In 2016, I started working on Forest Admin with Hexa (eFounders).<p>I was asked 100 times a day about competitors and always replied, "only admin panels built internally." It was uncharted territory and honestly, it was frustrating.<p>Building a completely new product category is a rare luxury, and it can be scary, especially for investors. I was convinced that admin panels were one of the last pieces of the operational puzzle to be SaaS-ified.<p>Today, I discover new players every week, mainly in the internal tool market, which is close but very different from our mission at Forest Admin.<p>One of the most successful actors in recent years is Retool. I had the chance to meet David Hsu a while ago, and our discussions about how our respective companies shape the market were very interesting.<p>Naturally, I receive requests for explanations between Forest Admin and Retool every day.<p>I finally decided to write an article to explain the positioning of our two companies. Beyond comparing features, price, or anything likely to change over time, I decided to take a purely strategic positioning angle on the market and highlight our completely different but coherent long-term visions.<p>Enjoy the reading!