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It's always obvious when you are dealing with founders who likely won't make it. Specifically, when they're so so close to their own product that they start to
by Gorbzel 11y ago
It's always obvious when you are dealing with founders who likely won't make it. Specifically, when they're so so close to their own product that they start to blame anything else for failures rather than take an objective look at their own missteps.
In this case, buried among some semi-coherent arguments, we reach the point where one should ask "Was this product compelling compared to other solutions that tackle this pain point?"
Obviously not, but don't expect the company to smell the coffee. In their opinion, their "few competitor apps" didn't matter, but they lasted longer, so they probably did. Oh, but of course "they weren’t doing it as well."
Take a look at the comments rolling in here, some of which note that the product didn't seem like compelling standalone option but that would have done well as part of a larger solution. Others inquire why certain features were left out that would have adequately addressed the entire pain point, but left the product feeling incomplete otherwise.
Of course, these potential customers were all wrong, because "other apps felt heavy and complicated."
Founders considering mobile, don't make the same mistake(s) this company is making. Rather than write some clickbait Mediun post after the fact, remember that a great UIX, onboarding and maybe even a mascot might be necessary for mobile success, but they definitely aren't sufficient. Nothing beats product market fit, and if a mobile app is necessary for said fit, you better not only bother with mobile, you should embrace it...objectively.
- dhimes 11y ago... we reach the point where one should ask "Was this product compelling compared to other solutions that tackle this pain point?" Or even, as might be the case here, "is this even a pain point that needs a product?"
- drb311 11y ago"the product didn't seem like compelling standalone option but that would have done well as part of a larger solution" The new approach as a Slack bot addresses that issue precisely. Lots of useful things aren't a compelling standalone solution. Slack bots and other in-messenger apps mean this kind of software can become part of a larger overall experience. Don't know if Birdly will make it but their argument here is onto something. https://www.getbirdly.com/ https://www.getbirdly.com/
- mscman 11y agoI don't know that a Slack bot is the right type of larger solution though. For instance, I use the ExpenseIt app on my phone because it's paired with Concur. That's got a much more flexible input when it comes time to do the actual expense report, and it's already processed all of those receipts for me. Now I just need to go through and pair it all up with the transactions on the card. Is Concur perfect? No. But the ExpenseIt app works there because it allows me to add data on the fly then toss the receipt. I don't think I would be compelled to use a Slack bot to do the same thing, even though we use dozens of other Slack integrations.