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Ask HN: Pet lovers review my startup

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21–30 of 47 posts

Re: Ask HN: Pet lovers review my startup

#21

Brilliant! I'm currently petless, but have hoped for a service like this in the past with my Shetland Collies!

Nice! Thanks so much for the note - definitely encourage you to hit up your pet owning friends, as it is awkward/ difficult for them to ask for help, but I'm sure they'd love to know you're willing and able if that's the case. Signup and pimp yourself to friends. ;)

Re: Ask HN: Pet lovers review my startup

#23
post #9

I'd absolutely use this product. As much as I'm sure it improves the listings, I'd recommend not making the photo required. First of all, other non-required info (such as pet type) seems more important, and second of all it requires digging through my photos. I'd be likely to add a photo when I'm looking for someone to catsit, but it was a deterrent for me to add the cat in the first place.

Good feedback. We've heard this before as well. I'm just stubborn and like looking at the photos. When we roll out the redesign, we'll add a silhouette and not make it required.

I do think you should have email reminders that nudge people who haven't yet added a photo to do so. Maybe once every 2 or 3 weeks or something.

Re: Ask HN: Pet lovers review my startup

#24
It would be great if your homepage and fb app page included more detail on the UI. A think a walk through of a typical scenario including screenshots would be awesome.

And a genuine question here but I don't understand what this problem solves if it's connecting me to people I would already ask (and for which the barriers to ask are pretty low). If they are a facebook friend wouldn't it make sense for me to just post asking for help from my friends? All that said I have a large breed dog that I would love to have help with (more in the long term boarding dept. though).

Re: Ask HN: Pet lovers review my startup

#25
post #9

I'd absolutely use this product. As much as I'm sure it improves the listings, I'd recommend not making the photo required. First of all, other non-required info (such as pet type) seems more important, and second of all it requires digging through my photos. I'd be likely to add a photo when I'm looking for someone to catsit, but it was a deterrent for me to add the cat in the first place.

Second the photo thing. I was on a machine where I didn't have access to any of my dog photos (work) and I got stuck in the process because I couldn't upload a photo.

Re: Ask HN: Pet lovers review my startup

#26

It would be great if your homepage and fb app page included more detail on the UI. A think a walk through of a typical scenario including screenshots would be awesome. And a genuine question here but I don't understand what this problem solves if it's connecting me to people I would already ask (and for which the barriers to ask are pretty low). If they are a facebook friend wouldn't it make sense for me to just post…

Thanks so much for the note! We are working on a redesign to the homepage/ site that will do better both in highlighting the site benefits/ features before you decide to login, and then in onboarding new users. We've also crafted some scenario stories for the How it Works page that we'll add soon.

On your question - the problem is a bit different for different people, but basically we found through talking to pet owners that while they prefer asking friends/ family for help, they don't usually. Asking for help is awkward, intimidating, and coordination with said friends/ family is often difficult. On the other hand, we found the non-pet-owners actually want to help more - they want to be asked for help, so we try to make that whole affair less 'awkward,' and simplify the coordination bit. We believe asking for help should be as easy as picking up the phone to call a kennel.

We want you to be covered for all situations, but for now, we started with your direct friends because you already trust them, and if we can make going to them as easy as going to a professional, we feel it's a win-win for all.

Re: Ask HN: Pet lovers review my startup

#27
I would totally use this, and I think it's an excellent product name. The most painful thing for me and my dog has been finding reputable dog boarding, doggy daycare, vets, etc.

I just moved across the country, so there's not many people I know locally who would help out — so I think it would be a really good idea to partner with companies and individuals offering services like walking, sitting, boarding, etc. Yelp sucks. It would probably be the only realistic revenue stream too.

In terms of social connections, I'm not clear as to how the entire process would work on first glance.

Awesome job for an MVP.

Re: Ask HN: Pet lovers review my startup

#29

I think you should remove that photo of a puppy playing with a can. You might get some pet owners angry at that as it could potentially hurt the animal. Chew instincts + metal = bad things.

I'm not sure if I agree 100% with that but I would definitely invest in higher quality pictures. Also include pictures of owners, preferably smiling, with their pets. If you have loyal users, maybe you can get some of them to submit pictures with their furry loved ones.

Re: Ask HN: Pet lovers review my startup

#30
post #29

I think you should remove that photo of a puppy playing with a can. You might get some pet owners angry at that as it could potentially hurt the animal. Chew instincts + metal = bad things.

I'm not sure if I agree 100% with that but I would definitely invest in higher quality pictures. Also include pictures of owners, preferably smiling, with their pets. If you have loyal users, maybe you can get some of them to submit pictures with their furry loved ones.

We are in the process of completely redesigning the site and it will look a lot different soon, so we haven't spent time trying to improve the current design. These pics will be going away. Beer and cans are bad for dogs, we don't encourage this. I did get some flack that it's a can of Yuengling and not PBR, the preferred beer of choice for hipsters in San Francisco.
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