Hey ProductHunters! 👋
I’m Seth, one of the founders of Flat, and we’re excited to share it with you today and get your feedback!
Our motto is: simpler is better.
We built Flat out of frustration with the complicated project management tools we’ve used at previous jobs — things like Asana, Monday, ClickUp, Jira, etc. What we wanted was a simple shared space where we could organize our work, make priorities clear, and stay aligned as a team, without all the friction and complexity.
So we set out to build a tool that was so simple and easy to use that anyone could pick it up within five minutes. Our strategy for achieving this has been to combine familiar, proven concepts like collaborative document editing, status tracking, comment threads, and kanban boards. As a result, Flat feels immediately familiar, and new users can hit the ground running.
Flat also doesn’t aim to be an “everything app”. Instead, it complements the apps you use and love by serving as the home base that ties them all together. Don’t write blog posts in Flat — that’s what Google Docs is for! But do use Flat to capture the goals for each post, and track them through their lifecycle. Don’t hold brainstorming sessions in Flat — that’s what Miro is for! But do use Flat to keep track of the whiteboards for later reference. Don’t hang out and celebrate wins in Flat — that’s what Slack is for! But do use Flat to ask questions or raise issues on a topic without worrying about balls getting dropped.
Flat isn’t done; we’re hard at work making it better every day. But we think it’s ready for you to check it out, and we’d be grateful for any feedback you have to share in the comments below! We’ll be here all day to answer questions.
Congrats on the launch of Flat, @seth_purcell ! 🎉 The focus on simplicity and ease of use is refreshing, and I love how Flat complements other tools rather than trying to replace them. How do you plan to balance adding new features while keeping Flat simple?
@manan_gupta19 Thanks so much! Andrew here, one of the other founders of Flat.
It's great question, so much so that we actually wrote an entire blog post about it! You can check it out at https://flat.app/blog/how-we-kee....
Truth is, there's no secret or magic recipe for striking that balance. We just obsess over maintaining simplicity in all of our design decisions -- from choosing the mental model user's should have when using Flat, through interaction design, all the way to final visual design. Maintaining simplicity is something that doesn't happen automatically, it has to be fought. It's part of the culture of our product team, and it's one of the things we believe differentiates Flat.
Happy to answer any more questions!
@andrew_kallem damn this is great. From my experience, most tools become the problem they're trying to solve. Specially SaaS. I hope you're successful in keeping Flat away from becoming that:)
@manan_gupta19 this is a great question, and I don't think I can add much to what Andrew already said, but the fact is simplicity is our main differentiator and a core value, so we constantly, constantly defend it. And sometimes that means saying "we don't know how to make this simple right now so we're going to defer it".
My team currently uses Asana and Jira for project management. Flat looks really simple and intuitive with all the essentials, plus lots of integrations. My team relies a lot on visualization of work outputs, like Weekly Digest/Summary, and customizable charts with specific measurements, does Flat offer any quantitative measurement and visualizations as well? Congrats on the launch!
@kehui_guo Thanks Kehui!
One of our takeaways when speaking with users is that, across teams, the needs and preferences for visualization, reporting, etc., can vary quite a lot. To keep Flat simple and intuitive, our approach has been to let users who want custom visualizations and reports to build them out using Flat's GraphQL API (https://docs.flat.app/developers...). Indeed, there are many cases of teams using Flat and doing exactly that!
Out of curiosity, what kind of measurements are you including in your reports? I'd be happy to chat more about that, and how you're using Asana and Jira more generally. Feel free to reach out directly or post additional questions here!
We use notion as project management tool for our small team, but tbh it's not very convenient and we're looking for another option. This product looks interesting, worth a try. Congrats on the PH launch!
@sm_solovyev thank you! Yes, we find tons of teams using Notion as the simplest option they could find; we believe Flat is even simpler due to its focus on work tracking.
