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Rate my startup: Ask My BrainTrust (Business Brainstorming Tool)

9 points by Tawheed 17y ago

deleted 17y ago
[deleted]
ErrantX 17y ago
What kind of market do you see here? What features are offered over using a private forum? I have to admit the idea doesn't "turn me on" all that much; but then I can see the appeal (though I think the pricing is way high). On the presentation side of things: the sign up page is somewhat confusing with the cheap plan being placed above the others. I actually missed it for a second. Also you have several spelling mistakes hanging around.
- Tawheed 17y ago
  We're seeing a couple of markets here, the "business advisory board for the business owner" market being the most pormising one. It's too early to tell which ones will pan out. This really falls into the category of "Forum 2.0" -- except we offer a fully hosted solution, no pain to set up, and most importantly, a much better user interface for having meaningful private discussions with the people you trust the most. It also introduces the element of consensus building through voting, which Forums have no concept of today -- making your discussions not only a healthy debate but also one that is productive and helps reach an informed decision.
  - alttab 17y ago
    This would be useful - if it was free. This feedback is of course just my two cents, but as a serial-entrepreneur I can't see this being useful after the first month. Otherwise, if a tool like this can be used for all decisions, its basically an asynchronous net-meeting with voting, which isn't anything other software (even the new disappointing Google Wave could do this), but certainly not for $20 a month. I initial impression is this is something you wanted to build - and thought that because it was a complete idea that could be followed through on that it would convert into a good SaaS. A complete idea is necessary, but not sufficient. I also think people hit the nail on the head - the privacy issue is huge. If people have their next super-awesome start up idea, they certainly aren't going to discuss it on a web application. They would be handing over their idea to the developers (have you given them a solid reason to trust you?), and even unintentional exploits/loopholes/bugs could expose the business IP of all of your users. The UI/site looks very well put together. The designers definitely have that department down. But overall it seems like you're trying to sell a solution to a problem that's either already been solved for free many times over, is not that big of a problem, or providing only marginal organizational value-add for your price. Again, just my 0.02, good work so far!
- Tawheed 17y ago
  As for the pricing page, that's great feedback. We really want people to go with the smallest plan to get a feel for how a BrainTrust works and then move on from there. I think we can work a bit harder to make that thought process a bit more transparent.
  - ErrantX 17y ago
    I think it is familiarity bias at play that's all: the lower 3 plans fit in with the recent layout of "pricing ans signup" pages that are pretty common nowadays. Even though it is really obvious I just did not see the top option because it wasn't expected. I doubt it's a common problem :) but seemed worth mentioning.
sga 17y ago
With respect to the visual aspects of the landing page, I quite liked the initial screen (title, visual slide, etc. look good). As I scroll down, I also like the concept behind the image vs image check mark for highlighting the strengths of your offering but I would strongly recommend improving the images. Nothing wrong with stick figures but I would redo them and make them more crisp.
- Tawheed 17y ago
  Thanks for the great feedback. The stick figures are definitely something we want to fix, but it keeps getting de-prioritized on our list ;)
  - ErrantX 17y ago
    just a note (as someone mention the images) they appear "broken" position wise on Chromium (running on Fedora 11). The second image in each sequence is dropped under the other.
mishmax 17y ago
privacy is an issue here (as with any SaaS tool). I guess the developers behind this tool would have to be part of my brain trust too.
ashishk 17y ago
Interesting idea, although I would personally prefer to use Gmail, as I often do when asking a handful of friends for advice. Small bits of advice: I don't love the idea of giving up my card for a free trial - that seems a bit much. Also I'd recommend FB Connect so that it's easier to get my friends on board.
sebg 17y ago
Your Forum appears to be blank with only one piece of information in it from 5 months ago. I would perhaps seed it with FAQ questions that users have asked, or take it off for now. The fact that the only post is really old would lead me to believe that the site isn't improving.
skmurphy 17y ago
Who is behind this company? I would expect an "about page" or a blog post that gives your background and commitment level. You are asking for money and offering to store confidential information, prospects will want to know more about you. See http://www.skmurphy.com/blog/2007/09/17/startups-should-sign-their-work/ http://www.plansphere.com/blog/?p=624 How do you differentiate from a regular wiki service (e.g. pbwiki, CentralDesktop, Zoho)?
- Tawheed 17y ago
  Wow -- I can't believe I missed this one.. Sounds like we need one of these: http://37signals.com/about http://37signals.com/about.

