A few months ago, I found myself endlessly searching for furniture for my apartment. I was searching for simple stuff like a living room table, and an espresso machine.
Like anyone, I wanted the best deals, but I quickly realized a frustrating truth: furniture prices vary wildly across stores, prices are sky high, and there’s no single place to compare them all. I had 50 tabs open, 20 saved links, searching across 30 different sites, comparing shipping time, and prices, jumping between websites, and feeling like I was wasting hours.
That’s when it clicked: I wish there was FitAlert for furniture. I built FitAlert 5 years ago as a price comparison app for fitness products in Croatia. Since then, it helped me multiple times (and 1,000s other users) find the best deals in minutes!
Fast forward to today, and I’ve launched ZaDom.hr, a furniture price comparison platform, getting 33,000 Reddit impressions, 1,100 visitors, 2,800 page views, and over 50 comments with valuable feedback—all in the first week. Here’s how I did it, what I learned, and what’s next.
The Idea: Solving My Own Problem
The idea was born from a real personal frustration. I wanted to buy a few simple things for my apartment and then realized I’ve spent hours searching across webshops and my energy drained as if I was working for 8 hours.
Prices went sky high in the past 2 years
Prices vary a lot across different webshops
There’s no single platform that searches across different shops
If this was annoying for me, I figured others must be feeling the same. I had already built FitAlert, a price comparison platform for fitness products, so I knew I could adapt that system and create something similar for furniture. Zadom was the answer to my problem—and hopefully thousands of others.
How I built, monetized, and launched ZaDom.hr in just 6 weeks?
I’ve been building digital products for over 10 years, and over that time, I’ve accumulated and purposely built various digital assets I could reuse, such as software, marketing campaigns, processes, integrations, domains, etc.
Using assets I already own
Instead of starting from scratch, I repurposed the core software I built for FitAlert. This gave me a massive head start and saved weeks (if not months) of development.
Rebranding and Customizing
I spent time working with my team and re-branding the platform, creating a new logo, tweaking the design, and ensuring it works well for furniture categories.
Importing Products
I’ve reached out to multiple webshops in Croatia in order to get an XML feed for their products and worked on importing the first 5 webshops.
The lesson from FitAlert is that writing XML importers and properly mapping product categories is the most time consuming process. This time I decided to solve it with AI.
Simple integration with OpenAI ChatGPT API saved me hundreds of hours of manual work. Now I can import 1,000s of new products each day!
Monetizing the app
When I launched FitAlert 5 years ago I learned a very painful and expensive lesson: early monetization is the validation!
This time I was smarter. I applied for and got approval from 14 affiliate programs, ensuring the platform was ready for monetization on launch day.
In total, it took 6 weeks to go from idea to launch. The big lesson? Repurposing what you’ve already built can dramatically speed up the process.
The Launch: 33k impressions, and real feedback
With ZaDom.hr ready, I focused on a simple launch strategy: share it with a community that cares. I posted about Zadom on Reddit, LinkedIn, and Instagram, targeting a relevant subreddit and local audience that cares about saving money and home furniture.
Here’s what happened:
36,000+ Reddit impressions
1,100 unique visitors to the site
2,800 page views
Over 50 comments with feedback, feature requests, and ideas
What stood out the most was the engagement. People weren’t just visiting; they were sharing thoughts, suggestions, and problems Zadom could solve. This feedback is gold. For example:
Some users asked for better filters to narrow down products.
Others suggested adding specific furniture categories.
In a single post, I not only validated the problem but also received a clear roadmap for what to build next.
Key Learnings
Repurpose What You Have:
Reusing software saved time and effort.
Allowed for a quicker go-to-market strategy.
Community Validation is Gold:
Reddit feedback was invaluable.
Early adopters can shape product direction.
Affiliate Programs Take Time but Pay Off:
Approval processes can be slow but are crucial for monetization.
Simple Launches Work:
You don’t need a huge marketing budget or complex campaigns to launch. A single Reddit post drove 1,000 visitors and validated the idea.
Feedback is Your Roadmap
The feature requests and ideas I received from the launch will directly shape the future of Zadom. Early users are your best advisors.
What’s Next for Zadom?
This is just the beginning. Based on the feedback I received, here’s what’s next:
Feature Improvements: Adding more filters and improving product categorization.
Expanding the Database: Including more products and retailers to provide better options.
Scaling Traffic: Exploring new marketing channels to grow beyond the initial Reddit launch.
My goal is to make ZaDom.hr the go-to platform for furniture price comparison in Croatia—and eventually, beyond.
Reflections: Start Simple, Learn Fast
Building Zadom reinforced a lesson I’ve learned time and time again: you don’t need a perfect product to launch. Start simple, share it with a community, and let real users guide the way.
The response to ZaDom has been exciting, and it’s proof that solving real problems, no matter how niche, can resonate with people.
Check Out ZaDom.hr, Subscribe, and Let’s Build Something Together
Visit ZaDom.hr: ZaDom is live and ready to help you find the best deals on furniture. Explore it and let me know your thoughts!
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Work with me
If you’re an entrepreneur or startup looking for help with your go-to-market strategy, building an MVP, or scaling your product, I’d love to collaborate. Let’s turn your idea into reality. Reach out to me.
Let’s build great things together!