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Ask HN: I have a good idea and a POC... Now what?

• dvt 13y ago
  You could always post it on HN :) I'm a bit older-ish (27) and from my experience, trying to keep your ideas to yourself is not really productive. Ideas are dime a dozen and the best way to get feedback is to hand it out to people (even unfinished hacky proofs of concept will do). You could always go to family and friends, but there are two problems with this approach: 1. They may not be tech-inclined in which case they won't really "get" it. 2. They are your friends and family. They will, 90% of the time, give you positive reinforcement. Trust me. Nobody loves you as much as your mom does ;) Finally, I just want to say that random "idea advice" is generally pretty worthless anyway (even from random people on the internet). You won't see any genuine feedback until you have customers, not just some guy flipping through a couple of your pages going "I think the sign-in button should be bluer" or something to that effect. I would urge you to finish an alpha version and test it on a couple of potential/real customers. That's the absolute only way you'll get any poignant advice. I just want to add that a co-founder should bring something very real to the deal, not just a critical eye (you know what they say about opinions).
• chipsy 13y ago
  I'll start with a general disclaimer for what you're looking for in feedback. When you get a "crickets" or a polite "looks promising" response, it indicates you are currently missing the mark, either in the concept or the marketing(and the two are very, very intermingled). There's a dramatic, intangible, "know it when you see it" difference when something gets the response you need to achieve some real growth. And you do need the broad audience to be sure, because in private, a small group of people can convince themselves to believe anything, no matter how "outsider" they might be to begin with. Why not, instead of finishing the code, make a video, or at least a nice landing page demonstrating what you intend to build?
• seanccox 13y ago
  In 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' there is a section that discusses using a shim, made from a beer can, to fix loose handlebars on a motorcycle. The bike's owner walks away, preferring loose handlebars to a cheap solution. You need to find the people who want the problem solved so badly that they'll use a beer can, or your ugly/incomplete code, to solve their problem. To do that, start with a customer profile. Answer the following questions: What is the problem? How is it solved? What is needed to implement the solution? Who can implement it (are there any barriers like equipment, technical expertise)? How do you reach them? Once you know who to contact, it is a great deal easier to find them. Contact those people. Listen to what they say about the problem. Ask yourself – does my code address this problem? If not, fix the code, or call a different potential customer (actually, do both). Document what people say. You'll learn what the real pain point is, you'll learn how other people have dealt with it, and you'll learn whether you are contacting the right potential customers. If your product does address the problem, ask the person to buy your solution. You can offer a discount rate for being a trial customer. Get their feedback. If you can sell it, as is, to 1% of the people you contact, then you have a business (which is a whole new set of problems). If not, restart at an earlier stage. Maybe the code doesn't solve the right problem, or maybe you pitched the wrong customers? It should be a creative learning process, and you seem to enjoy that already. If you want to bounce around more ideas, feel free to get in touch.
• mooze 13y ago
  Friends are great for high-fives, but useless when it comes to constructive feedback. Your best bet is to attend maker/hacker/startup events and tell people about your project. If they seem interested, go into detail about your plan: why you started it, what problem you're trying to solve, and how you're going to solve it. Be open to new ideas. (Sometimes you discover that your 'goal' isn't really your goal, but a shadow of your 'true' goal.) Adjust your plan accordingly. I'm only a few years older than you and on a similar path, so you can start with me if you like. (Also: put your contact details in your HN profile so people can reach you!)
• xauronx 13y ago
  Post it to HN, explain you're looking for feedback. Don't be afraid of being told it's shit. For every person who's looking to increase their self esteem by putting you down, there will be one honestly trying to help. Next... and this is what I've struggled with. I've created a ton of "proof of concepts", that is, things that pretty much work and prove that you CAN do it. Well, the problem is that you feel so awesome and smart from creating those things but that ISN'T the hard part. Actually creating a stable solid product is the hard part, what makes you a good developer. Unfortunately, it's also just a lot less fun.
• sharemywin 13y ago
  Here's 2 websites that might be helpful for what your looking for. http://karmurl.com/ http://karmurl.com/ - trade feedback http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2008-11-25-n66.html http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2008-11-25-n66.html -- buy feedback for $7