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Could you elaborate on: "Otherwise you're limiting yourselves to businesses that both have the vision to see the potential AND have the available resources to

by deepkut 15y ago

Could you elaborate on: "Otherwise you're limiting yourselves to businesses that both have the vision to see the potential AND have the available resources to implement it into their workflow." I don't quite follow what you mean.

playeren 15y ago
Sorry, it's late here :) It's the difference between selling 16 oz. tubs of Paracetamol, and packaged Tylenol pills. Both gives you access to pain-relief, but Tylenol is a product, whereas Paracetamol is a chemical. The savvy buyer will recognize the benefits of buying a tub of Paracetamol; very low price & high flexibility. But Tylenol will always outsell it due to convenience and packaging. I'm just saying it's better for you to sell Tylenol. *edit: Ok, I just realized I didn't really answer your question. My point with that specific sentence, was that you're raising the bar for customers, unless you provide something that instantly enables them to benefit from your algorithm.
- deepkut 15y ago
  So does that mean we should focus on convenience and usability? :) Thanks for the response by the way!
  - playeren 15y ago
    Haha, yeah - and make it good, too! ;) It just wasn't clear from your description if you're "just" providing the information, or actually enabling the businesses to make use of the information.
    - deepkut 15y ago
      Well, can't they make use of the information once they know who the connectors are? We can offer deals or special customer service to these users, but we can encourage others to! One thing we could do is provide "invite code" that a company can put on their website to encourage their users to invite these people.
      - playeren 15y ago
        Of course they can - and they should! But if you contact 100 companies, 99 will think it's an amazing idea, but only 10 will actually know what to do with the connectors. Those 10 are the only viable leads out of 99 positive responses, because the rest doesn't have a clear road map in mind when it comes to closing the deal. I'm not saying businesses are stupid, but they haven't spent as much time thinking about the value and opportunities a connector represents - as you obviously have. And that becomes a barrier in front of closing the deal. After the initial positive response, they need to think through all the good and bad ways they can use the connectors, and then plan it, assign resources - and only then are they ready to use your product. I strongly urge you to sit down and in detail define "What is the absolute smartest thing a business can do with our information", and then see how you can provide THAT as a service to businesses. Maybe in a partnership with a company that specializes in delivering products and services based on the social graph. If I seem adamant about making my point, it is because I have a failed start-up on my resume due to a failure of recognizing this fact in due time. It was a B2B product, that provided the exact same results as the main players in the marketplace, but smarter, faster and way more cost-efficient. My service could deliver in 3 days, what the main competitors did in 3 weeks, and at half the cost. But I couldn't seem to penetrate the market - and I was absolutely sure it was a marketing issue - and kept pouring money into new and arguably better ways of marketing the service, with only limited betterment as a result. In the end it turned out to be a product issue, and I had spent all my money on re-inventing marketing at that point (self-funded). My hubris was "It's self-evident that my way of doing things is better than what you're doing now. You should do it my way!". And it was an easy hubris to fall into - all the smart people in the business I talked to, agreed that my product was "amazing" and "the new and better way to do things", but those responses come from a different context than closing a deal. I expected businesses to make a very small change in their way of doing things, in return for a much faster, better and cost-efficient product. I should have understood that it is my task to make a product that fits into their way of business. Sorry about the rant :) I paid a shitload of money to learn this one lesson, so it hits a few buttons when it comes up.
        deepkut 15y ago
        Wow, thanks for the advice. I would love to chat with you if you have the chance.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]

by deepkut 15y ago

playeren 15y ago

Sorry, it's late here :) It's the difference between selling 16 oz. tubs of Paracetamol, and packaged Tylenol pills. Both gives you access to pain-relief, but Tylenol is a product, whereas Paracetamol is a chemical. The savvy buyer will recognize the benefits of buying a tub of Paracetamol; very low price & high flexibility. But Tylenol will always outsell it due to convenience and packaging. I'm just saying it's better for you to sell Tylenol. *edit: Ok, I just realized I didn't really answer your question. My point with that specific sentence, was that you're raising the bar for customers, unless you provide something that instantly enables them to benefit from your algorithm.

deepkut 15y ago
So does that mean we should focus on convenience and usability? :) Thanks for the response by the way!
- playeren 15y ago
  Haha, yeah - and make it good, too! ;) It just wasn't clear from your description if you're "just" providing the information, or actually enabling the businesses to make use of the information.
  - deepkut 15y ago
    Well, can't they make use of the information once they know who the connectors are? We can offer deals or special customer service to these users, but we can encourage others to! One thing we could do is provide "invite code" that a company can put on their website to encourage their users to invite these people.
    - playeren 15y ago
      Of course they can - and they should! But if you contact 100 companies, 99 will think it's an amazing idea, but only 10 will actually know what to do with the connectors. Those 10 are the only viable leads out of 99 positive responses, because the rest doesn't have a clear road map in mind when it comes to closing the deal. I'm not saying businesses are stupid, but they haven't spent as much time thinking about the value and opportunities a connector represents - as you obviously have. And that becomes a barrier in front of closing the deal. After the initial positive response, they need to think through all the good and bad ways they can use the connectors, and then plan it, assign resources - and only then are they ready to use your product. I strongly urge you to sit down and in detail define "What is the absolute smartest thing a business can do with our information", and then see how you can provide THAT as a service to businesses. Maybe in a partnership with a company that specializes in delivering products and services based on the social graph. If I seem adamant about making my point, it is because I have a failed start-up on my resume due to a failure of recognizing this fact in due time. It was a B2B product, that provided the exact same results as the main players in the marketplace, but smarter, faster and way more cost-efficient. My service could deliver in 3 days, what the main competitors did in 3 weeks, and at half the cost. But I couldn't seem to penetrate the market - and I was absolutely sure it was a marketing issue - and kept pouring money into new and arguably better ways of marketing the service, with only limited betterment as a result. In the end it turned out to be a product issue, and I had spent all my money on re-inventing marketing at that point (self-funded). My hubris was "It's self-evident that my way of doing things is better than what you're doing now. You should do it my way!". And it was an easy hubris to fall into - all the smart people in the business I talked to, agreed that my product was "amazing" and "the new and better way to do things", but those responses come from a different context than closing a deal. I expected businesses to make a very small change in their way of doing things, in return for a much faster, better and cost-efficient product. I should have understood that it is my task to make a product that fits into their way of business. Sorry about the rant :) I paid a shitload of money to learn this one lesson, so it hits a few buttons when it comes up.
      - deepkut 15y ago
        Wow, thanks for the advice. I would love to chat with you if you have the chance.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]