Ask HN: What are the benefits of making a SaaS product exclusive or invite only?
Looking to source the wisdom of the crowd here. Me and a friend have been working on a new SaaS marketplace in our spare time; haven't really marketed or experienced any growth yet, and me and said friend are debating as to how to make it "sticky" with potential users going forward.
He is convinced that using a Dribbbble-like model where we close off user sign ups to a small number of users to add a dimension of 'exclusivity' on the platform will in some way make the platform more desirable. To me, this is an odd proposition, but I am aware that the "invite-only" model is popular for many SaaS and even new hardware businesses—as a way to artificially generate a feeling of scarcity that somehow leads to increased buzz and therefore traction. It's been done by startups like Coin and Robinhood, et al.
On the contrary, I believe that interest for a new product piques during a short window; and if I'm not eligible to register on a platform during that window—I may lose interest or even be turned off from signing up. That's been my personal experience with Dribbble; although being a semi-decent designer, their confusing invite system has made me totally lose interest in ever becoming a member.
Does anyone have any insight or experience in this area? Would love to hear any feedback or thoughts.
Since the nature of the product may steer the direction of this decision, I will include a link [0].
[0] www.blendful.com