[sowbug]

Part of the fun of prototyping is setting up your own service; at least, I always find that part fun. That likely eliminates some of the target market.

If the service API were fully standardized, and users paid for their own database, and signing up for a new website meant that the user granted controlled DB access to the site, then that might be enough impetus for developers to use a provider of the service. Maybe it could follow a Dropbox model where the first N bytes/month are free per user, and service providers pay affiliate fees to sites that recruit lots of paying users.

See also Attic Labs (https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/08/salesforce-acquires-attic-...).