3 ms·

Show HN: We want to make websites places to meet people

5 points by DerKobe 11y ago

I have done it. I quit my job and started a company. And I have to say it was the best decision I’ve ever made. http://talk-about-jack.com Since I’m a tech guy and starting a company is about more than just having an app, I asked two friends of mine - which happen to be pros on their respective fields: business and marketing - if they would join me. They liked my idea and both said yes and quit their jobs. So, it can’t be that bad of an idea, right? The first thing we hear every time we tell someone about Talk About Jack is: “But webchats do already exist? Why another one?”. We aim at getting a chat app out that is used for personal stuff as well as for when people need support from companies or even when they want to buy something. We want to establish a one-fits-all webchat solution like when you use your telephone to call a friend, call the support hotline of your telecom provider, or even call a shop to order something. Our company and product are both still in an early stage so feedback is very welcome!

smt88 11y ago
My heart sank as I read this post and looked at the product. This has everything going against it. First: Online comments are a notorious anti-feature on many sites. You're basically making it so that they're instantaneous and impossible to filter. Major sites have to do an enormous amount of human reading/filtering just to have comment sections that aren't filled with horrific, violent, sexual imagery[1]. Second: This is a B2C product. If your customers are users, then your customer-acquisition costs are high. If your customers aren't users, then your customer-acquisition costs are still high, but your sky-high user-acquisition costs become fixed costs (you can no longer monetize your 1st user, but more like your 100,000th). Third: Have you ever seen a live web chat on any site? These were popular in the late 90s as a drop-in feature that non-coders could use. They were absolutely full of filthy comments. I've seen chats that had 100+ messages per minute, and they were totally incomprehensible. That's even without any professional-level trolls involved. Fourth: If you think this was a good idea because a business guy and marketing guy liked it, then you need to take a look at every failed business. There's almost always some sort of "expert" behind it. Even professional investors don't know if ideas are good or not; only customers do. What customer discovery have you done? My strong advice is to work at least part-time. Don't go into debt for this. Get people to use it first, and then decide to put money into it. And if you can't get anyone to use it or invest in it, it's not because they "don't understand". It's because this wasn't a smart move. I'm telling you all this as someone who's been there before. I've failed at exactly this kind of business. It took a long time before my delusions finally evaporated and I saw that all the people warning me were right. It's great to dream and be optimistic, but when you truly have a great business, people will give you money for it. If you don't get money soon (investors or clients), move on. 1. http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2014/08/11/jezebel_to_gawker_media_do_something_about_the_violent_rape_gifs_in_our.html http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2014/08/11/jezebel_to_g...
- DerKobe 11y ago
  Thank you for your honest feedback. Maybe I chose my words a little poorly: We have actually talked not only to potential users (a lot) but potential customers (a lot as well) to validate the basic need of enhanced website communication possibilities before we went on the build Talk About Jack. The need for chat communication especially in eCommerce (as well as general customer support) is growing and continually demanded by online customers (of our potential customers). And yes you're right: people are mean on the internet. We have some (not yet implemented) ideas to handle this issue as well, but we wanted to give people a chance first. Thank you for sharing your advice and experience with us. We will keep it at heart and greatly appreciate you taking the time to look into our product and the idea behind it.
greenwalls 11y ago
Chatting instead of posting comments seems like a cool idea. You just need to get enough installs so you have a critical mass of people chatting, then it should build up. Good luck with the idea!

5 points by DerKobe 11y ago

smt88 11y ago

My heart sank as I read this post and looked at the product. This has everything going against it. First: Online comments are a notorious anti-feature on many sites. You're basically making it so that they're instantaneous and impossible to filter. Major sites have to do an enormous amount of human reading/filtering just to have comment sections that aren't filled with horrific, violent, sexual imagery[1]. Second: This is a B2C product. If your customers are users, then your customer-acquisition costs are high. If your customers aren't users, then your customer-acquisition costs are still high, but your sky-high user-acquisition costs become fixed costs (you can no longer monetize your 1st user, but more like your 100,000th). Third: Have you ever seen a live web chat on any site? These were popular in the late 90s as a drop-in feature that non-coders could use. They were absolutely full of filthy comments. I've seen chats that had 100+ messages per minute, and they were totally incomprehensible. That's even without any professional-level trolls involved. Fourth: If you think this was a good idea because a business guy and marketing guy liked it, then you need to take a look at every failed business. There's almost always some sort of "expert" behind it. Even professional investors don't know if ideas are good or not; only customers do. What customer discovery have you done? My strong advice is to work at least part-time. Don't go into debt for this. Get people to use it first, and then decide to put money into it. And if you can't get anyone to use it or invest in it, it's not because they "don't understand". It's because this wasn't a smart move. I'm telling you all this as someone who's been there before. I've failed at exactly this kind of business. It took a long time before my delusions finally evaporated and I saw that all the people warning me were right. It's great to dream and be optimistic, but when you truly have a great business, people will give you money for it. If you don't get money soon (investors or clients), move on. 1. http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2014/08/11/jezebel_to_gawker_media_do_something_about_the_violent_rape_gifs_in_our.html http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2014/08/11/jezebel_to_g...

DerKobe 11y ago
Thank you for your honest feedback. Maybe I chose my words a little poorly: We have actually talked not only to potential users (a lot) but potential customers (a lot as well) to validate the basic need of enhanced website communication possibilities before we went on the build Talk About Jack. The need for chat communication especially in eCommerce (as well as general customer support) is growing and continually demanded by online customers (of our potential customers). And yes you're right: people are mean on the internet. We have some (not yet implemented) ideas to handle this issue as well, but we wanted to give people a chance first. Thank you for sharing your advice and experience with us. We will keep it at heart and greatly appreciate you taking the time to look into our product and the idea behind it.

greenwalls 11y ago

Chatting instead of posting comments seems like a cool idea. You just need to get enough installs so you have a critical mass of people chatting, then it should build up. Good luck with the idea!