Ask HN: How to build group chat app in 2020?
Do we really need another chat app? Wouldn&#x27;t it maybe be better to capitalize on the existence of an open network that is already around, and build a better client for it that kicks the pants off of whatever&#x27;s already out there?<p>&gt; will not be able to build anything robust by myself.<p>Then who&#x27;s going to build it? Are you hiring a team to do this? Don&#x27;t underestimate what&#x27;s involved here to get something working and keep it running. At the very least, if you don&#x27;t go with a decentralized model, you&#x27;re in for expensive server bills and considerable ongoing maintenance to keep up with security patches, etc.<p>How will you monetize this to pay for all that infrastructure?<p>&gt;  Too much info&#x2F;options<p>There are already too many options in this space. Why would anyone choose your client when Signal, Telegram, Riot&#x2F;Matrix, etc. are all free and decent to use? What is your unique value-add?<p>Will you be writing a client for multiple platforms? Desktop? Web browser? Don&#x27;t be fooled into thinking you can build one client that works everywhere, you&#x27;re up against native apps with native integrations that make sharing and interoperation easy - features that take whole teams to get right, much of the time.<p>&gt;  All suggestions and thoughts welcome, especially specifics. Thanks.<p>Don&#x27;t do this unless you have a business plan good enough that someone will lend you $1MM to get it off the ground. Seriously. You&#x27;re talking about entering a massively crowded marketplace, and you&#x27;re clearly out of your element.<p>If you must do something, make a paid Riot&#x2F;Matrix client that doesn&#x27;t suck as much as the stock one does, and steal users from an existing network.