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To put it into a little context: ToolJet seems to be the leading open-source alternative to Retool, which has recently raised money at $3.2B valuation[1]. More
by krn 4y ago
To put it into a little context: ToolJet seems to be the leading open-source alternative to Retool, which has recently raised money at $3.2B valuation[1].
Moreover, according to the founder, Retool hasn't even needed any VC money for a couple of years now[2]:
> We actually didn't need the money (we're cashflow-positive). In fact, we haven't touched the money from our Series B (in 2020) nor our Series C (in 2021).
So, ToolJet obviously must look like an attractive investment to any early stage VC in this software category.
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32264454 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32264454
[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32264969 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32264969
- stavros 4y agoHas anyone tried both? I deployed Tooljet at work because I needed a self-hosted Zapier alternative, but I seem to remember running into some issues and ending up dropping it. I can't be more specific than that as I don't remember, though I think it was related to documentation/getting started quickly, so I was wondering whether others had more experience.
- navaneethpk 4y agoToolJet cannot be used as an alternative for Zapier as it doesn't have workflow automation capabilities. Probably this was the reason for dropping.
- stavros 4y agoAhh, you're right, I remember now. I deployed n8n instead later, thanks.
- AB1908 4y agoHow is n8n? I've been wanting something like Zapier but I can't seem to do HTTP calls to endpoints not in the list of actions.
- stavros 4y agoIt's OK, we don't use that either. I think I had lots of issues trying to set up the GitHub webook and I abandoned that as well, sadly. It was fairly easy to set up the main UI otherwise, though.
- omnibrain 4y agoA few weeks ago I tried a lot of low code tool(building kit)s. Tooljet was one of them, but I failed at getting the docker container (following https://docs.tooljet.com/docs/contributing-guide/setup/docker/ https://docs.tooljet.com/docs/contributing-guide/setup/docke... ) to run.
- stavros 4y agoI can point you to my Harbormaster[1] repo if you want, then you just specify the variables and it runs. [1]: https://pypi.org/project/docker-harbormaster/ https://pypi.org/project/docker-harbormaster/
- omnibrain 4y agoI must admit I haven't used (coming from windows development) docker a lot before, and I was doing it on my Macbook. But all the other tools worked. So tools like yours existing mean, that there can be trouble having several "docker composed" applications running at the same time? That may explain my (for me inexplicable) errors when trying Tooljet.
- stavros 4y agoNo, running multiple apps is fine. In fact, it's what Harbormaster does, it just helps you manage server deployments a bit more easily.
- samwillis 4y agoWhy raise two rounds, diluting your own shares, if you then don’t spend it to grow and capture a larger market? It seems counterintuitive to me. Surly the VCs expect you to spend the investment, and not doing so isn’t maximising the value of their investment?
- debarshri 4y agoBecause raising capital sets a price on the company. Now we know retool is $3.2B in value.
- krn 4y agoThe Retool's founder explained this in the linked comment: > TBH, fundraising is kind of like charades: it's a way to signal you are doing well, without telling people your private company metrics. I wish we never needed to fundraise, and could just focus on building great products and working with customers instead. :)
- jokethrowaway 4y agoIf they didn't need the money, they could do just that. The real advantage is for when they decide to sell in X years. Instead of being bought for 1B by Microsoft they'll get 5B because other VC overvalued them in the past.
- antupis 4y agoYeah it is signal to potential customer, employees and also it always help if you have some money at bank.