The Robot Factory

Jonathan: Uh, Caleb, I feel like you have
grown more facial hair since yesterday.

Is it just the shadow, the light?

Daila: Did you draw it on?

Caleb: I mean, it would have grown

Jonathan: I guess it,
yeah, I guess it would

Caleb: Not a lot, I don't think.

Jonathan: uh, okay.

Who wants to do the intro?

De did it twice in a row.

Not DE's turn.

Daila: Not my turn and
I got it right once.

So

Jonathan: I'll do it.

Caleb.

Caleb seems perplexed and bewildered.

Caleb: No, I was just trying to
figure out when I did it last.

Jonathan: Uh, hey, welcome
back to the Robot Factory.

This is a podcast where we record
ourselves building software in

the hopes of trying to sell it.

I'm your co-host, Jonathan Bowers.

Daila: I am another co-host Daila Duford.

Dufford.

Caleb: And I'm the other
co-host, Caleb Sharp.

Jonathan: We should have recorded, we
should have recorded this yesterday cause

we were all in the same, although it's
hard to actually, it's hard to record.

It's hard to record when we're in

Caleb: I didn't have any time yesterday.

Jonathan: Oh no, that also, I was
back to back meetings right from the

beginning of the day to the end of the
day and even past the end of the day.

Cuz the, the last meeting
went a little long.

But, uh, Daila

Daila: in real life.

Jonathan: in real life, I r l.

Daila: It was awesome.

Caleb: Yeah.

Yesterday was actually pretty awesome.

And dev lunch, we had
a bunch of people come,

Jonathan: Yeah, we host this, uh,
event once a month, a second Tuesday

of every month called Dev Lunch.

And yesterday we had, oh,
I forgot to count, uh, 10.

10 people.

Caleb: Something like that.

Yeah.

And it wasn't just our team.

It was, it was awesome.

Jonathan: It was mostly our team,

Daila: No, there was

Caleb: it, it

Daila: weren't.

Three.

Caleb: three, whatever.

Daila: three.

Caleb: It's, it felt, it felt,

Jonathan: It felt.

Caleb: yeah, it felt like the old days
before Covid, when we would do dev lunch.

Jonathan: Yeah.

Um, but the reason, so the reason,
uh, that Daila came to town,

Daila and Steve came to town.

We met with, we met with some
folks about, um, our next product.

Uh, I don't know.

It's not really our next product.

Well, it is, it's something
we talked about in the past.

We wanted to.

A marketplace because we often get
requests for build us a marketplace,

but we don't have a huge budget for it.

And so we want to build, um, build
a marketplace and turn that into

content or like a course or like
some kind of digital product that

we can sell to people when they come
and say, Hey, can you build us this?

And their budget is, is far lower than
we might need to build it for them.

We can show them how to build it.

The.

So that was, that's sort of the,
like, the premise behind all of this.

And yesterday we met with, um,
two lovely, lovely women from the,

uh, I actually don't know they're
local consultants, um, that work

with food security and food policy.

They've done some work with, um,
the local food policy council.

Uh, lots, lots of stuff with local
food production and connecting,

um, connecting the local economy
around food and, and they're great.

And so they had.

That's a lot of ideas.

Lots of ideas.

Uh, and we met with them yesterday
to just sort of chat through and

see if there was something, one
that we could just help with.

Um, if there's a small thing
that we could help with.

Um, or ideally if there's a, something
in there, uh, product wise that we

could build and be open about building.

And on the other end of it, uh,
have a, have something that this.

Community could use and we could turn into
content slash product slash courseware

slash whatever, some other kind of thing.

Um, yeah, that's what we did yesterday.

Uh, Daila, what did you think of
how that meeting went yesterday?

And maybe, maybe talk to, tell,
tell us about what it was.

So, cuz Caleb wasn't in
that meeting, um, but.

Daila: No, Caleb wasn't in that meeting.

What was it?

It was awesome.

They had so many great
ideas and I really like it.

Just, I don't know.

I love the idea of connecting the local
food with the community and that's

kind of, Like their biggest mandate
is, is really getting that involved.

Um, so I mean they, they had
several ideas, uh, which I

think were, were awesome.

Some were a huge amount of effort or very
uncertain, um, like connecting grocery

stores with local, um, am I supposed to
talk about the one we liked the best?

Jonathan: Yeah.

I think because we're gonna talk
about it anyways cuz we're probably

just gonna do it like we, like we had
suggested, which is we're gonna, we're

gonna build this thing and try to try
to entice people to follow along this

journey as we build a marketplace.

