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Launch HN: Hera (YC S21) – macOS app to prepare, join and take notes in meetings

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Re: Launch HN: Hera (YC S21) – macOS app to prepare, join and take notes in meetings

#11

Post by meetered »

ushakov wrote: post #7

sorry to undermine your efforts but someone has to say this: as a Mac user, i won't be paying $100/year for electron app will stick to itsycal, a freeware, "real" macOS app, i've paid $10 for not affiliated, but feel free to check out: https://www.mowglii.com/itsycal/

I'm sure the founders of Hera know this, but just so there's clear representation here on HN: as a Mac user, I would happily pay $100/year for anything that makes my meetings better. I'd pay more than $100/year. I'd pay $100/year for every person on my team. I don't care if it's an electron app, or 10 lines of Javascript: if it makes meetings better, I'm in.

Re: Launch HN: Hera (YC S21) – macOS app to prepare, join and take notes in meetings

#12

Post by ushakov »

meetered wrote: post #11
ushakov wrote: post #7

sorry to undermine your efforts but someone has to say this: as a Mac user, i won't be paying $100/year for electron app will stick to itsycal, a freeware, "real" macOS app, i've paid $10 for not affiliated, but feel free to check out: https://www.mowglii.com/itsycal/

I'm sure the founders of Hera know this, but just so there's clear representation here on HN: as a Mac user, I would happily pay $100/year for anything that makes my meetings better. I'd pay more than $100/year. I'd pay $100/year for every person on my team. I don't care if it's an electron app, or 10 lines of Javascript: if it makes meetings better, I'm in.

you would, but you don't have to, especially when there are free alternatives around ;)

Re: Launch HN: Hera (YC S21) – macOS app to prepare, join and take notes in meetings

#13

Post by sidewinder128 »

Your app looks fine and interesting, The problem is the audience you are choosing, Mac users are very elitist.

I am sure you can get some market in Windows instead of Mac using electron, the windows users does not care which tech you used but that it just works and gets the job done.

Of course Windows users also they do not want trash but if have good performance and it works, It is fine.

Re: Launch HN: Hera (YC S21) – macOS app to prepare, join and take notes in meetings

#14

Post by barry27 »

ushakov wrote: post #12
meetered wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure the founders of Hera know this, but just so there's clear representation here on HN: as a Mac user, I would happily pay $100/year for anything that makes my meetings better. I'd pay more than $100/year. I'd pay $100/year for every person on my team. I don't care if it's an electron app, or 10 lines of Javascript: if it makes meetings better, I'm in.

you would , but you don't have to, especially when there are free alternatives around ;)

name some free alternatives.

Re: Launch HN: Hera (YC S21) – macOS app to prepare, join and take notes in meetings

#15

Post by brunovegreville »

ushakov wrote: post #12
meetered wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure the founders of Hera know this, but just so there's clear representation here on HN: as a Mac user, I would happily pay $100/year for anything that makes my meetings better. I'd pay more than $100/year. I'd pay $100/year for every person on my team. I don't care if it's an electron app, or 10 lines of Javascript: if it makes meetings better, I'm in.

you would , but you don't have to, especially when there are free alternatives around ;)

Just to make sure the value prop of Hera is clear (given the alternative itsycal): Joining your meeting in one-click is a small fraction of our value proposition. The core of what users do in Hera is around efficiently preparing and taking actionable notes in meetings.

Feel free to check the Loom demo done by Louise and don't hesitate if you have any questions!

Re: Launch HN: Hera (YC S21) – macOS app to prepare, join and take notes in meetings

#16

Post by brunovegreville »

sidewinder128 wrote: post #13

Your app looks fine and interesting, The problem is the audience you are choosing, Mac users are very elitist. I am sure you can get some market in Windows instead of Mac using electron, the windows users does not care which tech you used but that it just works and gets the job done. Of course Windows users also they do not want trash but if have good performance and it works, It is fine.

Good insight, I agree with you. We have found great fit with co-founders of early stage start-ups and product managers in high growth start-ups. Mac is overly present in this target audience, hence our initial start on MacOS!

That being said, it's on us to show users that a well-crafted Electron app can behave as nicely as a native one. Down the road, we might switch to a native app if we believe it would significantly deliver more value to our users.

Re: Launch HN: Hera (YC S21) – macOS app to prepare, join and take notes in meetings

#17

Post by cuchoi »

ushakov wrote: post #12
meetered wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure the founders of Hera know this, but just so there's clear representation here on HN: as a Mac user, I would happily pay $100/year for anything that makes my meetings better. I'd pay more than $100/year. I'd pay $100/year for every person on my team. I don't care if it's an electron app, or 10 lines of Javascript: if it makes meetings better, I'm in.

you would , but you don't have to, especially when there are free alternatives around ;)

There are free alternatives for email, to-do list apps, time tracking software, etc., and people still pay for tools that make them more productive. The fact that you won't pay for it doesn't mean that others won't.

Re: Launch HN: Hera (YC S21) – macOS app to prepare, join and take notes in meetings

#19

Post by Cybotron5000 »

brunovegreville wrote: post #5
pavlov wrote: post #2

Is it a real macOS app, as in AppKit? If so, I’m in. I want this kind of tool, but don’t want any more Electron junk on my desktop.

Our current version is on Electron :( The bundle size is unfortunately significantly larger than a native MacOS app but we are very cautious with performance, memory and speed so if we did our job right you won't tell the difference from an UX perspective!

Hey Bruno - sounds like a cool concept - wishing you both all the best! Just looking at the screenshot (and being afflicted with the pedantry of being the son of an English teacher), would ‘Ready to take back control of your meetings?’ be more usual/a little less clumsy wording-wise? Not that I think what you’ve written is ‘wrong’ - in some ways it’s fresher/more unusual (‘Ready to bring sexy back to meetings?’ :), but anyhow that’s my tuppence worth!

Re: Launch HN: Hera (YC S21) – macOS app to prepare, join and take notes in meetings

#20

Post by brunovegreville »

dmix wrote: post #18

Does this integrate with Zoom? I’m guessing notes are stored on your server?

- Hera opens whichever videoconferencing tool it finds in the calendar invitation (and we open Zoom links with your native app)

- Right now your meeting notes are not encrypted, but stored in a secure database on our server. We are currently considering two options to make sure your notes are safe: either end-to-end encryption on our servers or offline-based storage for your notes.

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