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I'll bite (I wrote this post). I actually mentioned VisualWebsiteOptimizer at the bottom of the Optimizely post, but no, I haven't done a full profile on it. If

I'll bite (I wrote this post). I actually mentioned VisualWebsiteOptimizer at the bottom of the Optimizely post, but no, I haven't done a full profile on it. If the founder happens to read this, I'd be happy to check out the site — make sure to emphasize how you're different/better than the competition. I'd also recommend waiting a week or two to reach out, otherwise the post will be a little bit "me too". As for why they may have been passed over in the first place, I don't have a definitive answer, but a few things come to mind. First, the name sounds off alarm bells in my head (or at least, makes it sound mediocre). Given the dearth of good, brief domain names I know this isn't fair, but most sites we see that are 3+ words strung together in a non-clever way are terrible. Also, I notice that the latest email I have from the founder was sent at 3:40AM on a Sunday (he's out in India, so that would probably explain it). If you're going to send a pitch, try doing it on a Wed-Fri, around noon or afternoon. The news cycle tends to slow down then (and I'm still at my desk), though there's no set rule.

nreece 16y ago
the name sounds off alarm bells in my head (or at least, makes it sound mediocre) I know where you are coming from, but startup names can be deceptive. Lot's of great products have bad names, and vice versa. Would you have reviewed the product if it was named Visual Studio - http://www.visualstudio.com http://www.visualstudio.com, which in my opinion is an ambiguous and mediocre name for a developer product.
il 16y ago
I can't believe that a Techcrunch writer, who I assume considers himself a serious journalist, would actually come out and say that he didn't cover a startup because the name doesn't have a Web 2.0 flourish like "ly" or "ckr". Visual Website Optimizer is a fantastic name- it tells you exactly what the app does, and how you can derive a benefit from it- it lets you optimize a website visually. I can't think of a much better name, and tacking a "ly" on does not magically create legitimacy. I'm kind of pissed that the Web 2.0 culture has somehow made a less memorable, less descriptive name superior. It completely flies in the face of traditional, accepted marketing and branding theory and, frankly, gives the appearance of lazy incestuous journalism.
- jkincaid 16y ago
  That's actually not what I said and you've put quite a few words into my mouth (I am not a big fan of the ubiquitous "ly's", to be honest). I doubt I even saw this email — 3 AM on a Sunday is not prime time for reading pitches. And, as I wrote earlier, I'd be happy to check out this startup regardless of the name. EDIT: Also, I'm sort of interested to hear more about brand theory. I mean, isn't there a reason that Google isn't called "SearchEngine" and Dropbox isn't "CloudFileStorage"?
  - niyazpk 16y ago
    Wingify (the startup name) is better than VisualWebOptimzer (the product name). I am not sure why Paras is not using the same name for both.
    - sparshgupta 16y ago
      Hi Niyazpk, The reason Wingify decided to have a separate name Visual Website Optimizer for its A/B testing product is because we have plans to roll out more website optimization tools in the future.
      - davidu 16y ago
        Just call it Wingify.
        Lewisham 16y ago
        Agreed. Then you have "Wingify Optimizer" or "Wingify Analytics" or "Wingify Widgets". Consistent, recognizable branding. What ties "Visual Website Optimizer" to any other product? Nada. There's no brand transference. Even if I liked VWO, I'd have no idea that Website Analyzer has anything to do with it. And VWO really is a cheap sounding name, so I am not surprised jkinkiad passed on the pitch.
        paraschopra 16y ago
        Please see my other comment on this thread. why we chose the name. Link: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1520656 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1520656
adityakothadiya 16y ago
I'm glad to see your reply. At least we now know what exactly or close to exactly happened. The other day on HN thread, all we learned were "opinions" and "guesses" about why his startup is not getting featured on major blogs. Now this is called as - the power of HN and open communication!
paraschopra 16y ago
Hi Jason, I am the founder of Visual Website Optimizer. And to be fair I have been expecting Optimizely post on TechCrunch as soon as I learnt that it was a YC funded startup. To be honest it bites me to actually read it on TC especially when I emailed you thrice :) But anyway that is life. I guess special connections do matter! As far as name is concerned, the company's name is Wingify (which isn't as dull as Visual Website Optimizer). The product name was chosen to differentiate it from Google Website Optimizer, as my tool makes creating tests super easy. As far as differentiation is concerned, well we launched way earlier than Optimizely (so it is them whom you should be asking this question). Actual differentiation comes in the ease of use, while offering all enterprise level features. Here is a comparision table: http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/feature-list.php http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/feature-list.php As far as interesting story is concerned, well we're bootstrapped (2 people actually), launched two months ago, are profitable (more than just ramen) and have managed to bag customers like Microsoft, Rackspace, 99Designs, Aweber and Threadless. Here is a partial customer list http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/customers.php http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/customers.php The tool has helped numerous small businesses in increasing conversions and sales. Here are some case studies: http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/case-studies.php http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/case-studies.php and if you must compare it with other tools, here are numerous (all non-asked) testimonials comparing VWO with other tools: http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/testimonials.php http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/testimonials.php I don't know how else to pitch you rather than just providing facts. Please let me know if you wish to do a story, I will be happy to provide you with more stats or make it into an interesting story. -Paras Chopra PS: Thanks for mentioning VWO at the end of the post, but I will still stand by saying that it was bit unfair on TC's part.
- luckystrike 16y ago
  Happy to see your product doing well, and the fact that it is profitable already. Good going. I am sure you are pretty cool about it, but take it easy about the TC (or any other such blog's) (non-)coverage. You got paying customers and if this continues, relevant news coverage would follow soon. Cheers.
  - 16y ago
jacquesm 16y ago
Seems to me the 'me too' product is optimizely. Interesting concept. Scan HN for good stuff by people from third world countries that are unlikely to get funding, apply to YC with a similar idea, get funded and run rings around them in the media, and to add insult to injury have them labelled 'me too' by the same media that refused to cover them beforehand. I'm sure you can do much better than that Jason. Also, how can you write that 'you'll check out his site' if you mention them in your article already ? Don't you do that anyway before mentioning a site ?
- trevelyan 16y ago
  I agree, and the entire thing leaves a poor taste in my mouth too. Techcrunch screwed up in not mentioning VWO, but only because it is the real innovative company in this space, and its product has been out there for a while. If this new one is newsworthy they should have at least linked to VWO in the review. That said, I think the real fault here is with PG and YCombinator, who should know better than to fund teams to compete with single-founder bootstrapped startups that congregate on these boards. I mean... what's next Paul, a YC funded play at online bingo?
  - patio11 16y ago
    I have a policy about not criticizing people in their house, and this is definitely not my house. That said, there are some markets large enough to sustain many companies. Bingo cards probably won't support a company on the trajectory that YC would like. A/B testing, though, already supports many companies, from several big-freaking-consultingware companies down to VWO. There is room for more, and I'd suggest people remember that the biggest competitor isn't a just-launched startup or even Google. It is "Customer decides not to A/B test." This competitor is very popular, and has 99% share in the A/B testing space. Heck, it probably has 90% share among HN readers! That is the enemy. Focus on killing that.
    - trevelyan 16y ago
      There's a difference between being critical and being disrespectful or rude. And the size of the market is irrelevant. To run with your analogy, the question is whether it is ethical to invite someone into your home to join a support group for small entrepreneurs and then fund a much larger team to chase their ideas once you learn about them. For an organization that aims to support entrepreneurs, this just looks bad. There is nothing wrong with competition, but they should have passed the proposal to someone else to fund.

