The dream that started it all
I've wanted to open my own independent record store for as long as I can remember. A little indie shop with a coffee bar and a stripped-back venue space for live music. The kind of place where you walk in for a browse and leave three hours later with a stack of records and a story about the artist behind each one.
I first dipped my toes into the music scene over 15 years ago when I was running a design studio. That love for music, vinyl, and the culture around it never went away. It just sat in the background, waiting for the right moment.
A couple of months ago, I started laying the groundwork for that future store. Researching wholesale accounts, understanding how distributors work, figuring out the supply chain. And that's when I hit the wall.
The spreadsheet problem
Every distributor I looked at had the same process. They email you a spreadsheet. You scroll through hundreds, sometimes thousands of rows. You fill in your quantities in column A. You email it back. Then you do the same thing for the next distributor. And the next.
Some send Excel files. Some send CSVs. Some stores send back Google Sheets or Apple Numbers files that need converting. Everyone's got different column layouts. Different ordering deadlines. Different processes for chasing up late orders.
I sat there thinking: this is how a multi-billion pound industry manages its supply chain? Email attachments and spreadsheets?
I assumed there must be a modern solution out there somewhere. I looked. There really wasn't. The closest thing I found felt dated, clunky, and was trying to do too much, spreading itself across EPOS, stock management, website integration and everything else rather than just making the ordering process painless.
So I thought, alright then. I'll build one.
From idea to beta in two months
I'm a developer by background. I've built products before, run a design studio, and operated in the tech space for years. But Crateful is the first thing I've built that came directly from a problem I was personally experiencing. That changes how you approach it. You're not guessing at what users might want. You know exactly what's broken because you've been frustrated by it yourself.
I spent two months building Crateful from scratch. Not on a template. Not on a generic admin dashboard. Every screen, every interaction, every feature was designed specifically for how distributors and stores actually work. I wanted it to feel modern, fast, and intuitive. The kind of tool where you log in and just get it straight away.
The core workflow is simple because the problem is simple: distributors need to get their stock lists in front of stores, stores need to browse and order without the spreadsheet chaos, and distributors need clean consolidated orders back at the end. That's it. Crateful handles that flow and handles it well.
Cold emails and honest conversations
Once the platform was ready, I did what every solo founder does. I started reaching out.
I compiled a list of UK vinyl distributors and independent record stores. I wrote honest, straightforward emails explaining who I am, what I built, and why. No marketing fluff, no "revolutionary platform" language. Just: here's the problem, here's what I built, here's why I think it helps.
I sent around 180 emails to stores and a separate batch to distributors. The response rate has been around 32%, which is well above average for cold outreach. More importantly, the conversations have been genuinely useful.
Almost every store validated the problem. Multiple people said they couldn't believe how antiquated the supply chain still is. Some are already using an existing solution but acknowledged it feels outdated. Others are managing everything manually and are clearly feeling the pain.
The distributors have been harder to crack, which makes sense. Under the current model, they're not the ones paying for ordering tools, their stores are. So the incentive to switch isn't immediately obvious. That's something I'm working through.
What I've learned so far
A few things that have surprised me or confirmed what I suspected:
The problem is real and universally acknowledged. Not a single person has said "actually, the spreadsheet system works great." Everyone knows it's broken. The industry just hasn't had a modern alternative.
Stores care most about live stock quantities. I expected the ordering workflow to be the main hook. It is, but several stores told me the thing they value most about existing tools is simply knowing what's actually in stock before they order. That insight has directly shaped what I'm building next.
Indie stores resent paying for ordering tools. Margins are tight. Another monthly subscription to manage orders that the distributor is sending them feels wrong. That's why Crateful charges the distributor, not the store. Stores access it for free. Every time I mention this in conversations, it resonates.
Being a solo founder is a selling point, not a weakness. I expected people to be put off by "it's just me." The opposite has been true. Store owners love the idea of a direct line to the developer. When they suggest a feature, knowing it could be built within days rather than sitting on a roadmap for months, that matters to them.
Speed beats features. I could have spent six months building an all-in-one platform with EPOS, inventory, analytics, and everything else before launching. Instead I shipped the core ordering workflow in two months and put it in front of real users. The feedback I've gotten in the first few weeks has been more valuable than any amount of planning.
Where we are now
Crateful is live in beta at beta.crateful.app. Distributors can join free of charge during the beta period. Stores connected to a distributor on Crateful get free access permanently. And for stores who want to use the platform independently, there's a plan at just £19.95/month + VAT after launch, completely free during the beta.
I've got my first distributor exploring a demo account with their real catalogue data loaded in. Multiple stores have expressed interest and are lined up for demos. The conversations are happening.
I'm also building out an inventory module so stores can track their full stock beyond just distributor orders, and I'm working on a companion mobile app with barcode scanning so stores can manage physical stock on the go.
The honest bit
Is it scary building something alone and putting it out there? Yeah, a bit. There's no team to share the load, no investors providing a safety net, no marketing department running campaigns. It's just me, a laptop, and a genuine belief that this industry deserves better tools.
But that's also what makes it exciting. Every conversation, every sign-up, every "this looks interesting" reply to a cold email feels like progress. And the worst case scenario? I end up with a polished, production-ready SaaS platform in my portfolio that proves I can design, build, ship, and sell a product solo. That has value regardless.
The dream is still the record store. The coffee shop. The little venue with stripped-back acoustics and intimate gigs. Crateful started as a tool I was building for that future version of myself. Turns out a lot of other people need it too.
If you're a store owner or distributor reading this, I'd genuinely love to hear from you. Not a sales pitch, just a conversation. What's working for you, what isn't, what you wish existed. That's how Crateful gets better.
Drop me a line at hello@crateful.app. It goes straight to me. Always will.
Curtis
If you want to follow along with what we're building, check out our changelog for weekly updates on new features and improvements.