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New Biz Idea? Forget Writing a Business Plan, Use Mockingbird Instead

14 points by chezral 16y ago

mey 16y ago
Ask HN: Mocking bird alternatives?
- thegoleffect 16y ago
  http://keynotopia.com/ http://keynotopia.com/ is ftw. Super cheap, works on most devices, and when exported to PDF... the links (aka interaction) is maintained.
waratuman 16y ago
Don't business plans serve a different purpose then mock-ups? Are you sure you can just switch one with the other and call it the same thing. A mock-up may be contained within a business plan, but a mock-up can't replace a business plan.
- zach 16y ago
  They do. They can differ in importance, though. The specifics of the product used to be less important. Now with a lot of web and app-based businesses, it's like you can't really explain the opportunity fully without showing the way it works with a mock-up. So that's why they suggest it's a more vital first step to pitching your business idea.
MikeMakesIt 16y ago
Mockingbird is hardly the first online wire-framing tool. http://balsamiq.com/ http://balsamiq.com/ http://iplotz.com/ http://iplotz.com/ http://www.flairbuilder.com/ http://www.flairbuilder.com/
- zach 16y ago
  Sure, but is it really necessary to make every review a roundup? If you like a product and that's all you've had experience with, I don't think you need an obligatory mention of other products you can't actually recommend. I know we like the horse-race aspect, and are chagrined to see someone who wasn't first to market credited as if they were the only product of its kind. But people who actually use these products just want to endorse something that makes their life easier. They do that in context of how it differs from better-known alternatives, not compared to other things the reader has probably never heard of. I think that should be an accepted viewpoint.
orky56 16y ago
New Biz Idea? Forget Mockingbird, Use a Napkin Instead! But seriously there's no end to this. If you have a great idea, you need to put the pieces in place to not only develop & build the product but also to ship and monetize it. I will say it is very simple to get caught up with a business plan and spend less time on communicating what the idea is in terms of what it takes to get it built. That's the easy way out and not the solution.

14 points by chezral 16y ago

mey 16y ago

Ask HN: Mocking bird alternatives?

thegoleffect 16y ago
http://keynotopia.com/ http://keynotopia.com/ is ftw. Super cheap, works on most devices, and when exported to PDF... the links (aka interaction) is maintained.

waratuman 16y ago

Don't business plans serve a different purpose then mock-ups? Are you sure you can just switch one with the other and call it the same thing. A mock-up may be contained within a business plan, but a mock-up can't replace a business plan.

zach 16y ago
They do. They can differ in importance, though. The specifics of the product used to be less important. Now with a lot of web and app-based businesses, it's like you can't really explain the opportunity fully without showing the way it works with a mock-up. So that's why they suggest it's a more vital first step to pitching your business idea.

MikeMakesIt 16y ago

Mockingbird is hardly the first online wire-framing tool. http://balsamiq.com/ http://balsamiq.com/ http://iplotz.com/ http://iplotz.com/ http://www.flairbuilder.com/ http://www.flairbuilder.com/

zach 16y ago
Sure, but is it really necessary to make every review a roundup? If you like a product and that's all you've had experience with, I don't think you need an obligatory mention of other products you can't actually recommend. I know we like the horse-race aspect, and are chagrined to see someone who wasn't first to market credited as if they were the only product of its kind. But people who actually use these products just want to endorse something that makes their life easier. They do that in context of how it differs from better-known alternatives, not compared to other things the reader has probably never heard of. I think that should be an accepted viewpoint.

orky56 16y ago

New Biz Idea? Forget Mockingbird, Use a Napkin Instead! But seriously there's no end to this. If you have a great idea, you need to put the pieces in place to not only develop & build the product but also to ship and monetize it. I will say it is very simple to get caught up with a business plan and spend less time on communicating what the idea is in terms of what it takes to get it built. That's the easy way out and not the solution.