nreece 16y ago

the name sounds off alarm bells in my head (or at least, makes it sound mediocre) I know where you are coming from, but startup names can be deceptive. Lot's of great products have bad names, and vice versa. Would you have reviewed the product if it was named Visual Studio - http://www.visualstudio.com http://www.visualstudio.com, which in my opinion is an ambiguous and mediocre name for a developer product.

il 16y ago

I can't believe that a Techcrunch writer, who I assume considers himself a serious journalist, would actually come out and say that he didn't cover a startup because the name doesn't have a Web 2.0 flourish like "ly" or "ckr". Visual Website Optimizer is a fantastic name- it tells you exactly what the app does, and how you can derive a benefit from it- it lets you optimize a website visually. I can't think of a much better name, and tacking a "ly" on does not magically create legitimacy. I'm kind of pissed that the Web 2.0 culture has somehow made a less memorable, less descriptive name superior. It completely flies in the face of traditional, accepted marketing and branding theory and, frankly, gives the appearance of lazy incestuous journalism.

jkincaid 16y ago
That's actually not what I said and you've put quite a few words into my mouth (I am not a big fan of the ubiquitous "ly's", to be honest). I doubt I even saw this email — 3 AM on a Sunday is not prime time for reading pitches. And, as I wrote earlier, I'd be happy to check out this startup regardless of the name. EDIT: Also, I'm sort of interested to hear more about brand theory. I mean, isn't there a reason that Google isn't called "SearchEngine" and Dropbox isn't "CloudFileStorage"?
- niyazpk 16y ago
  Wingify (the startup name) is better than VisualWebOptimzer (the product name). I am not sure why Paras is not using the same name for both.
  - sparshgupta 16y ago
    Hi Niyazpk, The reason Wingify decided to have a separate name Visual Website Optimizer for its A/B testing product is because we have plans to roll out more website optimization tools in the future.
    - davidu 16y ago
      Just call it Wingify.
      - Lewisham 16y ago
        Agreed. Then you have "Wingify Optimizer" or "Wingify Analytics" or "Wingify Widgets". Consistent, recognizable branding. What ties "Visual Website Optimizer" to any other product? Nada. There's no brand transference. Even if I liked VWO, I'd have no idea that Website Analyzer has anything to do with it. And VWO really is a cheap sounding name, so I am not surprised jkinkiad passed on the pitch.
      - paraschopra 16y ago
        Please see my other comment on this thread. why we chose the name. Link: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1520656 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1520656

