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HN Office Hours with Kevin and Sam

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Re: HN Office Hours with Kevin and Sam

#101

Post by sama »

dzine wrote: post #94
sama wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the main thing you want to prove out is that you can build a platform where small tasks can be easily farmed out (which again, sounds like a really good idea), I'm very unsure this is the right way to start. It's well established that you can get people to make restaurant reservations for you. The best companies do something either fundamentally new or 10x better than existing solutions. As you think about the fut…

Thanks Sam, really enlightening points. I realize we might have actually gone about it the wrong way. From a consumer perspective, that’s where we were struggling to find a niche to start off with. Our long term goal is to enable people to buy services from anyone in the world, no matter how small or large (i.e. reservations, travel), and it’s on us to make it actionable by as broad an workforce as possible. We felt…

I still think picking an initial niche is a good one, but ideally you'd pick one that represents a complex task that is easier to get done in broken-down subsets, and that customers don't have an easy way to get done today.

Re: HN Office Hours with Kevin and Sam

#102

Post by kevin »

mwilkison wrote: post #86
kevin wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Curious. What are the differences in features being asked?

To add a bit to michwill's answer: Startups want a JavaScript version so they can use it in-browser. And they are more interested in full-text search than other types of queries. Enterprises are big on integration with existing stuff (Microsoft SQL Server, SharePoint, etc.) and using it as a CASB-esque solution.

My gut tells me to work on the features that alleviates the bigger hair on fire problem for the customer. Usually, startups have less pressing needs for security than large enterprises, but I can actually see how your tech opens up a lot of startups to build quickly in that very lucrative healthcare space that is being thrown up in the air because of the Affordable care act.

You should aim to build only enough to close a sale. IF you build the in-browser features will that ACTUALLY close them? And that calculus should include this: Will it close enough SMBs that it counteracts doing a single integration with an existing system that will close 1 big customer.

Re: HN Office Hours with Kevin and Sam

#103

Post by kevin »

ljd wrote: post #73
kevin wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey guys, good to hear from you again! Why do think your company is a B2C company? You're selling the software to politicians / political organizations. The consumer awareness part of this will be handled by your customers if this is part of a greater trend of voters wanting more transparency and accountability of their representatives. Of course, candidates will adopt this only if they find out they can win election…

Great talking again, Kevin! Good question! We're not selling to politicians or political organizations. Our PAC is running candidates that are part of our community. People like you and I; professionals in tech that wouldn't mind making $170k to do literally nothing but proxy votes for their district. Regarding what candidates need to tell voters, we're really looking to run a very centralized campaign, where people…

Being a PAC sounds like the most expensive way to do this. Usually, that's not a good way to do a startup. Also, this sounds so cynical.

I'd start with the true believers. People who believe this is the best way to represent the people. Those people will win races because it will feel like a revolution when you hear them talk about you. It's the best kind of sales people to have.

I'd be very worried about having your kind of people talk about your movement. No one wants to feel like they're voting for a tax mooching puppet.

Re: HN Office Hours with Kevin and Sam

#104

Post by ismail »

kevin wrote: post #63
ismail wrote: post #27

Background: Every day in South Africa low income people suffer through 2+ hour commutes into work using public transport. This has a serious impact on their lives, due to long wait times and inefficiencies. I interviewed a single mother, who only got home after 7pm and leaves at 6am in the morning. We have built a ride share matching system: Our goal is to make use of unused seats in cars matching drivers and passeng…

When I think about marketplace problems, I ideally want to solve one side of the equation at a time. That means understanding whether this is supply constrained or demand constrained. Looks like you have an abundance of demand (people who want rides) and not enough supply (drivers). So all your efforts should be focused on how to get people to offer rides. Usually the incentive for drivers when I've seen other compan…

Apologies for delayed response. Tethering from mobile was choppy and had to get to more stable wifi.

Should we pivot to a different market/model?

Re: HN Office Hours with Kevin and Sam

#105

Post by kevin »

ismail wrote: post #81
kevin wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I think about marketplace problems, I ideally want to solve one side of the equation at a time. That means understanding whether this is supply constrained or demand constrained. Looks like you have an abundance of demand (people who want rides) and not enough supply (drivers). So all your efforts should be focused on how to get people to offer rides. Usually the incentive for drivers when I've seen other compan…

Thanks for the response Kevin. - Yes we realize that the supply side is constrained, and lacking. Passengers seek out a solution and find us easily. - There are no car-pool lanes in South Africa, they had a trial a few years back but did not continue with it. We have spoken to people at a few municipalities. For the city, they have parking constraints so ride-sharing is something they want to encourage. However, pass…

Yes, people are selfish. That's why you should think of what you can offer them that will make them want to sit in the car for 10-15 minutes longer. That's why unique content came to my head, I've sat in driveways much longer just to hear the end of a good radio program.

Also, I don't like stunts. It's not sustainable and it's short term thinking.

