Dolphin

What do they actually do

Dolphin is a hosted web‑app scaffolder aimed at getting a basic SaaS product running quickly. It sets up database schemas and migrations, user authentication, file/photo/video storage, Stripe subscriptions and webhooks, common integrations (e.g., Slack, Gmail, Salesforce), and embeds an in‑app AI assistant. Users start from a web dashboard, pick the components they need, and Dolphin provisions a working frontend + backend environment to iterate on Dolphin homepage.

The product is sold via usage credits with published packs, and its AI features run on third‑party providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Cloud AI) per the privacy policy pricing · privacy. The public site, pricing, login, and Discord suggest a live early product; there aren’t public case studies or metrics yet. Some listed capabilities (e.g., GPU/CPU containers for heavy compute, e‑commerce, multiplayer editors, video streaming) appear planned rather than broadly available today Dolphin homepage.

Who are their target customer(s)

• Non‑technical solo founders: They struggle to wire up database, auth, file storage, and Stripe on their own and want a scaffold that gets them to a working product environment quickly Dolphin homepage.
• Indie makers building alone: They lose momentum on plumbing (migrations, webhooks, integrations) instead of testing demand and want a faster path to validate an idea Dolphin homepage.
• Technical co‑founders or small engineering teams: They’re slowed by repetitive setup for auth, billing, and storage and want to focus on product logic rather than rebuilding common infrastructure.
• Agencies and freelance builders delivering MVPs: They face tight timelines and scope risk on integrations/hosting; a repeatable scaffold and predictable credits can reduce delivery risk and help estimate project costs pricing.
• Product managers or non‑engineering PMs: They’re blocked by engineering backlogs for simple app flows and want a way to spin up testable experiences without pulling developers.

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Personal outreach to non‑technical founders in relevant communities (Discord, Indie Hackers, X) and YC alumni; offer concierge onboarding and help build/migrate an MVP in exchange for feedback and testimonials Dolphin homepage · pricing · YC listing.
• First 50: Publish 2–3 reproducible SaaS templates with walkthrough videos, do a public launch (e.g., Product Hunt), funnel interest into the Discord, and use limited promo credit packs to lower trial friction and capture case studies Dolphin homepage · pricing.
• First 100: Ship a template gallery and guided onboarding to convert self‑serve signups, create reseller partnerships with freelancers/agencies, and add a referral credit that rewards both referrer and referee Dolphin homepage · pricing.

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

Dolphin sits within the low‑code/no‑code and rapid application development market, which analysts size in the tens of billions annually (Gartner estimated ~$27B in 2023 and just under $32B in 2024) Gartner · Grand View Research.

Bottom-up calculation:

Illustratively, if 1,000,000 global indie founders, small teams, and agencies attempt web app MVPs annually, and 5% buy a hosted scaffold at ~$300/year, the initial SAM would be ~50,000 customers and ~$15M/year. This is a practical starting slice within the broader market NerdWallet/SBA context.

Assumptions:

• Roughly 1M global builders are actively in‑market for web app MVPs each year (a subset of millions of small businesses and new business applicants) NerdWallet/SBA.
• 5% adoption among that group for a hosted scaffold (early‑stage niche penetration).
• ~$300/year average spend derived from credit pack pricing ranges pricing.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Bubble: A visual, no‑code platform to build web apps end‑to‑end without writing code; overlaps on fast MVP creation, but it’s a visual builder rather than a code‑scaffolding+hosted runtime aimed at non‑technical founders Bubble.
• Supabase: Developer‑focused backend‑as‑a‑service (Postgres, auth, storage, functions); provides backend primitives Dolphin wires together, but not a hosted “scaffold a full SaaS + AI assistant” flow for non‑technical founders Supabase features.
• Outseta: All‑in‑one membership/SaaS stack (auth, payments/Stripe, CRM, email, help desk); overlaps on auth/billing but focuses on running membership businesses rather than generating a full app scaffold with frontend and AI assistance Outseta.
• Appwrite: Open‑source backend platform (auth, database, storage, functions) for developers to self‑host or use cloud; supplies backend primitives, not a hosted UI that scaffolds and hosts a complete product for non‑technical founders Appwrite.
• Next.js SaaS boilerplates/starter kits: Prebuilt code templates (e.g., Next.js + Stripe + auth) used by engineers/agencies to jumpstart SaaS; developer‑first codebases rather than a hosted builder for non‑technical users Vercel template.