@sm_solovyev Adding onto what Seth said, if you're looking to import data from Notion into Flat, just reach out to us via any of our support channels (https://docs.flat.app/welcome/he...), and we'd be happy to help.
I'm impressed by how easy it is to get started with Flat. The minimal learning curve makes it accessible for everyone on the team, regardless of their technical skills.
@andreas_sohns Thanks for sharing that Andreas!
Making Flat accessible to everyone on the team has been part of our strategy from the get-go. When a tool is too complex for the job, it can result in friction/resentment from team members. The team never truly adopts the tool, which means they don't get the promised value, either.
We've strove to make Flat so simple and delightful that it never gets in anyone's way.
@andreas_sohns Thanks! Something surprising we've found is that even very technical people appreciate the minimal learning curve, I think because they feel that this should just not be complicated.
Very nice and intuitive design, leading to a better user experience.
A while ago, I had stumbled across Nuclino (https://www.nuclino.com/), which looks very very similar to Flat. Are you guys aware of it?
@naomigarcia Thanks Naomi! Andrew here, one of the other founders of Flat.
Yes, we're definitely aware of them. On the surface they may look similar, but if you dig in, I think you'll find Flat to be radically and refreshingly simpler -- and that's intentional! We believe strongly that added complexity in work tracking tools is a big tax on team members being able to use them effectively, so we've been quite obsessive in designing Flat to be as simple as possible.
Happy to answer additional questions!
Flat looks like a great alternative for teams overwhelmed by complex tools. Can you share more about the GraphQL API integrations and how they enhance custom reporting?
@memphys_sk That's what we're going for, thanks Stefans!
You can read more about Flat's GraphQL API at https://docs.flat.app/developers.... With the API, you can read essentially all data out of your Flat account, so you can create an kind of custom reporting you wish. Do you have anything specific in mind? I'd be happy to provide more concrete suggestions.
When I think about Flat, I envision a superb dish at an exceptional restaurant. It's like being served the freshest, most meticulously prepared ingredients, artfully presented to captivate the senses.
The simplicity of Flat isn't a result of immaturity; rather, it's the deliberate removal of anything extraneous, leaving behind an unparalleled user experience.
Flat's greatness lies in its focus—it doesn't attempt to be all things to all people. Unlike Trello after it was acquired by Atlassian, Flat serves as the central hub for your work, rather than trying to encompass the work itself.
For a product management solution that even your CEO will use, look no further than Flat, I know from experience.
@robotdeathsquad Will, thanks so much for your support! You really captured what we're after when it comes to simplicity, and how it takes a lot of effort to create something that seems completely obvious only after the fact!
We appreciate all the feedback and suggestions you've shared during our beta period, it's been invaluable!
Hi @seth_purcell, Flat looks fantastic! 😄 It's refreshing to see a tool that strips away the complexity and focuses on simplicity and efficiency. The idea of a seamless, collaborative workspace without the usual bloat is incredibly appealing. Can't wait to try it out and see how it complements our existing tools! Great job and best of luck with the launch! 🚀👏
@abhra_ch On behalf of Seth and the Flat team, thanks so much! You've hit the nail on the head and described exactly what we're going for. After you take Flat for a spin, do let us know if you have further feedback or thoughts!
@abhra_ch thanks so much! I'm fond of saying "complexity is a tax on everything you do", and we're trying to eliminate as much of it as possible from work.
I've been lucky to be using flat in Beta testing for a while - it has been an indispensable tool for me and my clients - has all the necessary components for a project management tool and none of the unnecessary ones. So simple to use and truly acts a hub for information - descriptions of tasks, links to other docs/info and threaded conversations/comments. I encourage anyone frustrated with their current software or lack of software to give it a try.
@ron_feldman1 Thanks so much Ron -- it's been great collaborating with you during our beta period. You've given us a lot of valuable feedback and ideas!
