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What hackers don’t know about business

blog.filepicker.io

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Re: What hackers don’t know about business

#31

Post by ananddass »

stfu wrote: post #18
ananddass wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree that marketing is not just about getting the word out. But the hard thing about the definition you quoted is that it doesn't lend itself to focus. Its too all emcompassing and things like "satisfy the customer" could include awesome product development and customer support.

Well, that is probably core to marketing. It is not just an isolated instance but only if all parts are up to par it can make its optimum effect. A shitty product and a shitty customer support will (almost) always sabotage a brand to such a degree that even the most wonderful ads won't help. Even if it succeeds in the short term, somebody else who is taking a more holistic approach should be able to gain significantl…

Totally agree! NO amount of marketing, sales, business development can overcome a bad product or sub par customer support. A wholistic approach will always win over a piecemeal approach but in a resource constrained environment, we are better off picking the one or two things that give us the best bang for the buck. The "programmatic" way of running marketing isn't optimal for small startups

Re: What hackers don’t know about business

#32

Post by greghinch »

I'll tell you what, I'd much rather be working amongst a team of engineers who are learning to run a business than a team of MBA types who are learning the ins and outs of software development. I'd put my money on a team of engineers every time too. But I also steer clear of anyone who describes themself as a "hacker". Code is a craft, MacGuyvering something together is no way to build a sustainable business.

Re: What hackers don’t know about business

#34

Post by ananddass »

kephra wrote: post #23
tagx wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We've realized that now and are in the process of changing our name. I'd love to chat with you about what you think of some of our ideas

I'm not your customer (because I prefer own root servers over cloud services, and even prefer housing over hosting) - but I think you might stick with your name, because: 1. its a known (brand) name 2. it tells where your product is strong But I suggest to change the Enterprise pricing tag: 1. Don't tell a price for enterprise. Enterprise customers have a high COCA, so price is always negotiation. 2. Offer enterprise…

Thanks for the suggestions. It's a delicate balance between appearing "complete" with the offering versus leaving headroom for customization for larger customers. Increasingly with the consumerization of the enterprise do you think that custom development, consulting etc are a must have to servicing an enterprise?

Re: What hackers don’t know about business

#35

Post by guynamedloren »

> ...many in the software community don’t understand the differences between Marketing, Distribution, Sales, or Business Development.

Many in the 'business community' don't understand the differences as well. Not being an ass or making assumptions - I'm speaking from first hand experience here.

Re: What hackers don’t know about business

#36

Post by statictype »

oinksoft wrote: post #15

Maybe somebody can translate the last paragraph into English for me. I read the preceding paragraph several times and I'm coming up empty: Based on our experiences at Filepicker.io we learned that it is important to delineate the differences when planning initiatives that drive growth, the amount of resources needed and the profile of team members required to drive the initiatives. While we're going for pompous title…

Translation: You need to figure out which demographic your business is targeting (large business, small business, consumers) and plan your marketing/sales according to that and have the correct people on your team depending on what your marketing/sales plan is.

I agree that it isn't very well worded but it does make sense.

Re: What hackers don’t know about business

#37

Post by statictype »

nikcub wrote: post #33

Most hackers I know understand all this, but minus the fancy business school acronyms.

I would say there are many that don't ( I was in this pool until very recently). This is especially true of selling to big companies. Hand holding, dealing with RFPs, getting through to the right person inside to support you and getting involved in internal politics are mind-bogglingly frustrating and often not built on logic or rationality so it often doesn't make any sense at all to hackers.

Re: What hackers don’t know about business

#38

Post by dglassan »

ananddass wrote: post #30
dglassan wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Getting the word out is only a fraction of what marketing actually is. Marketing involves: - defining who your customer is (demographics, income, etc.) - gathering feedback from the customer through surveys - using that information to iterate on products/launch new products that solve your customers pain points (if half your customers are left handed this will tell you that you need to design your product for left ha…

So traditional marketing 101 is geared towards larger companies with lesser operating uncertainity and more resources. As a startup, the key question that helps prioritize between everything you mentioned is "what activities are hygiene activities, versus what are growth enhancers?". Defining your customer, gathering feedback, iterating on product and packaging all fall under hygiene activities. Meaning-if you dont g…

This isn't just geared towards larger companies with more predictable business models. It's good business no matter what size company you are. Even startups use these marketing techniques. And I'd argue that in a startup, everyone on the team is a product guy.

define your customer: use analytics to find out where your visitors are coming from. Is your audience just English speaking or should you internationalize your site? What income brackets is your web app designed to cater to? Lower end 99 cent app? Higher end quality software?

Gathering feedback: Startups can easily email their customers surveys and ask for feedback

Iterate: When you talk to your customers, ask them what they like and don't like about your app. Iterate based on their suggestions

Packaging: Landing page. Having good copy and a strong selling page. Simple sign up flow and an on-boarding plan to help them get started and using your app

Price points: Use surveys and the customer "persona" you defined above to break up your customers into different price brackets and sell them features based off what they want and what they can afford.

Re: What hackers don’t know about business

#40

Post by vilcans »

So this is what business people mean when they say programmers need to understand business?

Apart from not knowing the exact nomenclature, it's embarrassing if programmers don't know these things. It's pretty much common sense.

But now we know.

So, when will business people understand software development?

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