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Not always. Look at the app marketplace, for example. Businesses are in dire need of better quality apps for managing employees, HR, payroll, networking, etc. A

by tannerc 13y ago

Not always. Look at the app marketplace, for example. Businesses are in dire need of better quality apps for managing employees, HR, payroll, networking, etc. And to get your app into their hands is as simple as making a unique app.

ams6110 13y ago
Businesses--well, big businesses anyway; sole proprietors and small partnerships are more like consumers or will just use whatever their accountant recommends i.e. Quickbooks--are not going to just buy an app for HR or Payroll. They will have a committee and a long checklist of requirements and you'll need to go on-site probably several times to make sales presentations and give demos to various constituencies.
- tannerc 13y ago
  That's absolutely true. Which means the options for getting a product into their hands would be either to work with them, wait for them to change, or create something they don't know how to categorize and hope it captures the interest of their executives/board?
calinet6 13y ago
> And to get your app into their hands is as simple as making a unique app. No, it isn't. It's about marketing to them, selling to the decision-maker, working through existing competition, wining and dining, proving your value with an on-site sales team, proving your integration... and most of all, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that you will not fail or disappear in the next 5 years. The problem with getting into Enterprise is not product-related. You can imagine all kinds of better products than what exists today. It's easy to build that better product that solves the same problems but prettier and with better UX. And make a great demo for it. Sure. I've done that. The hard part is proving that your startup will be around in 5, 10, 15 years and won't leave them high and dry, proving that you will have a support team serving their every need, and ensuring you have the ability to implement and customize to the specific company's process and requirements (because every large company is so different and with such ingrained processes that it's not them that will change, but you. Or else.) It seems easy, but it isn't. This isn't even a problem of the "build it and they will come" fallacy—it's on an entirely different scale. And you'd have to be ready for all of that if you want to enter into enterprise.
- tannerc 13y ago
  To a degree, I completely agree with you. But then, on the other hand, we see that making something unique does often propel the "build it and they will come" mentality. Because it works. What marketing have you seen from Snapchat (not directly related to the enterprise discussion though)? I'm reminded of the words of the great Steve Martin: "Be so good they can't ignore you." It this always the case? Absolutely not, which is where I do agree with you. But when an executive walks into a quarterly meeting and asks: "I keep hearing about xyz app/tool, are we using that?" you've won a huge part of the battle. Possibly with no marketing. Make something unique, something a good majority of people will want to use and talk about, and your marketing/selling is half-way done for you.
  - calinet6 13y ago
    Statistically speaking, that's not an average experience. It's an outlier. Don't count on it.

by tannerc 13y ago

ams6110 13y ago

Businesses--well, big businesses anyway; sole proprietors and small partnerships are more like consumers or will just use whatever their accountant recommends i.e. Quickbooks--are not going to just buy an app for HR or Payroll. They will have a committee and a long checklist of requirements and you'll need to go on-site probably several times to make sales presentations and give demos to various constituencies.

tannerc 13y ago
That's absolutely true. Which means the options for getting a product into their hands would be either to work with them, wait for them to change, or create something they don't know how to categorize and hope it captures the interest of their executives/board?

calinet6 13y ago

> And to get your app into their hands is as simple as making a unique app. No, it isn't. It's about marketing to them, selling to the decision-maker, working through existing competition, wining and dining, proving your value with an on-site sales team, proving your integration... and most of all, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that you will not fail or disappear in the next 5 years. The problem with getting into Enterprise is not product-related. You can imagine all kinds of better products than what exists today. It's easy to build that better product that solves the same problems but prettier and with better UX. And make a great demo for it. Sure. I've done that. The hard part is proving that your startup will be around in 5, 10, 15 years and won't leave them high and dry, proving that you will have a support team serving their every need, and ensuring you have the ability to implement and customize to the specific company's process and requirements (because every large company is so different and with such ingrained processes that it's not them that will change, but you. Or else.) It seems easy, but it isn't. This isn't even a problem of the "build it and they will come" fallacy—it's on an entirely different scale. And you'd have to be ready for all of that if you want to enter into enterprise.

tannerc 13y ago
To a degree, I completely agree with you. But then, on the other hand, we see that making something unique does often propel the "build it and they will come" mentality. Because it works. What marketing have you seen from Snapchat (not directly related to the enterprise discussion though)? I'm reminded of the words of the great Steve Martin: "Be so good they can't ignore you." It this always the case? Absolutely not, which is where I do agree with you. But when an executive walks into a quarterly meeting and asks: "I keep hearing about xyz app/tool, are we using that?" you've won a huge part of the battle. Possibly with no marketing. Make something unique, something a good majority of people will want to use and talk about, and your marketing/selling is half-way done for you.
- calinet6 13y ago
  Statistically speaking, that's not an average experience. It's an outlier. Don't count on it.