And on the other end have a, have
some courses or products to sell.

Um, but be sort of build it in the open.

So yeah, let's talk.

Daila: Yeah.

All right.

So the one that we felt was, I mean,
probably the best direction for us

to take now is backyard sharing, or
an app that like facilitates that.

Caleb, do you know what
backyard sharing is?

You furrowed your eyebrows.

Caleb: No.

Do I need to have a backyard?

Jonathan: Mm.

You don't need to have a
backyard to participate, but

Daila: You would be part of the equation?

Yes.

So it, there's people who, there's people
who do have backyards and space for

gardens and there's people like you who
do not, but maybe you want a garden and

somebody who has the space but doesn't
have the desire or time or whatever to do

a garden can say, Hey, you can come use my
yard, grow a garden, and we'll share back.

So that's essentially what backyard
sharing is, which is such a good idea.

And then we also went over into, like,
this one I really liked was gleaning.

So say you have a bunch of fruit trees
and you haven't picked all the fruit

they can organize or they, they do
in Kamloops, the, the people that we

were talking to, organize groups of
people to go and clean your trees.

And I like that idea because there's a
massive orchard behi beside my house.

And last year hardly any of the
apples got picked and it was so sad.

So

Caleb: That's why I just
pick people's fruits

Daila: That's illegal.

Caleb: well, is it?

I mean, it's just sitting there.

The birds are gonna eat it.

Otherwise

Jonathan: So that is like trespassing

Daila: Is it on their property?

Jonathan: if it's

Caleb: I'm not like going
into their backyard.

It's like, It's like if the tree
is like somewhat accessible, you

Jonathan: Yeah.

Caleb: it doesn't happen very often cuz
most fruit, I'm allergic to it, whatever.

But

Daila: yeah, that's true.

You'd get caught out pretty quick.

Caleb: yeah, be knocking on their door.

Jonathan: and tongue.

All swollen.

Are

Caleb: have any antihistamines?

Jonathan: apricot.

Yeah.

The gleaning, the gleaning
thing is, is pretty neat.

Um, it's like you said.

Yeah.

It's, it's, uh, people who have fruit
trees and either cant or don't want to

pick them, um, call, call in and register
and then they organize volunteers to come

and pick, and so, Fruit tree owner gets a
third of what they pick if they want it.

So often, I think they don't, um, the
pickers get a third and then the, uh, food

Policy Council, uh, gets the other third.

And they, which they use for, they used to
actually use them to, uh, make popsicles

out of, and then they sold the popsicles.

Um, I don't think they got enough
fruit from gleaning to do that.

They ended up having to buy some, but
um, that was what they did with it.

They, they used it through, Few, few
different, few different things through

the, um, through their community kitchen.

Um, yeah, it's super cool.

But the, yeah, the backyard, the backyard
sharing thing is, is pretty neat.

Um, locally, I, I, I don't know
what this is like in other C

communities, but in Kamloops there
are a number of community gardens.

Um, I think they're city owned property.

I'm not actually sure how that
works, but they're public,

quote unquote public property.

But you have to, you have.

Uh, not buy, but you, you pay
for a plot or one of the gardens,

they're on this, they're usually on
these like raised beds and they're,

they're really, they're really cool.

They get this like, fence around them
and stuff, so, so animals can't get in

and they're irrigated or they've got
hoses hooked up and I think they even

have little sheds to store your stuff.

Um, but they are, I think they're
like 35 bucks for the year

for it, which isn't expensive.

But the wait list is massive cuz
there's only so much land and there's

only so many of these things and
lots of people want to use them.

Um, and so they said that they, uh,
it's like the top voted thing that,

that the stakeholders that they engage
with, that they, that they want.

Um,

Daila: And it has been for 15 years,

Jonathan: yeah.

Yeah.

Daila: asked for thing
at the the food policy.

So we can solve that problem and I
think we can solve it pretty quick.

Caleb: Hmm.

Kamloops has a f
Community food assets map.

It has it, it, it has mapped out crab,
apple trees, trees with edible nuts, plant

with edible berries, tree with edible
fruit, food, hampers community meals,

food banks, yard waste site, farmer's
markets, public produce, urban farm

school, garden, community garden, private
community garden public, not city funded

and community garden, public city funded.

Jonathan: Oh,

Caleb: on a map and there are a
lot of crab appies apparently.

Daila: Well, who likes K crab apples?

Let's be honest.

Jonathan: it

Caleb: a lot of other

Jonathan: I guess.

I don't know.

