Competing with an API giant, lessons learned
OpenCage vs Google
Ed Freyfogle
APIDays Barcelona - 12 Sept. 2019
https://opencagedata.com
@opencagedata

How my API is killing Google
Maps while I live on the beach

How my API is killing Google
Maps while I live on the beach
* together with co-founder and team

How my API is killing Google
Maps while I live on the beach
* together with co-founder and team
* we’re doing well, but no one is getting hurt

How my API is killing Google
Maps while I live on the beach
* together with co-founder and team
* we’re doing well, but no one is getting hurt
* one tiny piece of Google Maps

How my API is killing Google
Maps while I live on the beach
* together with co-founder and team
* we’re doing well, but no one is getting hurt
* one tiny piece of Google Maps
* I actually live in an apartment

Goal:
Share some tips on how to think about competing

Why am I telling you this?
Lots of tech advice
Endless posts about having good docs
Limited advice about strategy and competing

Who am I?
OpenCage - Easy, Open, Worldwide, Affordable Geocoding

WTF is geocoding?

Where are we?
© OpenStreetMap

Barcelona
Diagonal, 547
08029
Catalonia
Europe
AXA Auditorium
Les Corts
Spain

Diagonal, 547
08029
Europe
AXA Auditorium
Les Corts
Spain / Rep. of Catalonia
NEW!
Barcelona
Catalonia

41.3896,2.1370

placename lat/long

placename
forward
lat/long

placename
forward
reverse
lat/long

use any map you like
cache as long as you like
fix it
get creative
free as in beer
Open Data

Straight-forward REST API
JSON or XML, SDKs for 20+ programming languages
Example for 41.3896,2.1370
https://api.opencagedata.com/geocode/v1/json
?q=41.3896%2C2.1370
&key=YOUR-API-KEY

If it doesn’t make Euro, it doesn’t make sense
SaaS model
Free testing tier then various levels from €45/month
Hundreds of customers across 36 countries and
growing

The competition

The competition

How can we win?

What does winning mean?

Is this winning?
I give up. Ed and
OpenCage are
just too good!

Is this winning?
Fuck! I can’t
believe Ed beat
me to Mars

This is winning
Happy customers
Stable, growing business
Able to give back to community

Happy customers
Stable, growing business
Able to give back to community
No one needs to lose for us to win
This is winning

Mental model of winning is wrong

Mental model of winning is wrong

Need to find our space

Identify space / weaknesses
Terms & Conditions
Expensive and scary pricing
Too big to care
Privacy
Geocoding lost in the clutter

use any map you like
cache as long as you like
fix it
get creative
free as in beer
Open Data

Pricing
Flat fee
Soft limits, no “surge” or usage based pricing
No surprises. No tricks
Pay in any major currency

Pricing
Flat fee
Soft limits, no “surge” or usage based pricing
No surprises. No tricks
Pay in any major currency
End result: Predictable cost

Too big to care
Potential customers often compare our
service to Google’s

Too big to care
“What did Google say when you asked them
about this?”

Privacy
We want customers’ money, not data
Added an optional parameter. Use &no_record=1
and we keep no record of the query
Based in the EU, servers in the EU

Do one thing well

Do one thing well
geocoding

Do one thing well
We provide a geocoding API

Do one thing well
We provide a geocoding API
Maps? NO!

Do one thing well
We provide a geocoding API
Maps? NO!
Routing? NO!

Do one thing well
We provide a geocoding API
Maps? NO!
Routing? NO!
IP address to location? NO!

What about ….?

What about ….?

Help others

Do one thing well
We provide a geocoding API
End result: Understandable Offering

Other examples:
DuckDuckGo - privacy-focused search

Other examples:
Fathom Analytics - simpler, privacy-focused analytics

Not trying to pick on Google

APIs are infrastructure

APIs are infrastructure
Nail the basics

APIs are infrastructure
Nail the basics
Predictable (boring) is good

APIs are infrastructure
Nail the basics
Predictable (boring) is good
“Is just works”, said the happy customer

What customers care about
Does it solve my problem?
Can I depend on them?
Is the price reasonable?

Be patient

Be stable
https://status.opencagedata.com

Don’t get distracted
No one cares what technology is under the hood

Don’t get distracted
No one cares what technology is under the hood
BTW - we use Perl

Me with no time
for tech flame
wars too busy
skating my API and
business to
success

Me with no time
for tech flame
wars too busy
skating my API and
business to
success
* not actually me

What have we learned

What have we learned
Even giants have weaknesses
Find your space by doing one thing well
Simple and stable sells

Almost finished

If you like geo stuff...
… you’ll love Geomob
Evening event, 5-6 times per year, since 2008
Now in LON, BCN, MUC. Next BCN event 2 Oct.
4-6 speakers, doers, NOT marketing people
thegeomob.com

And one more thing ...
Happy to pay for an
open-source wrapper of our
API in any language we
don’t have, no matter how
obscure.

Ed Freyfogle
@freyfogle
https://freyfogle.com
Based in Tres Torres, Barcelona
https://opencagedata.com
@OpenCageData
https://thegeomob.com
@geomob
© OpenStreetMap, map by MapQuest
Questions? Get in touch