@absilutely Exactly – we often hear managers talk about their teams using these tools in terms of "compliance" and "enforcement". We think if that's the situation you've already lost the battle.
The problem is these tools have historically been built for managers, and imposed on team members. Flat takes the opposite approach: we aim to serve the team, and then managers get visibility "for free". But it has to help the team do their work or it will just get in their way, they'll stop using it, and then managers can't see what's going on, and the tool fails.
Hi Seth,
Simplifying project management is something many teams will appreciate.
Questions:
- How does Flat differentiate itself from other tools in terms of functionality and user experience?
- Are there any unique features that you believe will particularly stand out to new users?
Congrats on launching Flat!
@kyrylosilin Thanks a lot! Andrew here, one of the other founders of Flat.
Great questions!
On your first question, Flat's biggest differentiation is the user experience, namely how radically and refreshingly simple it is. That means anyone can pick it up and get going right away, from an inexperienced intern to the company CEO. And that makes it easier for teams to actually adopt and use, without friction. Flat is also lightning fast and offline friendly, so it never gets in your way.
On your second question, one unique feature I'd point to are "blockers". They're depicted in one of the screenshots above, and they're a super simple way to capture and discuss why a topic is stuck and can't move forward, so there's never a question like "is this blocked?", "what's it blocked on?", "who's responsible for addressing it?", or "what's the latest update?".
Good tool, I like it! Here are some use cases for my team and me:
- Collaborating on marketing campaigns is now so much smoother
- Managing product development sprints
- Tracking and managing client projects and deliverables
Congrats on the launch!
Gratz on the launch, really liked it, very ez to use and simple, I guess UI/UX can be improved a bit, sometimes i was wondering where am I or what should I do here, but overall great product, good job by you and the team
@m4jiz Thanks, glad you like it! If you don't mind, can you elaborate on any areas of the UI/UX where you felt unsure? We've worked pretty tirelessly to make Flat as delightful and intuitive as possible, so I'd love to hear about any areas where we could still improve!
How does Flat handle integrations with other popular productivity tools like Slack or Google Docs? Are there any plans to expand these integrations in the future? 🤔
@audrey_jake1 Great question -- Flat works really well alongside both Slack and Google Docs! Most teams using Flat keep using those other apps for what they're best for, and they use Flat as the home base that ties it all together.
Flat's Slack integration lets you receive Slack notifications when a teammate in Flat mentions you in a comment, makes you the owner of a topic, changes a topic that you own, etc. These notifications go to a private channel between you and Flat’s Slack bot; they don’t pollute shared team channels with tons of noise.
Flat's Google Drive/Docs integration lets you see previews of files/docs directly within a Flat topic, no setup required, so you don't have to jump to another tab just to reference something in a doc.
We definitely plan to expand and offer additional integrations in the future. Do you have any specific ones in mind?
You've shown great consideration by include a demo video, which is something that many competing products neglect to do. Seeing how it looks helps a lot in getting a feel for Flat and seeing its potential. The UI is both remarkable and user friendly due to its cleanliness and intuitiveness. What happens to version control and real time collaboration in Flat when several users are collaborating on the same project at the same time? Additionally, how does Flat differ from competing technologies such as Notion?
Project Management tools are a nightmare of mine. I switch to Notion because it's more nimble but it lacks the structure that Project management tools offer so looking forward to test Flat.
Congrats on the launch 🎉
@etiennegatti Totally agree that they can be a nightmare! Flat is carefully designed to hit a sweet spot with just the right amount of structure. After you've given it a try, do let us know if you have any suggestions or questions. Thanks!
@etiennegatti we find a lot of teams are using Notion for project management because it's simpler in some key ways than the more structured tools, but they tend to be more technical users because of the configuration required. We think an even simpler approach is possible and that's what we're aiming for.
Congrats on the launch! Flat sounds like a dream for simplifying project management without the usual headaches. Can't wait to see how it evolves with user feedback. Best of luck!
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