PassATS: an ATS resume scanner at $2.99 per scan. No subscription. It shows how a resume scores and why, so job seekers can fix it before applying. Rack Rate: the DeepSWE coding leaderboard recalculated on what people actually pay for coding subscriptions instead of API list prices. Open data, static site, weekly refresh. I'm also exploring consumer mobile apps distributed through TikTok slideshows.

PassATS started from watching good candidates get filtered out by software they never see. Every tool I tried wanted a monthly subscription for something you need a few times. I wanted one fair price per scan and a clear breakdown. Rack Rate started when I saw benchmark charts using API cost while almost every developer I know pays a flat subscription. The chart answered a question nobody was asking.

I used to think a solid product and a security audit meant you were ready. They don't. Shipping is the easy half. Distribution is the real work, and in a crowded category the product has to show what makes it different in the first five seconds, not on a subpage.

Honest feedback from a BuildHop user. Someone called PassATS underwhelming in a sea of ATS tools. It stung, but it was real attention from a real person, and it pointed straight at what to build next. Feedback that specific means the thing exists in the world.

Distribution and differentiation. PassATS works, but it doesn't earn yet, and it has to stand out in a crowded market. I'm also picking which consumer app idea deserves my next few months.

Ship small and show it early. Your first users will tell you what your landing page fails to say. Treat harsh feedback as free research, and decide how you will reach people before you write the first line of code.