9 points by Tawheed 17y ago

deleted 17y ago

[deleted]

What kind of market do you see here? What features are offered over using a private forum? I have to admit the idea doesn't "turn me on" all that much; but then I can see the appeal (though I think the pricing is way high). On the presentation side of things: the sign up page is somewhat confusing with the cheap plan being placed above the others. I actually missed it for a second. Also you have several spelling mistakes hanging around.

Tawheed 17y ago
We're seeing a couple of markets here, the "business advisory board for the business owner" market being the most pormising one. It's too early to tell which ones will pan out. This really falls into the category of "Forum 2.0" -- except we offer a fully hosted solution, no pain to set up, and most importantly, a much better user interface for having meaningful private discussions with the people you trust the most. It also introduces the element of consensus building through voting, which Forums have no concept of today -- making your discussions not only a healthy debate but also one that is productive and helps reach an informed decision.
- alttab 17y ago
  This would be useful - if it was free. This feedback is of course just my two cents, but as a serial-entrepreneur I can't see this being useful after the first month. Otherwise, if a tool like this can be used for all decisions, its basically an asynchronous net-meeting with voting, which isn't anything other software (even the new disappointing Google Wave could do this), but certainly not for $20 a month. I initial impression is this is something you wanted to build - and thought that because it was a complete idea that could be followed through on that it would convert into a good SaaS. A complete idea is necessary, but not sufficient. I also think people hit the nail on the head - the privacy issue is huge. If people have their next super-awesome start up idea, they certainly aren't going to discuss it on a web application. They would be handing over their idea to the developers (have you given them a solid reason to trust you?), and even unintentional exploits/loopholes/bugs could expose the business IP of all of your users. The UI/site looks very well put together. The designers definitely have that department down. But overall it seems like you're trying to sell a solution to a problem that's either already been solved for free many times over, is not that big of a problem, or providing only marginal organizational value-add for your price. Again, just my 0.02, good work so far!
Tawheed 17y ago
As for the pricing page, that's great feedback. We really want people to go with the smallest plan to get a feel for how a BrainTrust works and then move on from there. I think we can work a bit harder to make that thought process a bit more transparent.
- ErrantX 17y ago
  I think it is familiarity bias at play that's all: the lower 3 plans fit in with the recent layout of "pricing ans signup" pages that are pretty common nowadays. Even though it is really obvious I just did not see the top option because it wasn't expected. I doubt it's a common problem :) but seemed worth mentioning.

sga 17y ago

With respect to the visual aspects of the landing page, I quite liked the initial screen (title, visual slide, etc. look good). As I scroll down, I also like the concept behind the image vs image check mark for highlighting the strengths of your offering but I would strongly recommend improving the images. Nothing wrong with stick figures but I would redo them and make them more crisp.

Tawheed 17y ago
Thanks for the great feedback. The stick figures are definitely something we want to fix, but it keeps getting de-prioritized on our list ;)
- ErrantX 17y ago
  just a note (as someone mention the images) they appear "broken" position wise on Chromium (running on Fedora 11). The second image in each sequence is dropped under the other.

mishmax 17y ago

privacy is an issue here (as with any SaaS tool). I guess the developers behind this tool would have to be part of my brain trust too.

ashishk 17y ago

Interesting idea, although I would personally prefer to use Gmail, as I often do when asking a handful of friends for advice. Small bits of advice: I don't love the idea of giving up my card for a free trial - that seems a bit much. Also I'd recommend FB Connect so that it's easier to get my friends on board.

sebg 17y ago

Your Forum appears to be blank with only one piece of information in it from 5 months ago. I would perhaps seed it with FAQ questions that users have asked, or take it off for now. The fact that the only post is really old would lead me to believe that the site isn't improving.

skmurphy 17y ago

Who is behind this company? I would expect an "about page" or a blog post that gives your background and commitment level. You are asking for money and offering to store confidential information, prospects will want to know more about you. See http://www.skmurphy.com/blog/2007/09/17/startups-should-sign-their-work/ http://www.plansphere.com/blog/?p=624 How do you differentiate from a regular wiki service (e.g. pbwiki, CentralDesktop, Zoho)?

Tawheed 17y ago
Wow -- I can't believe I missed this one.. Sounds like we need one of these: http://37signals.com/about http://37signals.com/about.