Earlier quoted context omitted.
He addressed that. Discovery is broken on most app stores
Maybe the Medium "we're-shutting-down" post will become the occasional "hey world we exist" strategy.
Such posts on HN usually get much less upvotes.
Just Landed Is Shutting Down
101–110 of 144 posts
Re: Just Landed Is Shutting Down
#102I can see something like this being able to work without paying for access to a flightaware api or something similar as ADS-B rolls out fully. A lot of aviation companies still pay hefty fees to tap into ATC data, that will essentially be made free. ADS-B Out broadcasts identification, position, altitude...
With more aviation geeks out there supplying the data, people won't be reliant on centralized sources of info.
http://www.aopa.org/Advocacy/Air-Traffic-Services-,-a-,-Tech...
Re: Just Landed Is Shutting Down
#103He brings up some interesting points in the article, but I think the real reason for failure is 1) creating a niche app rather than a scalable one, and 2) not aligning the business model correctly.
Re: Just Landed Is Shutting Down
#104Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've been thinking recently about crowdsourcing our own dataset of airplane data. When you get on a plane, tap a button that says 'we're delayed 5 mins'. When you land, tap a button that says you've landed. In fact, you probably don't even need users to tap those buttons. The better way would be to use the accelerometer and barometer to automatically detect takeoff and landing. Airplane data sources are ALWAYS wrong…
> use the accelerometer and barometer to automatically detect takeoff and landing. Or check location with a given interval and see when they no longer travel at mach 1?
Would that even be possible? I know I've never been able to get GPS to work reliably on any phone I've owned while on an airplane (even holding it up to the window), and presumably cell tower location wouldn't be available either above a certain altitude.
Re: Just Landed Is Shutting Down
#105From the article: While the app was initially used primarily by individuals who made a few airport pickups per year, today Just Landed is increasingly used by professional limousine and taxi drivers, airline professionals, and travel companies. So they were seeing increasing use by commercial users. Sounds like a ripe opportunity to start charging for such access.
No kidding, this was the weirdest shutdown statement I've read in a while, "we found users who derive commercial benefit from using us... so we're shutting down"
Failure to monetize such as hypertargeted/local ads/deals or freemium features.
Winners tend to turn challenge into profit opportunities rather than give up and disappoint many people when they had something sizable which could be sold to someone whom can fix it or fix it themselves.
Too often, when people whom are uncomfortable with uncertainty and don't know what success looks like, they give up and throw away opportunity which may never come again because of their past behavior / reputation for not finishing things. My cousin nearly had a florist shop by having tons of orders, but gave up when he didn't know what to do by feeling overwhelmed... and I was so disappointed that he didn't handle it better to come out ahead in something he had passion and opportunity that passed by. (Self-sabotage or novice mistakes, who knows.)
I see these shutdown notices not as some self-deprecating contrition but as braggging about letting people down, destroying value and wasting their and all their customers' and investors' time and money... don't shutdown when you have a good team and customers, pivot or sell. (Don't squander assets: talent, social or capital.)
Re: Just Landed Is Shutting Down
#106It was a beautiful app and I'm sad to see it go, good luck on your next big thing!
Re: Just Landed Is Shutting Down
#107Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think he did touch on that though. Essentially he's selling bread, and he's got to buy scarce flower at high prices in a convoluted system from a small number of farmers, and be forever at the mercy of the flower selling farmers. Only it's data instead of flower. Further, the data sometimes is bad and causes inaccuracy issues for customers without him knowing, this causes lots of complaints that he has no control o…
Creator of Just Landed here. Actually, I have been approached by a number of companies over the years about selling Just Landed, including some household names. The trouble is, almost none of them wanted the app – they just wanted me as an employee. These weren't companies I could get super excited about working for - especially since I love being an entrepreneur and working for myself. Of the few who did want the ap…
The app is great and I actually think a business model could be found (though I can totally understand your weariness).
Have you considered selling it to another entrepreneur to carry on instead of shutting down completely?
Re: Just Landed Is Shutting Down
#108This is possibly the most interesting fumblebrag that I've read in a while. It has a few issues which have been hot on HN recently as well as some age-old problems. The dependence on third-party services like maps, messaging, flight data, etc. is an interesting topic. Services that help you to get up and running in a couple of clicks are awesome at first. But they can become a burden when your usage goes up beyond a…
In theory, you can charge your average lifetime value upfront.
In practice, for a good app the lifetime benefit to users vastly exceeds what anyone would reasonably pay upfront. For example, I've paid hundreds of dollars to Dropbox over the years (and feel like I've gotten well over $1,000 of value)—but I would have totally balked at paying even $200 on signup.
Re: Just Landed Is Shutting Down
#109Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think he did touch on that though. Essentially he's selling bread, and he's got to buy scarce flower at high prices in a convoluted system from a small number of farmers, and be forever at the mercy of the flower selling farmers. Only it's data instead of flower. Further, the data sometimes is bad and causes inaccuracy issues for customers without him knowing, this causes lots of complaints that he has no control o…
Creator of Just Landed here. Actually, I have been approached by a number of companies over the years about selling Just Landed, including some household names. The trouble is, almost none of them wanted the app – they just wanted me as an employee. These weren't companies I could get super excited about working for - especially since I love being an entrepreneur and working for myself. Of the few who did want the ap…
Ever think about contractualizing the things that concerned you (like user-treatment) and getting a conditional employment contract, which also featured a limited term?
I hear you on the time point. Thing is, it's hard to get to that place where you have an offer on the table. Starting over would have a time cost, so over the long term, you might've been able to buy yourself more time with the time you'd already invested.
Of course, that also depends on the amount of the offer.
Re: Just Landed Is Shutting Down
#110To bad, app with the best landing page on the web is going away...