4 ms·

> Wasted confidence. This is probably the biggest factor (money is the least). I've had numerous failed projects. I have a current project/business (it's in

by jcadam 9y ago

> Wasted confidence. This is probably the biggest factor (money is the least). I've had numerous failed projects. I have a current project/business (it's in my profile) which I believe to be in the process of failing. I don't know if I have another one in me. Sure, I've learned a lot. From a purely technical standpoint, each new project has been superior to the one before - and in the case of my latest, I've at least produced something that I find useful. But, the ego can only take so much abuse. Not sure I trust myself with ideas anymore. I need someone to tell me what to build :)

goatherders 9y ago
After my first startup went down in a burst of flames I spent years angry at everyone and everything like a big black tumor carried inside my heart. It sounds dramatic but that doesn't make it untrue. I learned a lot but I lost a lot more.
- hndamien 9y ago
  I currently have one of these tumours.
  - lnsru 9y ago
    Take some time off, do something totally different. After my biggest fail I spent 3 days in water filled caves. New experience partially erased these bad emotions. But they are not completely gone even after 10 years.
  - goatherders 9y ago
    Get up off the mat. Its time.
abraae 9y ago
Maybe (assuming you're in a startup) you could think of the corporate world as a sort of paid rehab. Go and hang out there for a year or two. Make some bank. Regain your mojo. You'll know when its time to quite the corporate job and return to the fray.
ShroudedNight 9y ago
I assume you're referring to https://www.contabulo.com https://www.contabulo.com With the disclaimer that I'm nothing more than an oddly engaged person on the internet, and least of all a marketing expert, and the caveat that I'm not even likely the target market for this: 1) How does this remain sticky for the long term contrary to traditional wikis? 2) How is this different from other virtual card / sticky note project management options like Zenhub or Trello? 3) What is supposed to be compelling about the demo boards? I can see how the product can potentially fill different niches, but none of them show how productivity is significantly improved as a result. 4) Is the price of $7 a month a per user price? In case it's not obvious, I don't personally need the answer to these questions. I think you could be much more direct and clear about your value. I sort-of get the sense that you're almost ashamed at the possibility that you're better than everything else at solving your chosen problem. But I think both you and your prospective customer would be better served by you directly speaking to the pain you're addressing and why / how your unique solution addresses things better than any other offering you're aware of. Signing up is a pain. How feasible would an immediate ephemeral instance be, where the user signs up in order to save their work? Assuming I'm normal, I'd expect users to be a lot more likely to sign up if they're already convinced that they want something vs still in the 'this looks potentially interesting' stage. I also wonder if you're somewhat low-balling yourself at what I assume is $7 per user month, especially given this is mostly a business oriented product. I think this looks cool, and has the potential to significantly lower engagement friction compared to other solutions, but would like some guidance to condense those good feelings into a clear value proposition. Anyway, hopefully that was useful enough to warrant reading.
- jcadam 9y ago
  Yes, thanks. > ...has the potential to significantly lower engagement friction compared to other solutions That's the idea, yes. But it seems I'm having trouble communicating that :) > I also wonder if you're somewhat low-balling yourself at what I assume is $7 per user month Yes $7/user/month. Though, the thought is to move into the "enterprise" at some point, since I would bet a lot of companies wouldn't be comfortable putting all of their organizational knowledge in the cloud (at least I wouldn't).

by jcadam 9y ago

goatherders 9y ago

After my first startup went down in a burst of flames I spent years angry at everyone and everything like a big black tumor carried inside my heart. It sounds dramatic but that doesn't make it untrue. I learned a lot but I lost a lot more.

hndamien 9y ago
I currently have one of these tumours.
- lnsru 9y ago
  Take some time off, do something totally different. After my biggest fail I spent 3 days in water filled caves. New experience partially erased these bad emotions. But they are not completely gone even after 10 years.
- goatherders 9y ago
  Get up off the mat. Its time.

abraae 9y ago

Maybe (assuming you're in a startup) you could think of the corporate world as a sort of paid rehab. Go and hang out there for a year or two. Make some bank. Regain your mojo. You'll know when its time to quite the corporate job and return to the fray.

ShroudedNight 9y ago

I assume you're referring to https://www.contabulo.com https://www.contabulo.com With the disclaimer that I'm nothing more than an oddly engaged person on the internet, and least of all a marketing expert, and the caveat that I'm not even likely the target market for this: 1) How does this remain sticky for the long term contrary to traditional wikis? 2) How is this different from other virtual card / sticky note project management options like Zenhub or Trello? 3) What is supposed to be compelling about the demo boards? I can see how the product can potentially fill different niches, but none of them show how productivity is significantly improved as a result. 4) Is the price of $7 a month a per user price? In case it's not obvious, I don't personally need the answer to these questions. I think you could be much more direct and clear about your value. I sort-of get the sense that you're almost ashamed at the possibility that you're better than everything else at solving your chosen problem. But I think both you and your prospective customer would be better served by you directly speaking to the pain you're addressing and why / how your unique solution addresses things better than any other offering you're aware of. Signing up is a pain. How feasible would an immediate ephemeral instance be, where the user signs up in order to save their work? Assuming I'm normal, I'd expect users to be a lot more likely to sign up if they're already convinced that they want something vs still in the 'this looks potentially interesting' stage. I also wonder if you're somewhat low-balling yourself at what I assume is $7 per user month, especially given this is mostly a business oriented product. I think this looks cool, and has the potential to significantly lower engagement friction compared to other solutions, but would like some guidance to condense those good feelings into a clear value proposition. Anyway, hopefully that was useful enough to warrant reading.

jcadam 9y ago
Yes, thanks. > ...has the potential to significantly lower engagement friction compared to other solutions That's the idea, yes. But it seems I'm having trouble communicating that :) > I also wonder if you're somewhat low-balling yourself at what I assume is $7 per user month Yes $7/user/month. Though, the thought is to move into the "enterprise" at some point, since I would bet a lot of companies wouldn't be comfortable putting all of their organizational knowledge in the cloud (at least I wouldn't).