What kind of draft software am I building?

Lately, I've noticed a confusion over what kind of draft software DraftKick is supposed to be.

There is draft software that helps one manager track the draft in order to build the strongest possible team. It is opinionated and competitive. I call it a draft assistant, although some people associate that term specifically with software that automatically syncs with your league draft room.

There is also draft software that hosts your league's draft, either for an in-person draft or because you want more control than your league site's draft room. This draft software is neutral, benefitting everyone equally. I talk about it as a draft board.

DraftKick falls into the first group. As I said, however, sometimes people think it's the second.

I've been working through two lines of thought regarding this realization. First, I think I need to improve DraftKick's messaging. Secondly, should I be digging more into the kind of draft software people are asking for?

Improving DraftKick messaging

How can I improve the messaging around DraftKick to make it clearer which of the two it is?

With DraftKick I have consciously avoided any kind of "win-your-league" language. I feel like that is overpromising. To say that a bit more firmly: It's lying to promise winning based on a good draft. That's just not how fantasy works

But, on the other hand, I think adding something about "win your league" to the DraftKick pitch would clear up this misconception. Talking about "winning" would help people realize that this is an individual tool built for competition, not for collaboration.

So, I need stronger language that doesn't overpromise. Right now, I'm thinking more about something along the lines of "Draft your ideal team." I don't think it is false advertising to say DraftKick helps you draft the team you think is ideal, given what anyone knows on draft day. That also makes it clear that DraftKick is a tool intended for individual teams to seek an advantage at the draft.

But what about the other draft software?

Reflecting on the requests for the other kind of draft software, I've also wondered if this might be a profitable adaptation of DraftKick. Could it be something that a commissioner uses to track an in-person draft, perhaps projecting onto a TV for all to see? The market (well, a couple of people emailing me) has spoken!

All I'd really have to do is rip out all of the helpful projection data and make DraftKick stricter about alerting violations (illegal rosters or bids). But I may also be adding a new wrinkle to my marketing, if I then had two kinds of draft software and need to correctly sort potential customers.

A more valuable and interesting tool, though, would be one that also serves as a draft room alternative, where teams (not just the commissioner) can input bids or picks. The problem of every in-person draft comes when managers start to move away: Do you go online, or can you have a hybrid draft? A draft room that lets everyone make picks (even if only as an option) means you serve all three draft scenarios: in-person, online, and hybrid.

Following that thread a little further: A draft room would require a completely different backend architecture than DraftKick. DraftKick looks like a website, but it runs completely on the user's computer. A real draft room needs a server to act as the single source of truth, especially in an auction where you could have multiple teams submitting identical bids. The UI might borrow from DraftKick, but the tool itself would need rebuilt, probably in a different language than DraftKick.

If you've been reading along, you also know I have made no secret of my interest in building my own fantasy league site (see here, here, and here). Building a good draft room would check off one of the major needs of such a site.

But...I'll stop there.