I think you should shoot for building a great community. That means thinking for the long term and building a lasting relationship with your customers and have them build those relationships with each other.

You seem more focused on what you can extract from your users. It's better to start with what can you give that they can't help themselves but want to take.

Re: HN Office Hours with Kevin and Sam

#106

Post by dzine »

sama wrote: post #101
dzine wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks Sam, really enlightening points. I realize we might have actually gone about it the wrong way. From a consumer perspective, that’s where we were struggling to find a niche to start off with. Our long term goal is to enable people to buy services from anyone in the world, no matter how small or large (i.e. reservations, travel), and it’s on us to make it actionable by as broad an workforce as possible. We felt…

I still think picking an initial niche is a good one, but ideally you'd pick one that represents a complex task that is easier to get done in broken-down subsets, and that customers don't have an easy way to get done today.

Gotcha, that's a really good way of putting it. And I agree that reservations as tasks are not the way to go to prove the concept out.

Seems like we have quite a bit of thinking to do. Any further advice for us? Thanks!

Re: HN Office Hours with Kevin and Sam

#107

Post by ScottBurson »

ph0rque wrote: post #92
sama wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd be tempted to try a Nespresso/Gillette model, where the initial product is cheap and the "refills" are relatively expensive subscriptions, but very high quality and easy to use.

That is a distinct possibility with plant "inserts"[0] for the vegetable beds, one of the planned innovations I've had in the back of my mind. AutoMicroFarm could sell just the empty media inserts for a reasonable price, and also offer pre-planted, ready-to-fruit plants with inserts for a much higher price. That way, those who are willing to wait weeks/months for their plants to grow from seeds/seedlings can save mon…

Speaking solely as one potential customer:

I like this idea.

As for the "moat", I think the product with the best automation will win at least a defensible niche within the market. I would encourage you to start upmarket and not worry about price so much right now. Get really good at making the thing run itself; you can cut the price later. (But, I'm someone with a lot more money than time, so that colors my view here.)

(Yes, I'm already on your mailing list.)

Re: HN Office Hours with Kevin and Sam

#108

Post by MangezBien »

Hello!

I think that the next big step in Medical Technology will the the rise in software making medical decisions. This doesn't pose a big technological problem but it does pose a large regulatory problem.

I have experience getting cloud-based software through the FDA as a "medical device" and have overcome some of the most common hurdles.

I have an idea on how (and the ability to implement) a product to reduce the regulatory and monetary barrier to entry for this type of software.

My question is, in the current market, does this have any shot of getting funding? The product could never be used without the approval of the FDA, an expensive process. Is this a non-starter for most funds?

Re: HN Office Hours with Kevin and Sam

#109

Post by kevin »

marcuslongmuir wrote: post #14

Hi Kevin and Sam, We’re MinoHubs ( https://www.minohubs.com ) and we build commercial and community tools for software projects. The barrier to building a successful software project is high - apart from writing the code, you need to build a community and potentially set up some commercialisation (backing, licenses, support etc.) which isn’t an easy task. We provide customizable hubs that give projects: Commercial to…

Users will always ask for more features. Your job is to curate. When you recommend a book or a movie, you don't tell the entire synopsis to get someone to read or watch. You figure out how to curate the recommendation. No different for a startup.

For you guys, the only thing people need to know and remember is that MinoHubs helps me get funding and make my software projects successful. That's the core of the idea.

The feature usage of an actual product also tends to follows the Pareto Principle. Most people use a small fraction of the features and a handful of features will be the most used by a wide margin.

Usually you market those most used features, but sometimes those features are different from the features that are best for getting them to sign up or even converting into a customer.

Re: HN Office Hours with Kevin and Sam

#110

Post by ljd »

kevin wrote: post #103
ljd wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great talking again, Kevin! Good question! We're not selling to politicians or political organizations. Our PAC is running candidates that are part of our community. People like you and I; professionals in tech that wouldn't mind making $170k to do literally nothing but proxy votes for their district. Regarding what candidates need to tell voters, we're really looking to run a very centralized campaign, where people…

Being a PAC sounds like the most expensive way to do this. Usually, that's not a good way to do a startup. Also, this sounds so cynical. I'd start with the true believers. People who believe this is the best way to represent the people. Those people will win races because it will feel like a revolution when you hear them talk about you. It's the best kind of sales people to have. I'd be very worried about having your…

With a ~10% approval rating for congress and historical lows across the board for most Americans, I'm not sure it's cynicism.

I don't think you could honestly find someone that feels like they are being represented in congress. Our lobbying system is an open joke that we wish we could do something about.

Also, our PAC is funding those true believers but most people don't realize that it costs thousands of dollars to run for congress and most Americans don't have that money. We can help these campaigns with a PAC.

We're looking for people that are tired of a broken system and have the desire to make change but need a strong toolset to do that. We're building that toolset. Part of that means we build the world's most secure voting platform that's has a clear audit trail and it also means that we can't turn a blind eye to the fact that it takes money to win elections in the United States.

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