Caleb: Yeah,

Jonathan: Huh?

so let's think through this a little bit.

So we want to build one, we
want to do something that

has some local impact, right?

If we're gonna, if we're gonna
do something for free, right?

We're not getting paid for it.

Um, or if we are getting paid,
it's not, it's not very much.

Um, we want it to benefit
our community, not some other

community that we don't live.

Um, that would be nice, but we might
as well, you know, be in our backyard.

Two.

Uh, can we, so, so that's,
that's pretty easy.

Like we've solved that, right?

This is a great project.

We think we can do it.

It's not gonna, it really probably isn't
gonna be a ton of time for us, right?

Like, it's not a huge investment.

It's not like we're gonna spend six months
times two people working on this thing.

Um, cause we're gonna build it in no code.

So not a, not a huge investment.

And the benefit is, is local.

So we like that.

The other thing that we want to do
is, can we turn this into a product?

Um, we think we could, right?

We think even, even, even locally, right?

Like if, if you just look at
some of the, uh, some of the

data that we already know, right?

There's a huge backlog.

It's huge demand of people
that want backyards.

We want gardens.

Um, presumably we don't know this
for sure, but based on what they

said, there's, there's a large
number of people that have backyards.

Um, and there is already like
this natural fee structure, like

people are already paying for this.

People are willing to spend money
to get access to a backyard.

So there's probably some, some
way of creating and, and, um,

capturing some of that value.

So I think there's probably, probably
the ability to create a product of it.

And then thirdly is.

We can turn this into
content at the very least.

And so that's, that's what I
think we're gonna try and do, uh,

is try to turn it into content.

So what feels like the next
step for us to do on this?

Or what are some ideas of what we could
do the very next thing we could do?

Daila: Very next.

I, I, I've gotta think about it
a lot more how it would look.

I don't know.

My favorite next steps is always for
Steve to sketch out a basic idea, and

then it makes me feel more creative.

Jonathan: Let's assume that this is a
product we want to own and build and have,

either, either, because it's the product
we're selling, we're somehow selling this,

this marketplace as a service to someone.

I don't know who the customer is exactly,
but we've got this potential product and

we've also got this course that we kind
of want to try and create out of it.

Um, who can we talk to to validate
that either of those things are

good ideas, one or the other.

It doesn't have to be both.

Caleb: Well, prob probably anybody in
in the city involved with community food

efforts, I'm sure they'd have some idea.

Jonathan: Yeah, I guess what I'm trying to
ask is what can we do that doesn't require

a lot of effort, but still gathers some
more understanding of what the demand is

going to be for either the product or.

The, um, we kind of already
got some understanding of what

the demand for the product is.

Like they said they've been
wanting this for 15 years.

Um, we've got some understanding
there, but like, maybe, let me, let

me shift, let me shift it a bit.

What are the things we could do to see if
anybody wants to buy the course that we

produce off the other side of this thing?

Because if nobody wants that,
then why, why bother doing that?

Let's just build the product.

Daila: I don't know.

How can we find that out?

This is my, I don't know.

This is what we're trying to figure out.

Content stuff.

Tell me Johnny B, how do I do it?

Because I honestly have no idea,
which is probably why we've never done

Jonathan: Um, I think we
should launch a landing page.

Daila: Yes,

Jonathan: Not for the
problem we're solving.

Not for the, like, food backyard,
or, sorry, not for the backyard

sharing thing, but the course itself.

So way back, we had talked about
on the PO on this podcast we talked

about, um, can we get people.

Bought into this idea who wanna follow
the journey and are willing to pay

upfront for it, upfront for the course
that we're gonna create on the other end.

So, do you think, so let, let
me throw it back at you then.

So, do you think, you know anyone
who would say, yeah, I'll, I'll, I'll

pay like 20 bucks to, to guarantee
that I get access to this material at

the end, at the, at the other end of
this thing or whatever the price is.

I don't know what the price is, but.

Daila: Yeah, maybe I know some
people or I know where we could

probably find some people.

Jonathan: Where would we find those

Daila: Well, there's, I
mean, there's so many forums.

No code forums out there.

We could start, dip our toe in the
water there, see if we get any interest.

mean, we've had a ton of people
email us about it, so can't

we just reach out to them and

Jonathan: I'm going to.

Yeah, for

Daila: okay, cool.

Jonathan: I, I'm gonna start there.

Like, that's one place to start,
but I mean, they, they may have

already gone off and been like,
wow, we've started building this.

Like, we don't need, we don't need this.

