Please review my startup - Online Classifieds

There are many postings in the Dallas area. http://dallas.abtain.com/

Had a client that had the exact same problem. We built them basically an "eBay for rentals" platform. They had a solid business plan and plenty of smarts on how to build it out. However, when it came down to marketing and filling up the site, their guy on the team with that job failed miserably. As a result, they were a non-starter and tanked horribly. Just goes to show: cashflow is king. Concentrate on that first, otherwise you've got to get really luck (like Twitter) and get investments without having solid plans in that area.

Things I like:

- Design looks nice and clean. I'm impressed that you have a photo of downtown Raleigh on my city's section, that's a nice touch.

- Posting interface is simple, and I like that its free.

- I like the McAfee secure logo. I know it doesn't mean anything, but the everyday user in me likes seeing it (reinforces trust).

Things I think could be improved:

- My profile says I'm in Reidsville (geolocated). I can't find a way to change this (I'm actually in Raleigh, NC).

- I can't find a way to post an ad from the dashboard.

- More categories for services. For example, I'd like to list under graphic & web design, which is available as a job but not a service. Computer is too broad.

- Once I choose a city, set a cookie so that when I click back to the homepage it takes me to the Raleigh homepage, instead of the generic choose-a-city page.

- Let me add a link to my site! I'll make a profile for my business on just about any well-made business directory provided that listing is free, and lets me link to my website.

- Following on this, let me add more metadata about my business (e.g., hours, address, phone, specializations).

- "Manage My Ads" is dropping onto 2 lines, orphaning "Ads".

- The combination of the icon and the name Abtain make it seem like a health site at first blush.

Overall, I really like it. If you can add in some of that metadata I will definitely fill out my listing and try your site out.

Welcome to the start-up everyone started-up in 2001 that failed for the same reason: content.

Craig won the lottery on this one.

Here's something to think about though: Critical mass and exponential growth.

It's going to take you a few years to hit critical mass, which I "imagine" is around 60,000 to 100,000 sellers.

It's at this point where if every person tells 3 people about your service, and 1 of those 3 people use the site, you'll start getting enough traffic that enough products will be sold that enough of your sellers will return to sell again, maybe your buyers will too.

My first thought is to create a community for your sellers. Give them an outlet to talk with each other. They'll help you improve your site. Engage in that communication. Let them make it a home away from home, let them make friends with each other.

It's these people that will give your site legs.

(I do have some past experience in this space...)

Thought you guys may find this interesting. stats from this post getting on top of hacker news for a bit. http://skitch.com/quellhorst/dby8q/dock