I didn't downvote you but I do strongly disagree with pretty much everything you've said.
> There is absolutely no need for me to have an API available to them, they’ve never asked for it and have no desire or ability to consume it.
Whenever I've used "small b2b apps," especially between non-technical businesses, if you don't have it I'm not asking for it. I know how hard it is to be a solo founder or part of a very small team so I'm either going to use your product as-is, or I'm not going to use it.
> API[s]...need customer support
There are plenty of small, niche APIs where there is out-dated documentation and not much else. I'm saying that's a great experience, but let's not pretend it's illegal to have an API without on-demand live support.
> And I don’t really want random joes signing up for my API...
The reasons listed here can all be handled via code. There are very few reasons to prevent automated sign-ups.
> The better suggestion is to analyze your business and decide if offering an API furthers your businesses’ goals.
If you think it can't, you're just not being creative enough. Every single API with more than 2 users is being used in ways its designers hadn't originally thought of. Many brains are better than one brain and you can often get more (and better) ideas from what other people are doing with your tech than you ever could on your own.
I get what you’re saying but I think you’re not being pragmatic enough (and perhaps being a bit developer-centric, ignoring that there are millions of people out there who run businesses that have 0 need for offering a consumable API).
You’re asking for access to the heart and soul of a company and demanding to pay the same price as a customer who asks for much less. I’m having a hard time understanding why I should pursue you as a customer when I can get the same money out of someone who is way less demanding.
Actually if I want to do way more then I’m generally okay paying more for it. Nobody is asking you to do it for free but automation is something I look for frequently when a tool is core to my work. It’s why I avoid most GUI tools and systems unless the GUI is more than text fields and buttons. It’s simply too much work to repeatedly follow a script for a system like that when I have a very clear use pattern for it.
> There is absolutely no need for me to have an API available to them, they’ve never asked for it and have no desire or ability to consume it.
Whenever I've used "small b2b apps," especially between non-technical businesses, if you don't have it I'm not asking for it. I know how hard it is to be a solo founder or part of a very small team so I'm either going to use your product as-is, or I'm not going to use it.
> API[s]...need customer support
There are plenty of small, niche APIs where there is out-dated documentation and not much else. I'm saying that's a great experience, but let's not pretend it's illegal to have an API without on-demand live support.
> And I don’t really want random joes signing up for my API...
The reasons listed here can all be handled via code. There are very few reasons to prevent automated sign-ups.
> The better suggestion is to analyze your business and decide if offering an API furthers your businesses’ goals.
If you think it can't, you're just not being creative enough. Every single API with more than 2 users is being used in ways its designers hadn't originally thought of. Many brains are better than one brain and you can often get more (and better) ideas from what other people are doing with your tech than you ever could on your own.