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We applied to YC with exactly this idea. We made it to the interview, but were turned down. I wrote about that experience: http://tghw.com/blog/pull-hard http:/

by tghw 13y ago

We applied to YC with exactly this idea. We made it to the interview, but were turned down. I wrote about that experience: http://tghw.com/blog/pull-hard http://tghw.com/blog/pull-hard We pulled our bootstraps hard and tried to get it going, but soon realized that there's a pretty big flaw with the idea: most photographers have no idea that they should backup their photos. They know hard drives crash, but they never expect it to happen to them. This meant that we'd essentially have to become insurance salesmen, convincing people that bad things will happen to them. Eventually, we decided to shut it down, which I also wrote about: http://tghw.com/blog/well-that-sucks-what-else-you-got http://tghw.com/blog/well-that-sucks-what-else-you-got The old homepage is still up at http://www.snaposit.com/ http://www.snaposit.com/.

famousactress 13y ago
Yeah, I'd expect the market for this is more niche but could be high revenue-per customer. As a wedding photography studio we'd pay 100$/mo in a heartbeat if this was done well. [Edit] Also note that OP wasn't really just pitching "backup". He wants you to reduce the footprint his images take up locally. I think the messaging to casual and hobbyist users probably ought to play on this. Note Loom's taglines "more room to play". Backup is probably boring for people not under the pressure of liability like pros are.
tsycho 13y ago
Would you be willing to open source your code? I am running out of hard disk space as well for my photos and have been thinking of writing coding up something very similar to this idea _when I get time_. But I would be willing to contribute to an open source project that does this for self-hosting my photos etc. Contact me if interested, email's in my profile.
- tghw 13y ago
  Let me consult with my cofounder. I've considered it in passing, but haven't put any time into it.
- dublinben 13y ago
  If you're looking for a more immediate solution, I've been pretty satisfied with FastGlacier, as an Amazon Glacier client. http://fastglacier.com/ http://fastglacier.com/
bsimpson 13y ago
> For this experience, we spent less than $1,000. Compared to an entrepreneurship class at any college, that's quite cheap! My undergrad was in USC's entrepreneurship program. One of the points they always hyped on was whether or not you were "selling vitamins or vicodin", so to speak. As you learned through Snaposit, most people when making chit-chat will be supportive of your venture, but you won't know how they really feel until they vote with their wallets. Most of the professors were older guys who didn't get online startup culture, but one of their favorite tricks was to put up a landing page detailing a concept they were interested in, with a buy button. They'd spend some AdWords to get people to the landing page and measure the conversion rate. If enough people tried to buy to justify the service, they'd go out and build it.
- gohrt 13y ago
  FWIW, that's the original Lean Startup model. In fact, that's how the Four Hour Work Week or one of those books was written -- ads first, and when the ads converted, the book was then written.
mfenniak 13y ago
Professional photographers know they need to backup their photos. It looks like your product targeted consumers, but professionals seem like they'd be a better market. And it should have been priced way, way higher; the more it cost, the more secure it looks. I'd have a hard time trusting my money-making business assets to a $9/month service. Of course, I'm not a professional photographer nor do I have your experience in trying to build this business, so who knows what my opinion is worth. :-)
- digitalsushi 13y ago
  The problem with the term 'professional' is that the word is ambiguous - do we mean 'people that live off this' or 'people that know what they're doing'? I have two professional photographer friends, and neither have the slightest clue how to protect their data. They live off it, but never grow out because word of mouth is karma and you can't lose someone's wedding photos. These are people that have a duty to protect other people's memories, and are leaving it to chance. They are everywhere.
- tghw 13y ago
  Actually, once we started getting into the market, we found that most do not know they need to do regular, offsite backups. Consider the some examples: * An older photographer who grew up in the days of film who has just transitioned over to digital. * A homemaker who is trying to add some much needed income for her family, with a passion but no formal training. * A well-off software developer who moonlights as a photographer for fun and a little extra money. Of those, only the third has been exposed, formally, to correct data backup procedures. The others are likely to keep their photos in folders on the desktop of their laptop. Furthermore, photography is not a very lucrative profession for most photographers. That limits the amount you can charge. Our original pricing was much higher, but we realized that would be problematic, considering the average photographer brings in around $30k per year.
  - mgkimsal 13y ago
    None of your examples contradict "Professional photographers know they need to backup their photos." A homemaker or techie moonlighting for extra income aren't really 'professional photographers'. They may take photographs that look professional, but it's not the same thing. One might say that professional developers use version control, then have counter examples of "well, this web design student doesn't ever uer version control, but she's the only person working on the code, so it doesn't matter". This is not a professional developer, even if she is capable of producing results that look like they were done by a professional. A professional, imo, is defined as much by their habits and practices as by the output.
foxhop 13y ago
Yeah, you guys decided to push more efforts to blurity if I remember correctly.