But, um, yeah, just starting up some, even
just some social media posts and trying

to like, I, yeah, I think the, the forums,
some of the bubble forums and that kind

of thing, that would be a good place.

I don't, I don't frequent those things.

I know you are in there more,
more often than I am anyways.

Um, is there places where people
are, uh, maybe not promoting this

kind of thing, but where this,
like, this as a post would be

Daila: I'd have to look and see if
something, yeah, I don't know if on

the actual bubble forum, but there's
like, Spinoff forums that it would be,

Caleb: I've seen the actual bull before.

People just self-promote everywhere.

Daila: yeah, they self-promoted
like a ton of plugins and stuff, so,

well, let's see why they couldn't,

Caleb: I don't know if they
have very strict rules on it.

Daila: yeah.

Caleb: Whether we get any
engagement is another thing.

But if you can find the top Google
search for how to make a marketplace

in Bubble, and then just post a
link to our course in that thread.

Jonathan: how would you, okay,
so if, if, let's assume that.

I don't know, a couple of dozen people
say, yeah, I'm interested in this.

Um, maybe they don't give the money
right away cuz they wanna see something.

Right.

But at least they maybe give us
their email and say like, yeah, let

us know when, when this happens.

Um, we'll sign up.

Um, how would we build it?

How would we do this in a way
that we can be open about it?

Like, so one of the things that,
that also you have often told

me is I should learn bubble.

Daila: Yes, you should learn bubble.

Jonathan: don't wanna learn it, but you
could teach to me by building this thing.

Daila: Yeah.

Jonathan: Would that make sense?

Daila: Oh yeah.

I mean, that's what I think
you would wanna do is just

film yourself building this.

Jonathan: Well, I don't wanna
do all the work I want you to

Daila: No, no, no.

Not you film me.

Like

Jonathan: okay.

Daila: we build it and you just watch it.

I mean, that's how I learned bubble.

I've watched tons of YouTube
videos of people building.

Jonathan: Okay.

Daila: Um, and there's some
really good teachers out there.

Jonathan: I think I, I, I've never,
you've never taught me anything, so I

don't know if you're a good teacher,
but I think you're a good speaker and

I like the way you explain things.

Daila: I think we could do it,
especially with, with Steve's designs.

It's amazing what you can do.

Jonathan: Yeah.

Would you wanna do it live?

Daila: If I practiced a little bit
first, cuz something always goes

wrong when you do it live, which is
okay until you can't figure it out.

Um, but yeah, heck yeah,
I could do it live.

Some of them.

Caleb: Live is great, but it
doesn't, when you have a course

with like pre-recorded video, you
want it to be a lot shorter than

Jonathan: Oh, oh yeah.

No, and, and I don't want to be,
I don't want to con um, I don't

want to, uh, claim that we're gonna
like, produce the course as we go.

It's not, that's not what's happening
is that people get to watch as we do

it, and then we take, we take whatever
we've built and possibly refilm a bunch

of stuff to turn it into a course.

But the, the, the purpose of the landing
page is just to see like, is anybody

interested in this along the way and can
they follow along and provide some, some

in, in, not real time, but like near real
time feedback is like, I didn't understand

what you guys just did there just now.

And we are like, oh, okay, let's.

Make note and go and fix it when we, when
we cut the course the next time, or just

incorporate that and, and maybe there's
some, maybe there's some footage and

some, some recordings that we can utilize
throughout, throughout, uh, this course.

Um, or maybe it's just, you know,
text and we just, I don't know.

It feels messy.

In a falling forward kind of way.

Daila: Yeah, let's start with messy.

That's fine.

It's better than nothing.

I like the idea.

Okay.

We're gonna create a landing page.

We're gonna get some interest.

We're gonna, yeah.

And then we'll build, I mean, even if
we don't build it live, we'll record

us doing it and make some good content.

Jonathan: Okay.

We've got some homework.

How can we build a landing page fast?

Daila: Oh, Steve,

Jonathan: No, I don't even
think we need to use Steve.

I bet.

Well, why don't we make
a, uh, mailing list quick.

I, I can do that in like 10

Daila: Oh yeah, you can do that.

Jonathan: Okay.

I'll, I'll go and, uh,
make a mailing list thing.

It's easy.

Daila: All

Jonathan: We can charge
money through them too.

Like they, they have a whole payment thing

Daila: okay.

Jonathan: We'll start it.

Daila: come with an update next week.

You've been listening
to The Robot Factory.

I'm Daila,

Jonathan: I'm Jonathan.

Caleb: I, Caleb.

Daila: and we'll talk to you next week.