Role: IT managers, operations leads, platform teams
- Technical level: Can follow instructions, not full developers
Priority Verticals:
| Vertical | Why | Example Use Cases |
|---|---|---|
| Finance | Compliance needs, approval workflows | Expense reports, budget requests, audit trails |
| Healthcare | Data collection requirements, HIPAA concerns | Patient intake, medical history, appointment scheduling |
Pain Points:
- "We need this tool yesterday but dev team is busy for 3 months"
- "Our current solution costs $X per seat and we only use 10% of it"
- "Data lives in 5 different tools that don't talk to each other"
What They Evaluate:
- Time to first working app (target: under 30 minutes)
- Can it connect to our existing MongoDB?
- Does it handle our workflow/routing needs?
- What does deployment look like?
- What's the escape hatch if we outgrow it?
Secondary: Developers Evaluating Build vs. Buy
Profile:
- Senior developers or tech leads
- Researching internal tooling options
- Will inspect code quality and architecture first
What They Care About:
- Is the architecture sound?
- Can I extend it if needed?
- Is there lock-in? (Open source + export = no lock-in)
- How does it compare to Retool/Appsmith?
Where They Find Us:
- GitHub (inspect the repo)
- Hacker News discussions
- Technical blog posts
- Word of mouth from other developers
User Journeys
Journey 1: IT Manager Needs a Help Desk
Scenario: Sarah manages IT at a 200-person company. Employees email her directly with issues, things get lost, there's no tracking.
Current Pain:
- Issues come via email, Slack, hallway conversations
- No way to prioritize or track resolution
- Can't report on response times to leadership
NetPad Journey:
- Finds NetPad via search for "internal help desk without Zendesk"
- Signs up, sees IT Help Desk template
- Customizes fields for her environment (adds department dropdown)
- Creates workflow: route high-priority to Slack #it-urgent
- Deploys form to company intranet
- Tracks submissions in Data Browser
Success Metric: Working help desk in 30 minutes, not 3 months.
Journey 2: Developer Evaluating Options
Scenario: Marcus is a senior dev at a fintech. Product wants internal tools but his team is fully allocated to the main product.
Current Pain:
- Backlog of internal tool requests
- Previous "quick" internal projects became maintenance burdens
- Needs something he can trust architecturally
NetPad Journey:
- Finds NetPad on GitHub or Hacker News
- Inspects the repo: Next.js, TypeScript, MongoDB—checks out
- Reads architecture docs, likes the patterns
- Tries the template gallery, impressed by variety
- Tests standalone export—confirms he can eject if needed
- Recommends to product team for internal tools
Success Metric: Confident it's a sound technical choice.
Journey 3: Healthcare Admin Needs Patient Intake
Scenario: Clinic manager needs digital patient intake forms to replace paper.
Current Pain:
- Paper forms are slow and error-prone
- Existing form builders don't handle HIPAA properly
- Need data to flow to their MongoDB-based system
NetPad Journey:
- Finds NetPad via "MongoDB patient intake form"
- Sees Healthcare templates with relevant fields
- Appreciates self-hosted option for compliance
- Customizes Patient Intake template
- Enables conversational mode for patients who prefer chat
- Integrates with their MongoDB via connection vault
Success Metric: HIPAA-conscious digital intake in production.
Use Cases by Category
Business & Sales
- Contact forms
- Lead capture
- Demo requests
- Quote requests
- Partnership inquiries
HR & Recruitment
- Job applications
- Employee onboarding
- Time off requests
- Performance reviews
- Exit interviews
Healthcare
- Patient intake
- Medical history
- Appointment scheduling
- Symptom checkers
- Prescription refills
Finance
- Expense reports
- Budget requests
- Invoice submissions
- Reimbursements
- Audit questionnaires
IT & Operations
- Help desk tickets
- Bug reports
- Feature requests
- Asset checkout
- Access requests
Events
- Event registration
- RSVPs
- Speaker submissions
- Feedback surveys
- Volunteer signup
Competitive Landscape
Direct Competitors
| Competitor | Strength | Weakness | NetPad Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retool | Mature, feature-rich | Expensive, complex | MongoDB-native, simpler pricing |
| Appsmith | Open source | Generic, not data-focused | Purpose-built for MongoDB |
| Budibase | Self-hosted focus | Limited workflow | Better workflow automation |
Adjacent Solutions
| Solution | Use Case | NetPad Advantage |
|---|---|---|
| Typeform | Pretty forms | MongoDB-native, workflows included |
| Jotform | Simple forms | More powerful, developer-friendly |
| Zendesk | Help desk | No per-seat pricing, customizable |
| Jira Service Desk | IT ticketing | Simpler, MongoDB-native |
| Custom dev | Full control | 30 min vs. 3 months |
Our Positioning
We are: MongoDB-native platform for internal tools
We are not: Generic form builder competing with Typeform
Key differentiators:
- MongoDB-native — Not another integration to maintain
- "Build once, deploy twice" — Same schema, traditional + conversational
- Open source + export — True ownership, no lock-in
- Workflow automation — Not just forms, complete automation
Messaging Framework
Elevator Pitch (10 seconds)
"NetPad lets teams build internal tools in 30 minutes instead of 3 months. It's MongoDB-native, so your data stays in one place, and you can export anytime—no lock-in."