adityakothadiya 16y ago

I'm glad to see your reply. At least we now know what exactly or close to exactly happened. The other day on HN thread, all we learned were "opinions" and "guesses" about why his startup is not getting featured on major blogs. Now this is called as - the power of HN and open communication!

paraschopra 16y ago

Hi Jason, I am the founder of Visual Website Optimizer. And to be fair I have been expecting Optimizely post on TechCrunch as soon as I learnt that it was a YC funded startup. To be honest it bites me to actually read it on TC especially when I emailed you thrice :) But anyway that is life. I guess special connections do matter! As far as name is concerned, the company's name is Wingify (which isn't as dull as Visual Website Optimizer). The product name was chosen to differentiate it from Google Website Optimizer, as my tool makes creating tests super easy. As far as differentiation is concerned, well we launched way earlier than Optimizely (so it is them whom you should be asking this question). Actual differentiation comes in the ease of use, while offering all enterprise level features. Here is a comparision table: http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/feature-list.php http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/feature-list.php As far as interesting story is concerned, well we're bootstrapped (2 people actually), launched two months ago, are profitable (more than just ramen) and have managed to bag customers like Microsoft, Rackspace, 99Designs, Aweber and Threadless. Here is a partial customer list http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/customers.php http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/customers.php The tool has helped numerous small businesses in increasing conversions and sales. Here are some case studies: http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/case-studies.php http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/case-studies.php and if you must compare it with other tools, here are numerous (all non-asked) testimonials comparing VWO with other tools: http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/testimonials.php http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/testimonials.php I don't know how else to pitch you rather than just providing facts. Please let me know if you wish to do a story, I will be happy to provide you with more stats or make it into an interesting story. -Paras Chopra PS: Thanks for mentioning VWO at the end of the post, but I will still stand by saying that it was bit unfair on TC's part.

luckystrike 16y ago
Happy to see your product doing well, and the fact that it is profitable already. Good going. I am sure you are pretty cool about it, but take it easy about the TC (or any other such blog's) (non-)coverage. You got paying customers and if this continues, relevant news coverage would follow soon. Cheers.
- 16y ago

jacquesm 16y ago

Seems to me the 'me too' product is optimizely. Interesting concept. Scan HN for good stuff by people from third world countries that are unlikely to get funding, apply to YC with a similar idea, get funded and run rings around them in the media, and to add insult to injury have them labelled 'me too' by the same media that refused to cover them beforehand. I'm sure you can do much better than that Jason. Also, how can you write that 'you'll check out his site' if you mention them in your article already ? Don't you do that anyway before mentioning a site ?

trevelyan 16y ago
I agree, and the entire thing leaves a poor taste in my mouth too. Techcrunch screwed up in not mentioning VWO, but only because it is the real innovative company in this space, and its product has been out there for a while. If this new one is newsworthy they should have at least linked to VWO in the review. That said, I think the real fault here is with PG and YCombinator, who should know better than to fund teams to compete with single-founder bootstrapped startups that congregate on these boards. I mean... what's next Paul, a YC funded play at online bingo?
- patio11 16y ago
  I have a policy about not criticizing people in their house, and this is definitely not my house. That said, there are some markets large enough to sustain many companies. Bingo cards probably won't support a company on the trajectory that YC would like. A/B testing, though, already supports many companies, from several big-freaking-consultingware companies down to VWO. There is room for more, and I'd suggest people remember that the biggest competitor isn't a just-launched startup or even Google. It is "Customer decides not to A/B test." This competitor is very popular, and has 99% share in the A/B testing space. Heck, it probably has 90% share among HN readers! That is the enemy. Focus on killing that.
  - trevelyan 16y ago
    There's a difference between being critical and being disrespectful or rude. And the size of the market is irrelevant. To run with your analogy, the question is whether it is ethical to invite someone into your home to join a support group for small entrepreneurs and then fund a much larger team to chase their ideas once you learn about them. For an organization that aims to support entrepreneurs, this just looks bad. There is nothing wrong with competition, but they should have passed the proposal to someone else to fund.