08/08/2026
Constructive criticism is professional. But criticism without understanding can be worse.
Let me start by saying this: never allow criticism to kill your creativity, passion, or willingness to innovate.
Many people assume that because they have more experience, higher qualifications, or have used a particular software for years, their way must automatically be the best way. So whenever someone introduces a new idea, they become loud—not necessarily to contribute, but sometimes simply to make noise and remain relevant.
A few days ago, I launched Natanumber my SaaS platform designed to simplify professional numbering and numbering-related print production.
Since the launch, one of the most common criticisms I've received is:
"CorelDRAW can do this."
"InDesign can do this better."
Yes. They can.
And that's exactly where I want people to understand the point.
Natanumber was never created to replace CorelDRAW or Adobe InDesign.
CorelDRAW and InDesign are powerful professional design applications capable of handling numbering, data merging, variable data, and many other advanced design workflows.
The question is not whether they *can* do it.
The question is:
How simple can we make that particular job for someone who doesn't want to go through the entire workflow?
With traditional workflows, you may need to prepare a data source—often using Excel or another spreadsheet/text format—configure the data, connect it to your design, set up the merge, manage the numbering sequence, and then generate the final output.
For an experienced graphic designer, that's normal.
But not everyone is an experienced graphic designer.
A beginner freelancer may understand design but not necessarily understand data merging, variable data workflows, spreadsheet preparation, or all the technical steps involved in producing hundreds or thousands of sequentially numbered pieces.
That's the gap Natanumber is trying to address.
And there's another reality we shouldn't ignore.
Many beginner designers and freelancers are working with entry-level computers—some with 8GB RAM or less and relatively limited processors. Modern Adobe applications themselves list 8GB as a minimum for several products, while recommending more memory for a better experience.
Now imagine running Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, CorelDRAW, a browser with multiple tabs, and other applications on the same machine.
The problem isn't that these applications cannot run.
The problem is that limited hardware can become a bottleneck when multiple resource-intensive applications are being used at the same time.
I've personally experienced situations where a computer or software crashed and hours of work were put at risk.
So I started asking myself:
Why should a simple, repetitive production task depend entirely on the power of someone's computer when a specialized cloud-based solution can simplify the process?
That's one of the reasons Natanumber exists.
Because it's a SaaS platform, much of its application infrastructure and processing is handled remotely rather than requiring users to install and run the entire application locally. That can make the workflow less dependent on the specifications of the user's computer—while still, of course, depending on things like internet connection, browser performance, and the platform's infrastructure.
And this is what innovation looks like.
Innovation doesn't always mean inventing something nobody has ever seen before.
Sometimes innovation means taking an existing process, removing unnecessary complexity, and making it faster, simpler, and more accessible to a particular group of people.
Think about cars.
How many car brands do you know?
Toyota. Mercedes-Benz. BMW. Ford. Hyundai. Tesla. And many others.
They all make cars.
The fact that Toyota exists doesn't mean Mercedes-Benz shouldn't exist.
The fact that Photoshop can edit photos doesn't mean Lightroom has no reason to exist.
The fact that Excel can handle financial calculations doesn't mean specialized accounting software shouldn't exist.
Different products can solve similar problems in different ways for different users.
That's Natanumber.
It is not saying:
*"CorelDRAW is useless."*
It is not saying:
*"InDesign can't do numbering."*
It is saying:
**"We know these tools can do it. We built a specialized solution for people who want a simpler way to do it."
So instead of asking:
*"Why build Natanumber when CorelDRAW or InDesign already exists?"*
Ask:
**"Who does Natanumber make this process easier for?"**
That's where the conversation about innovation should begin.
If you have constructive criticism, bring it.
If you see something that can be improved, point it out.
If you have a better solution, let's discuss it.
But don't discourage people from building simply because you already know another way of doing something.
**The existence of an old solution doesn't mean there is no room for a better experience.
Keep creating. Keep experimenting. Keep improving.
Because if every entrepreneur stopped building whenever someone said, "That already exists,"* we would have very few innovations today.
Natanumber is built to simplify the process. That's the idea. That's the journey. And we're just getting started.
