Challenge HN: Let a suit evaluate your project

[hackersuit]

This post is meant to settle a friendly argument between myself a few hacker friends of mine. I am a 'hackersuit.' I have a business degree & work in business development. I can also hack enough to contribute to the product I work on at a valley giant.

I taught myself to code over the last few years b/c I was tired of the attitude I got from hackers when I talked about concepts & ideas. Now I only appreciate what hackers do more.

There are two premises that motivated me to write this post:

1) I believe that both suits and hackers under-appreciate each other. The lack of symbiosis is the reason most start-ups & projects go nowhere and/or fail.

2) Hackers pigeon-hole business folks just like suits do hackers. Suites think that any ol' hacker can just 'write some code' and build their product; hackers think any suit can 'do some marketing or sell the product.'

Neither is true.

What I'd like to demonstrate to hackers is that some suits (like some hackers) have 'it.' Call it intuition, business savvy, a sixth sense, whatever. It's the ability to determine whether an app, website, concepts, etc. has market value or potential.

So the idea came up to use HN to ask people to share what they're working on and then have me - the suit - give VC-style, pinpoint feedback to show why/how whatever project does/does not work in the market

Our goal here is to a) prove the importance of some suits - those with 'it' - to the conceptualization & execution of a project, and b) dispel the theory that any hacker can just 'create something and turn it into a business.'

But, the larger aim is to prove that if we want to move ourselves forward, we're going to have to develop a much healthier respect and appreciation for each other - hackers and suits.

So, if you're up for it and have a relevant, project post your MVP, app, site, whatever and I will break it down.

[evac]

That sounds interesting. In that case, I would be interested in getting your perspective on the market value and potential for this MVP that I released recently: http://www.habbit.me

It's an app where your objective is to build your ideal future selves by mastering the habits needed to bring them into reality (in the present you). For now, it's an experiment to try and make habit-building more engaging and durable since changing personal habits are difficult to do in the long run.

[hackersuit]

What's the target age for this? The imagery is very juvenile, and although can be thought of as nostalgic, comes off as either condescending or not serious.

Some blunt feedback: the premise is there, sure, but nothing about this gives me any inclination that there is something worth purchasing here. There's no explanation of how you "build your best future," what that entails, etc.

A few misc. thoughts:

--Future self sounds very "Matrix-y" and is overwhelming --The imagery is just too young --The "pay what you want to" model is interesting, but the foundation is providing excessive value. You have to make the case first that this is worth it... --There is a bug where if you scroll past the "add name" shot you can't go back. So, I got stuck there and am not sure what actually happens.

The self-help market is big and there is opportunity, but you need to clarify the message about your "system" or whatever it is that's going to work. This market is made by building a brand around your advice -- think about Atkins Diet, Tae Bo, 7 Habits -- and while the web component and "exploration" components are interesting, there's nothing that sticks or stands out, especially to an adult.

[xackpot]

This sounds interesting. I definitely need some feedback on my app Finderous. It's a location based groups app where users can start their own groups or join other interest groups. the app can be downloaded at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/finderous/id520384764?mt=8

[mootothemax]

Sure, I'm game (admittedly because right now I value any-and-all feedback ;)).

The core idea isn't very original - live chat for websites - but the tool itself is slowly picking up momentum, albeit whilst under heavy development from me: http://track-chat.com

[hackersuit]

The question is not about originality, but about competition.

--The market is dense and success comes down to having a better customer acquisition strategy. Your ability to acquire customers -- meaning, generate cost-effective traffic, convert customers, retain them -- is what will make or break this as a business.

--I don't see a clear value proposition for your service over the many, many competitors. Maybe this is because of the sheer quantity of text (very hard ont he eyes), but after browsing the site nothing tells me why I should select your service rather than go Google "chat services."

--SMBs are your target market. But, the people who run these businesses do not have the time to sit and chat with customers. They are bound to look at this and feel they have no time to do it and give up.

My advice:

--Tighten up the website. Less text, more images, clearer value proposition. Why is TrackChat the best option?

--Show me numbers. If I'm a website owner, I'm craving to read about how another business made more money or improved conversion rates doing this.

--Pursue potential partnerships with a service business that can support you. If you can connect businesses to people who can operate these chats, your value to customers multiplies exponentially.

--After the above, develop and execute an acquisition plan ASAP. SEM is going to be your best option. Remember, your customers don't need technical sophistication; it's going to be hard for you not to indulge your engineering instincts but you have to realize your customers just need an application that is easy to set-up, works consistently, and does what it says it will.

This has potential if you can tighten up the site experience and are willing to make the investment in bringing in customers. They will show you quickly what you still need to build. If "word of mouth" is swirling somewhere in your thoughts, that's a huge red flag.

[mootothemax]

Fantastic, thanks, that's some really good advice you've given me, and I really appreciate it.

One minor quibble: "Less text, more images" is not compatible with "SEM is going to be your best option." Without a good amount of text, there's very little for the SEs to work with.

However, the copy does need to be tightened up, more images would be ace, and it should be possible to highlight value propositions without requiring the reader to scan through pages and pages of text, so it's still given me a push in the right direction.

If "word of mouth" is swirling somewhere in your thoughts, that's a huge red flag.

Could not agree with you more on this. "Word of mouth" is not a viable strategy :)

Lots to work on, thanks!

[hackersuit]

SEM != SEO. Paid search (AdWords, etc.) is going to be your best option. Terms like "website chat software."

(Also, SEO primarily does only look at text on pages, but metadata, third-party links, etc.)

Glad this was helpful, best of luck!

[QuantumGuy]

This will be interesting... habitrpg.com

[speeder]

My stuff is already released ( with more to come ) www.kidoteca.com

[hackersuit]

The apps look nice. Videos are solid and the product seems to be well built (without having seen the app itself).

Most important thing to keep in mind is that your target market is parents, not the kids. Your challenge is to convey why this is a valuable app for them to put in front of their children.

You waste real estate at the top of the page on things that are good for you and not the user. Half of the visible page is allocated to Facebook, subscriptions, and other linkage. Not a good user experience -- I'm not bragging about your app until I have it and love it.

If you believe in your product and the app is good, the biggest focus for you should be to get as many people to download at least ONE of your apps as possible. To that end:

--If Matryoshka is free, TELL THEM and get it in their hands. If they like one of your apps, they'll download more and pay for them. Don't make the price a surprise, and highlight it if there is none.

--Matryoshka is not a good name for an app. I can't pronounce it, which guarantees it will undermine my ability to tell other parents about it.

--Nothing speaks louder than customer testimonials. Grab app store reviews and show them off so parents get interested.

--I don't want to download apps via a desktop site. Why don't you give people an option to text them a link for download, or otherwise get this link to their phones ASAP.

--What if I don't want to watch a video? Give me pictures to look at.

This is a competitive space with a lot of power behind it. Being able to market your games is about differentiation and proving value. Parents will download anything if they think it will help their kids.

Rely on happy customers to grow your audience. You seem to have a decent Facebook/social following -- I'd focus on how to curate that base and incentivize happy customers to share with others.