3 ms·

> Don't target the low end market if you can avoid it. Disagree with this statement. There is money to be made in the low end market, and it's not as bad as yo

> Don't target the low end market if you can avoid it. Disagree with this statement. There is money to be made in the low end market, and it's not as bad as you expect it to be.

accountyaccount 10y ago
It's easier to start high-end and open up the low-end than it is to start at the low-end. There's a clearer method of prioritization (working on features for paying customers first) and you can spend more time making high paying customers happy rather than trying to retain hundreds.
- joshmanders 10y ago
  Depends on what you're doing. For example my business is built on catering to the lower end of a service who can't justify the high end prices.
  - accountyaccount 10y ago
    Right, that's totally reasonable — but it's harder because you by default have to attain and retain more customers.
SwellJoe 10y ago
It's a pretty rough life for a small company to target the low-end. There's money there, but the low-end market also demands more time, if you aren't extremely careful about how you implement your sales/support process. Some products just aren't an upmarket product...mobile apps, for example. But, if there's a way to target your product to people who have a budget, you're going to have a much nicer time scaling up...you'll have money to hire people (and to a lesser degree, other resources that cost money) to do so. It takes a lot of $5/month sales to pay for one employee. But, $200/month sales add up really fast.
zeta0134 10y ago
I don't disagree with the statement in its intended context. He's speaking to startups here, who don't have an established product yet, and don't know if their product even reliably solves a business need. In that context, this is excellent advice. Once the product is built and already making you money, then you can easily pivot and see if there's any profitability in marketing the now-sustainable product to the lower end segments. But don't start there unless you really know what you're doing, because the low margins in that market amplify your risks.
jrochkind1 10y ago
examples or stories or any reason at all we should take your word for it?
- joshmanders 10y ago
  Digital Ocean, Linode, LowendBox community just to name a few.

> Don't target the low end market if you can avoid it. Disagree with this statement. There is money to be made in the low end market, and it's not as bad as you expect it to be.

accountyaccount 10y ago

It's easier to start high-end and open up the low-end than it is to start at the low-end. There's a clearer method of prioritization (working on features for paying customers first) and you can spend more time making high paying customers happy rather than trying to retain hundreds.

joshmanders 10y ago
Depends on what you're doing. For example my business is built on catering to the lower end of a service who can't justify the high end prices.
- accountyaccount 10y ago
  Right, that's totally reasonable — but it's harder because you by default have to attain and retain more customers.

SwellJoe 10y ago

It's a pretty rough life for a small company to target the low-end. There's money there, but the low-end market also demands more time, if you aren't extremely careful about how you implement your sales/support process. Some products just aren't an upmarket product...mobile apps, for example. But, if there's a way to target your product to people who have a budget, you're going to have a much nicer time scaling up...you'll have money to hire people (and to a lesser degree, other resources that cost money) to do so. It takes a lot of $5/month sales to pay for one employee. But, $200/month sales add up really fast.

zeta0134 10y ago

I don't disagree with the statement in its intended context. He's speaking to startups here, who don't have an established product yet, and don't know if their product even reliably solves a business need. In that context, this is excellent advice. Once the product is built and already making you money, then you can easily pivot and see if there's any profitability in marketing the now-sustainable product to the lower end segments. But don't start there unless you really know what you're doing, because the low margins in that market amplify your risks.

jrochkind1 10y ago

examples or stories or any reason at all we should take your word for it?

joshmanders 10y ago
Digital Ocean, Linode, LowendBox community just to name a few.