Value Props by Audience
For IT Managers:
"Stop cobbling together Typeform, Zapier, and spreadsheets. NetPad gives you forms, workflows, and data management in one tool that connects directly to MongoDB."
For Developers:
"It's open source, architecturally sound, and you can export any app as standalone Next.js. If you outgrow NetPad, you're not locked in."
For Finance/Compliance:
"Self-hosted option keeps data in your environment. MongoDB-native means one source of truth for audits."
Headlines That Work
- "Build MongoDB Forms & Workflows Without Code"
- "Internal Tools in 30 Minutes, Not 3 Months"
- "MongoDB-Native. No Lock-In. Your Data, Your Way."
- "From Form to Workflow to Production in Minutes"
Headlines to Avoid
- "The Best Form Builder" (we're not positioning as form builder)
- "No-Code Revolution" (we're developer-friendly, not anti-code)
- "Enterprise-Grade" (we're SMB-focused)
Current Go-to-Market
Distribution Channels (Active)
| Channel | Status | Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Organic search | Active | Template pages, use case content |
| GitHub | Active | Open source discovery |
| Template gallery | Active | Conversion funnel, SEO |
| Documentation | Building | Developer trust |
Distribution Channels (Planned)
| Channel | Strategy |
|---|---|
| Hacker News | "Show HN" with IT Help Desk tutorial |
| Dev.to / Hashnode | Technical tutorials |
| YouTube | Walkthrough videos |
| Carousel posts for IT managers |
No Active Paid Marketing
We're focused on organic discovery initially. Paid campaigns are future consideration after:
- Product-market fit confirmed
- Pricing finalized
- Onboarding optimized
Pricing (Draft)
Note: Pricing model exists but will likely change before release.
| Tier | Price | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Individual, evaluation |
| Team | TBD | SMB teams |
| Enterprise | TBD | Large orgs, compliance needs |
Considerations:
- 3-day free trial planned (all features)
- No per-seat pricing (differentiator vs. Zendesk/Retool)
- Self-hosted may have different model
Metrics We Care About
Activation
- Time to first form created
- Time to first submission received
- Template usage rate
Engagement
- Forms created per organization
- Workflows created per organization
- Conversational form usage
Retention
- Weekly active organizations
- Form submission volume over time
Growth
- Organic signups
- Template gallery traffic
- GitHub stars
Product Feedback Themes
What we're hearing from early users:
| Theme | Frequency | Response |
|---|---|---|
| "Navigation is confusing" | High | Tier 1 priority—UX redesign |
| "Love the templates" | High | Expanding template library |
| "Conversational forms are cool" | Medium | Polishing the experience |
| "Need more integrations" | Medium | Roadmap item |
| "Export feature is reassuring" | Medium | Need better documentation |
Questions for Product/Design Contributors
As you explore NetPad, consider:
- First impressions — What confuses you in the first 5 minutes?
- Navigation — Can you find what you need? Where do you get lost?
- Templates — Which templates would you add? Which seem weak?
- Conversational forms — Is the AI experience intuitive?
- Competitive gaps — What would make you choose a competitor?
Your fresh perspective is valuable—document what you observe.
Next Steps
- Explore the product: Create an account at netpad.io
- Try the template gallery: netpad.io/templates
- Test conversational mode: Pick a template and try "Conversational" tab
- Document your experience: Note friction points and ideas
- Share feedback: Open a GitHub discussion
Product context evolves—this document is updated as we learn.