Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by wpietri 2274 days ago
Are you a likely customer? That is, are you a current influencer looking for a platform to sell things?

My general experience is that feedback from people who aren't in the target market has negative value. When entrepreneur friends ask me for hot takes, I used to just tell them whatever came to mind. Now, though, I refuse to that unless a) I have a lot of experience on the topic, or b) I'm in the target market.

I think that's especially true with branding and other style-related choices. A brand needs to work well for the people it's aimed at. But it's fine if it doesn't work for other people. Indeed, that's often better. E.g., nobody should ask me my opinion on branding youth fashion. If they make their product more appealing to me, it will almost certainly be less appealing to their actual customers.
1 comments
fourstar 2274 days ago
> Are you a likely customer? That is, are you a current influencer looking for a platform to sell things?

I'm sure the majority of people on "Hacker News" wouldn't fit into the archetype of an "influencer" using this platform as a publisher. If you frame the question more fairly: Would I be on the consumption end of this platform as a customer? Perhaps, but I don't know about quality control.

With Goldbelly, I can trust that the restaurants have been vetted by public health agencies. Likes and follower counts don't entice me to ingest some muffins from some random Instagram "influencer".

Why do you think you aren't allowed to ship product from your home under the California cottage law?

link
wpietri 2274 days ago
No, I asked the question I asked for a reason. The people choosing this are the influencers, so it's their reaction to the brand that matters the most. For people buying influencer stuff, their reaction is at best secondary, and may be almost irrelevant if they only ever see it on a packing receipt or a credit card statement.

It's really important for startups to focus relentlessly on the people who make the early purchasing decisions. If those people don't get on board, no other potential audiences matter.

link