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Slack and Flowdock have been around for a while and I don't see anything novel here. Also, "high-level security"? Security could be a novel selling point but yo

by Ixiaus 12y ago

Slack and Flowdock have been around for a while and I don't see anything novel here. Also, "high-level security"? Security could be a novel selling point but your copy around it feels dubious. Maybe "Slack" for enterprise? For Law Firms? Where security is extremely important and they are willing to pay? Not just OTR and encrypted chat but stuff not even YOU can read, maybe self-hosted licensing or in-browser locked keys for encryption? /me is not an expert here but those seem like valuable features that I don't see in Slack or Flowdock. [EDIT] When you have pre-existing competitors in a space, particularly a space focusing on developers, if you can't provide a feature that would compel (me) to switch (which I won't, I love Slack, unless you've got something amazing Slack doesn't) then you need to focus on a different target. I've seen a lot of powerful tools for developers and software teams pop up but I almost NEVER see those similar tools being pushed hard for other types of teams. Like Law Firms. Or politics. Or R&D labs. Scientists. So many out there!!!!

lepht 12y ago
Speaking of copy that's off-putting, the "makes your communication twice as fast" makes me immediately dubious and seems sort of amateur/icky. Twice as fast as what? Via what metric?
- gravity13 12y ago
  The other day I saw a billboard on the side of the freeway for a casino which stated in big gold lettering, "HIGHER CHANCES TO WIN!"
  - felixhaeusler 12y ago
    ChatGrape - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjvQFtlNQ-M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjvQFtlNQ-M
amenod 12y ago
You have a point, but they could compete on many grounds even with developers. From the top of my head: better UX, self-hosting option (AFAIK Slack doesn't offer this - and it would be a huge point to us), advanced usage metrics,... I am not saying that they will be succesful, but they are not doomed from the start.
jvagner 12y ago
Never heard of Flowdock. Checked iOS app. Zero reviews, ever. So, "been around for a while" doesn't feel like a true validation.
- MaxGabriel 12y ago
  It has 42 reviews, total. The App Store only shows the reviews for the most recent release on the first tab. If you go to "Reviews > All Versions" you can see the older ones.
felixhaeusler 12y ago
Hi Ixiaus, amenod, lepht and jvagner, MARKET Good point. We have a strong competition in this area and are facing a marketing challenge in the US with the hugely successful launch of Slack (I think that Hipchat and Campfire are still bigger atm). We are currently reworking the landing page, but this concept video might explain a little bit better what we are after: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFJBadyrTmI&list=UUaBvfEGLT1fIsEXc6OpQuPQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFJBadyrTmI&list=UUaBvfEGLT1... We make all company data available right as you type. The time you are switching back and forth between browser tabs to search for issues or appointments is a huge waste of time and - more relevant the bigger your team gets - of money. SECURITY > Not just OTR and encrypted chat but stuff not even YOU can read We are currently working on an encrypted solution for OTR-Conversations that - thanks to WebRTC - uses p2p-connections and uses your wifi, if you are in the same office. This allows you to communicate internally with us only providing the client. This isn't as secure as an on-premise solution (we are working on it, but this will def. take a little more time), but it's a good way of giving customers the advantages of cloud software with an optional switch for an on-premise-like behavior. MARKETING STATEMENT > makes your communication twice as fast Yeah, a blunt marketing statement like this needs to be backed up, or the bs-markers are over 9000. During the planning phase we tested with a couple of businesses what happens, when we integrate their most commonly used data into a facebook-like autocomplete. The results were, that the initial time they spend using the prototype was reduced to 52% (notable: They were still sharing the same amount of information). I think the reasons for this was a reduction of back-and-forths, misunderstandings and that they generally kept their conversations shorter. Maybe we should make a short clip, explaining the research that led to the assertion. By the way, thank you guys for racing your concerns. This sounds cliché but I rather have somebody tell me what he doesn't get/like about ChatGrape than having somebody dismiss our product without us knowing, how to improve.
- walterbell 12y ago
  s/racing/raising/ (posts can be edited for a short time after posting)
  - felixhaeusler 12y ago
te_chris 12y ago
Most people I know in 'big law' here in NZ (in quotes because NZ) are using Lync or similar for IM. Not sure the niche that people like us like to imagine is actually there and underserved by the big enterprise players.

by Ixiaus 12y ago

lepht 12y ago

Speaking of copy that's off-putting, the "makes your communication twice as fast" makes me immediately dubious and seems sort of amateur/icky. Twice as fast as what? Via what metric?

gravity13 12y ago
The other day I saw a billboard on the side of the freeway for a casino which stated in big gold lettering, "HIGHER CHANCES TO WIN!"
- felixhaeusler 12y ago
  ChatGrape - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjvQFtlNQ-M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjvQFtlNQ-M

amenod 12y ago

You have a point, but they could compete on many grounds even with developers. From the top of my head: better UX, self-hosting option (AFAIK Slack doesn't offer this - and it would be a huge point to us), advanced usage metrics,... I am not saying that they will be succesful, but they are not doomed from the start.

jvagner 12y ago

Never heard of Flowdock. Checked iOS app. Zero reviews, ever. So, "been around for a while" doesn't feel like a true validation.

MaxGabriel 12y ago
It has 42 reviews, total. The App Store only shows the reviews for the most recent release on the first tab. If you go to "Reviews > All Versions" you can see the older ones.

felixhaeusler 12y ago

Hi Ixiaus, amenod, lepht and jvagner, MARKET Good point. We have a strong competition in this area and are facing a marketing challenge in the US with the hugely successful launch of Slack (I think that Hipchat and Campfire are still bigger atm). We are currently reworking the landing page, but this concept video might explain a little bit better what we are after: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFJBadyrTmI&list=UUaBvfEGLT1fIsEXc6OpQuPQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFJBadyrTmI&list=UUaBvfEGLT1... We make all company data available right as you type. The time you are switching back and forth between browser tabs to search for issues or appointments is a huge waste of time and - more relevant the bigger your team gets - of money. SECURITY > Not just OTR and encrypted chat but stuff not even YOU can read We are currently working on an encrypted solution for OTR-Conversations that - thanks to WebRTC - uses p2p-connections and uses your wifi, if you are in the same office. This allows you to communicate internally with us only providing the client. This isn't as secure as an on-premise solution (we are working on it, but this will def. take a little more time), but it's a good way of giving customers the advantages of cloud software with an optional switch for an on-premise-like behavior. MARKETING STATEMENT > makes your communication twice as fast Yeah, a blunt marketing statement like this needs to be backed up, or the bs-markers are over 9000. During the planning phase we tested with a couple of businesses what happens, when we integrate their most commonly used data into a facebook-like autocomplete. The results were, that the initial time they spend using the prototype was reduced to 52% (notable: They were still sharing the same amount of information). I think the reasons for this was a reduction of back-and-forths, misunderstandings and that they generally kept their conversations shorter. Maybe we should make a short clip, explaining the research that led to the assertion. By the way, thank you guys for racing your concerns. This sounds cliché but I rather have somebody tell me what he doesn't get/like about ChatGrape than having somebody dismiss our product without us knowing, how to improve.

walterbell 12y ago
s/racing/raising/ (posts can be edited for a short time after posting)
- felixhaeusler 12y ago

te_chris 12y ago

Most people I know in 'big law' here in NZ (in quotes because NZ) are using Lync or similar for IM. Not sure the niche that people like us like to imagine is actually there and underserved by the big enterprise players.