Review my mapping startup idea

#1

Post by sudhirj » Sat, Sep 25, 2010, 9:39 AM UTC

I've made an MVP for a service that lets you create a customized map with your points on it - can be used as a store locator / office listing / shop finder, anything.

Any thoughts / feedback?

Review my mapping startup idea
mapfaire.com

Re: Review my mapping startup idea

#2

Post by iampims » Sat, Sep 25, 2010, 9:52 AM UTC

Can you give a description of your service? "Put yourself on the map" doesn't really explain the concept of your service.

Re: Review my mapping startup idea

#3

Post by edo » Sat, Sep 25, 2010, 10:08 AM UTC

iampims wrote: post #2

Can you give a description of your service? "Put yourself on the map" doesn't really explain the concept of your service.

I think it's a 'tinyurl for location'

Re: Review my mapping startup idea

#4

Post by VMG » Sat, Sep 25, 2010, 10:40 AM UTC

edo wrote: post #3

iampims wrote: post #2

Can you give a description of your service? "Put yourself on the map" doesn't really explain the concept of your service.

I think it's a 'tinyurl for location'

How is that a startup? Is my lolcat site a startup too?

Re: Review my mapping startup idea

#5

Post by jasonkester » Sat, Sep 25, 2010, 11:07 AM UTC

No offence, but aren't you six years late on this?

This looks like one of the hundreds of startups launched in 2004 with the idea of "Put pins on a Google Map and save it in a database". Lots of those startups got funding for it, and they've all run their course.

Since the functionality you're planning to build is now actually built into Google Maps itself, what's your purpose with this thing?

From an implementation standpoint, I'd ditch the "name your map" and "log into google" steps. Start off with a randomly generated unique URL and let the user immediately start sticking pins into a map. If they decide to "save" at some point, you can hit them up for account details. That's the standard way of doing things like this these days.

Re: Review my mapping startup idea

#6

Post by kapauldo » Sat, Sep 25, 2010, 11:31 AM UTC

Congrats on launching something. Ignore the haters. I have to agree with iampims, people will give this 10 seconds before moving on, and it's just not clear what it is for. I would recommend fixing your tagline as a first priority so people know exactly what the service does. Goood luck!

Re: Review my mapping startup idea

#7

Post by revorad » Sat, Sep 25, 2010, 11:49 AM UTC

Sudhir, it looks nice. Can you please tell us more about it and how it can be useful to people?

Re: Review my mapping startup idea

#8

Post by 41latitude » Sat, Sep 25, 2010, 12:17 PM UTC

Sudhirj,

I really like the 37signals-esque appearance you gave it.

Please email me... I have a few ideas I'd like to share with you privately.

Re: Review my mapping startup idea

#9

Post by sudhir_jonathan » Sat, Sep 25, 2010, 12:27 PM UTC

I'm looking at it from the pov of small businesses - if you want to make a store locator, you can do it here in a few minutes.

Same thing for businesses who want to help customers get to their restaurants, bars, shops, etc.

I'm looking at allowing businesses to brand the map with their own colors and logo, so they can effectively have a branded locator without the development cost.

Re: Review my mapping startup idea

#10

Post by jsankey » Sat, Sep 25, 2010, 1:43 PM UTC

VMG wrote: post #4

edo wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's a 'tinyurl for location'

How is that a startup? Is my lolcat site a startup too?

Not necessarily the best example:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1916286,00....

(Building a Media Empire Around I Can Has Cheezburger)