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Show HN: I hated generating PDFs with existing tools, so I built a simpler one

1 points by marcelobreum 2y ago

Hey guys! I was previously a co-founder of a growing B2B SaaS, but I wasn’t happy working with my partners. Even though I had the co-founder title, I never really felt like it was my own company. After four years of growing the business from the ground up to $2 million ARR, I decided to sell my stake back to my co-founders and start fresh—as a company of one. I wanted to tackle a recurring problem we faced: generating PDFs at scale without constantly relying on our development team. We spent countless hours using outdated libraries, wrestling with broken layouts, and trying to implement best practices. Either the HTML wasn’t built correctly for printing, or it was complicated to handle complex components like charts, or the library syntax was too cumbersome and annoying to make the PDF match our application’s design. To make things worse, every time we needed to change the layout, we had to involve the dev team. Because it was so time-consuming, we often just avoided making changes altogether. It was really frustrating! So I decided to create pdforge — a platform where you can generate modern PDF documents using an opinionated no-code builder powered by AI agents. The best part? My former co-founders became my very first customers—even before I officially left the company! I’m currently at $1k MRR, and my goal is to reach $83k MRR as a solopreneur. Do you think it’s possible? Any feedback on the product or advice for the journey is more than welcome. Cheers!

codingdave 2y ago
It is a legit problem, so there is definitely market potential with this idea. But I'd warn you to be wary about using your prior problems as the examples of why to buy this product. I read the quote on the bottom of the page, and thought it sounded like someone who had no clue about PDF rendering, and therefore your current marketing sounds to me more like, "We learned PDFs so you don't have to", and not "We built a product that works for people who know what are doing with PDFs, but just don't want to." You have a much stronger marketing statement in: "Every time we needed to change the layout, we had to involve the dev team" That statement is the one that will get the attention of people who know PDFs. Because the flip side of that is a dev thinking, "Sure, I can do all the PDF work without this product... but man, wouldn't it be nice to just let the business do it on their own?"
- marcelobreum 2y ago
  That's a really valid point! I'll take a better look at the copy so it points out more to this "I know you can do it, but should you do it?". Thanks for the insights!

1 points by marcelobreum 2y ago

codingdave 2y ago

It is a legit problem, so there is definitely market potential with this idea. But I'd warn you to be wary about using your prior problems as the examples of why to buy this product. I read the quote on the bottom of the page, and thought it sounded like someone who had no clue about PDF rendering, and therefore your current marketing sounds to me more like, "We learned PDFs so you don't have to", and not "We built a product that works for people who know what are doing with PDFs, but just don't want to." You have a much stronger marketing statement in: "Every time we needed to change the layout, we had to involve the dev team" That statement is the one that will get the attention of people who know PDFs. Because the flip side of that is a dev thinking, "Sure, I can do all the PDF work without this product... but man, wouldn't it be nice to just let the business do it on their own?"

marcelobreum 2y ago
That's a really valid point! I'll take a better look at the copy so it points out more to this "I know you can do it, but should you do it?". Thanks for the insights!