by tghw 13y ago

famousactress 13y ago

Yeah, I'd expect the market for this is more niche but could be high revenue-per customer. As a wedding photography studio we'd pay 100$/mo in a heartbeat if this was done well. [Edit] Also note that OP wasn't really just pitching "backup". He wants you to reduce the footprint his images take up locally. I think the messaging to casual and hobbyist users probably ought to play on this. Note Loom's taglines "more room to play". Backup is probably boring for people not under the pressure of liability like pros are.

tsycho 13y ago

Would you be willing to open source your code? I am running out of hard disk space as well for my photos and have been thinking of writing coding up something very similar to this idea _when I get time_. But I would be willing to contribute to an open source project that does this for self-hosting my photos etc. Contact me if interested, email's in my profile.

tghw 13y ago
Let me consult with my cofounder. I've considered it in passing, but haven't put any time into it.
dublinben 13y ago
If you're looking for a more immediate solution, I've been pretty satisfied with FastGlacier, as an Amazon Glacier client. http://fastglacier.com/ http://fastglacier.com/

bsimpson 13y ago

> For this experience, we spent less than $1,000. Compared to an entrepreneurship class at any college, that's quite cheap! My undergrad was in USC's entrepreneurship program. One of the points they always hyped on was whether or not you were "selling vitamins or vicodin", so to speak. As you learned through Snaposit, most people when making chit-chat will be supportive of your venture, but you won't know how they really feel until they vote with their wallets. Most of the professors were older guys who didn't get online startup culture, but one of their favorite tricks was to put up a landing page detailing a concept they were interested in, with a buy button. They'd spend some AdWords to get people to the landing page and measure the conversion rate. If enough people tried to buy to justify the service, they'd go out and build it.

gohrt 13y ago
FWIW, that's the original Lean Startup model. In fact, that's how the Four Hour Work Week or one of those books was written -- ads first, and when the ads converted, the book was then written.

mfenniak 13y ago

Professional photographers know they need to backup their photos. It looks like your product targeted consumers, but professionals seem like they'd be a better market. And it should have been priced way, way higher; the more it cost, the more secure it looks. I'd have a hard time trusting my money-making business assets to a $9/month service. Of course, I'm not a professional photographer nor do I have your experience in trying to build this business, so who knows what my opinion is worth. :-)

digitalsushi 13y ago
The problem with the term 'professional' is that the word is ambiguous - do we mean 'people that live off this' or 'people that know what they're doing'? I have two professional photographer friends, and neither have the slightest clue how to protect their data. They live off it, but never grow out because word of mouth is karma and you can't lose someone's wedding photos. These are people that have a duty to protect other people's memories, and are leaving it to chance. They are everywhere.
tghw 13y ago
Actually, once we started getting into the market, we found that most do not know they need to do regular, offsite backups. Consider the some examples: * An older photographer who grew up in the days of film who has just transitioned over to digital. * A homemaker who is trying to add some much needed income for her family, with a passion but no formal training. * A well-off software developer who moonlights as a photographer for fun and a little extra money. Of those, only the third has been exposed, formally, to correct data backup procedures. The others are likely to keep their photos in folders on the desktop of their laptop. Furthermore, photography is not a very lucrative profession for most photographers. That limits the amount you can charge. Our original pricing was much higher, but we realized that would be problematic, considering the average photographer brings in around $30k per year.
- mgkimsal 13y ago
  None of your examples contradict "Professional photographers know they need to backup their photos." A homemaker or techie moonlighting for extra income aren't really 'professional photographers'. They may take photographs that look professional, but it's not the same thing. One might say that professional developers use version control, then have counter examples of "well, this web design student doesn't ever uer version control, but she's the only person working on the code, so it doesn't matter". This is not a professional developer, even if she is capable of producing results that look like they were done by a professional. A professional, imo, is defined as much by their habits and practices as by the output.

foxhop 13y ago

Yeah, you guys decided to push more efforts to blurity if I remember correctly.