If you have a moment, I would love to have a chat about the challenges you faced when you first began and so on. I know you're still facing challenges but I think the fact that you've proven to get the initial traffic is a big win. I think one of the biggest proponents you can do is to get your customers to sell for you - get the parents to spread it to their friends and other parents.
Ask HN: sideproject, generating revenue & profit what's next?
21–30 of 37 posts
Re: Ask HN: sideproject, generating revenue & profit what's next?
#221) You can sell to schools, but not by "selling" to schools. Instead sell to the teachers and they'll sell to the school for you. There are lots of ways for teachers to get schools to pay for stuff they want (grants, discretionary funds...). If you create a great product one teacher will tell another and before you know it a group of them want it and they'll pitch their principal.
I sold to 15 or so schools last year (big, small, public, private) and every one of them started with the school contacting me. I realize 15 is not a lot, but total time I spent on those sales was maybe 10 minutes and $0 each. I replied to emails, setup accounts and generated invoices.
2) As a developer you're going to want to solve the scale problem by coding. You need to fight this.
Take the money you make and buy adwords - they work (http://pseudocoder.com/blog/my-adwords-spending-for-2010)
Talk to your customers constantly - make incremental improvements based on their feedback. Only when there is overwhelming demand add a new feature or in your case expand to a new area.
Do more SEO. You're top 5? Not good enough. The difference between #1 and #5 is huge. Figure out what keywords make you the most money (might not be what you think they are) and attack those.
A final note (this one is tough and I'll try to be tactful). In the end your wife (however awesome she was in getting the site started) is just a user. If she's not interested in the business side then you need to take ownership. That means you may make changes without consulting her and that are unpopular with her that are better for the rest of the community.
Email me if you want to discuss anything offline.
Re: Ask HN: sideproject, generating revenue & profit what's next?
#23Some random thoughts: - Don't sell to students, sell to parents (apart from the schools of course). They are more motivated to than children to pursue good grades and they have money. - Charge more. If you lose users, so what? You've only lost the ones that you can't make money from in the first place. (although I see that you've raised the price already). - Your wife doesn't sound committed. No selling the thing (mi…
Wait, looking further either you've obfuscated most of the info in the post, or I've been looking at the website of your competitor that offers exactly the same functionality. If it's that last one, you could look up his turnover at the KvK to estimate his market share. He seems to have had quite a bit of press coverage too, so if he can't turn it into something big, either he isn't trying very much (quite likely) or…
I guess you nailed it here: - Your wife doesn't sound committed. No selling the thing (migrate to a new domain now to get rid of the name association, what's the problem?), no charging more out of fear, fear of losing control. If it's a hobby for her, and you want it to be more, you have a problem. Solve this first.
We must decide if it is hobby or business :)
Re: Ask HN: sideproject, generating revenue & profit what's next?
#24Hey wasigh, I'm in a similar situation, developer w/ teacher wife and education business. Two most important things I've learned: 1) You can sell to schools, but not by "selling" to schools. Instead sell to the teachers and they'll sell to the school for you. There are lots of ways for teachers to get schools to pay for stuff they want (grants, discretionary funds...). If you create a great product one teacher will t…
Currently most of our sales to schools go to teachers (that's why we keep the prices low, a teacher might even be tempted to pay by themself. We sold to over 40 classes.
I'll follow up on the invitation and e-mail you shortly!
Re: Ask HN: sideproject, generating revenue & profit what's next?
#25Do you have contact information?
Re: Ask HN: sideproject, generating revenue & profit what's next?
#26Congratulations and it sounds extremely inspiring to hear someone is doing something about education. I would love to get into the education space but I can't seem to pinpoint an idea that's sustainable. If you have a moment, I would love to have a chat about the challenges you faced when you first began and so on. I know you're still facing challenges but I think the fact that you've proven to get the initial traffi…
Re: Ask HN: sideproject, generating revenue & profit what's next?
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wait, looking further either you've obfuscated most of the info in the post, or I've been looking at the website of your competitor that offers exactly the same functionality. If it's that last one, you could look up his turnover at the KvK to estimate his market share. He seems to have had quite a bit of press coverage too, so if he can't turn it into something big, either he isn't trying very much (quite likely) or…
I guess you looked into my competition: cambiumned.nl or extraned.nl? The main purpose for us to start our site was because the geocities like of those sites. I guess you nailed it here: - Your wife doesn't sound committed. No selling the thing (migrate to a new domain now to get rid of the name association, what's the problem?), no charging more out of fear, fear of losing control. If it's a hobby for her, and you w…
For 2.50 you can get his yearly accounts from http://www.kvk.nl/handelsregister/zoekenframeset.asp?zk=0... - that should give you some insight into the amount of customers he has and how viable the market is.
Re: Ask HN: sideproject, generating revenue & profit what's next?
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
I guess you looked into my competition: cambiumned.nl or extraned.nl? The main purpose for us to start our site was because the geocities like of those sites. I guess you nailed it here: - Your wife doesn't sound committed. No selling the thing (migrate to a new domain now to get rid of the name association, what's the problem?), no charging more out of fear, fear of losing control. If it's a hobby for her, and you w…
Yes that's the one - I guess another remark is that your SEO needs work :) For 2.50 you can get his yearly accounts from http://www.kvk.nl/handelsregister/zoekenframeset.asp?zk=0... - that should give you some insight into the amount of customers he has and how viable the market is.
We rank quite well on: "Nederlands oefenen" & "Werkwoordspelling" for example.
I don't know if he is obligated to send his yearly accounts to the KVK?
Getting more info on the marketsize is a good tip :)
Re: Ask HN: sideproject, generating revenue & profit what's next?
#29) Agreed re: adverts - as a user, I would be annoyed that I am paying for your site and still seeing ads.
) Try outsourcing the creation of new material - the more subjects you cover, the better. There are many freelance where you can find teachers in various subjects, and your wife can act as "quality control".
) Use Adwords to bring more people to your site
) If you are specifically targeting Dutch schools, maybe creating a Hyves app will help? (Unless that is your employer :D ) [1] http://www.kalzumeus.com/
) Perhaps try to attend some startup groups in the Netherlands? I live in Amsterdam, I should try and find one too... maar mijn Nederlands is niet geod.
Re: Ask HN: sideproject, generating revenue & profit what's next?
#30We are a small startup software/educational company looking for a hot shot programmer. Our idea has HUGE market potential. We have developed an excellent math content curriculum, and a national/possibly international marketing program. Please email me at jaejflowers@gmail.com. It is possible an exchange might be fruitful!