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diary.io - should we build this?

shouldwebuild.diary.io

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Re: diary.io - should we build this?

#41

Post by ed209 »

bonzoesc wrote: post #34
tommizzle wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? Assessing demand before diving into app development is considered a bad thing?

How is a web form going to give you any useful data about demand? There's no investment or interaction with actual users. If you want to assess demand, make a minimum viable product.

You don't need an mvp to asses demand. Go on forums, get out on the street and ask people.

1) Get them to agree [or disagree] that the problem exists.

2) Explain your solution and get a reaction.

You should already have some idea of demand before you write a single line of code (other than the code they wrote for this simple page)

Re: diary.io - should we build this?

#43

Post by IWentToTheWoods »

bonzoesc wrote: post #19

Nope, because you didn't believe in it enough to build it, instead choosing to waste time posting on websites. Zuckerberg didn't ask if he should build Facebook, the GitHub founders didn't ask if they should make GitHub, and Jason Fried didn't ask if he should build 37signals.

That's some horrible selection bias. What about all the people who built something without asking anyone and it was a complete flop? What about all the successful products that did do market research?

Re: diary.io - should we build this?

#45

Post by drharris »

raganwald wrote: post #37

You're asking the wrong people. 1. Read "The Lean Startup." 2. Find the cheapest and fastest way to test whether potential customers think you should build it for them. For example, you could make a fake product web page with a "try free" button and count the number of people who click the button. Asking us is not lean. Asking customers is not lean. Testing customers != asking them. Building it is too expensive a tes…

Just because Lean is the buzzword of 2012 doesn't mean it's the right way to do it. This comment wouldn't have made sense two years ago, and probably won't make sense two years from now. Seems a little wrong to say that because it's not Lean, it's wrong. Let them find their own way, "wrong" or not.

Re: diary.io - should we build this?

#46

Post by dia80 »

pilgrim689 wrote: post #14
dia80 wrote: post #5

Warning: Prospective questions are bad for your (business) health.

Care to expand a bit? I'm curious.

Well meaning people inadvertently lie to you.

"Sure, that looks great! I'd buy one"

So you go off and make it only to be greeted by tumble weed when it comes time to sell. Cure: retrospective questioning.

What steps have you taken to solve this problem? How much have you spent?

They're not going to unintentionally mislead you with those questions.

Re: diary.io - should we build this?

#47

Post by RyanZAG »

drharris wrote: post #45
raganwald wrote: post #37

You're asking the wrong people. 1. Read "The Lean Startup." 2. Find the cheapest and fastest way to test whether potential customers think you should build it for them. For example, you could make a fake product web page with a "try free" button and count the number of people who click the button. Asking us is not lean. Asking customers is not lean. Testing customers != asking them. Building it is too expensive a tes…

Just because Lean is the buzzword of 2012 doesn't mean it's the right way to do it. This comment wouldn't have made sense two years ago, and probably won't make sense two years from now. Seems a little wrong to say that because it's not Lean, it's wrong. Let them find their own way, "wrong" or not.

Agreed. I can get behind the concept of MVP, but 'lean always' just doesn't have the evidence. Was Henry Ford 'lean'? IBM's big mainframe business... 'lean'? Were windmills 'lean'?

Nearly all big inventions are the opposite of lean - some people went and built something that nobody had thought of using before and those inventions took off. If you had just put up a survey asking people if they want a 'noisy, horseless carriage' you would have gotten a resounding no.

A lack of clicks on a random signup page with just a blurb doesn't imply the product will fail in the market. It could imply that users don't understand the value or a number of other things.

However, a MVP failing pretty much does imply failure, so I'd personally say throw out 'lean' and stick with MVP for anything 'pushing boundaries'.

Re: diary.io - should we build this?

#49

Post by btipling »

Mz wrote: post #22
btipling wrote: post #17

Nope, because: (engineer * number of engineers) - (average monthly payment * number of customers) An engineer's salary at a small startup is at the very least $50,000, let's just round that down to $5,000 a month, so how long do you think it would take you to reach $15,000 a month in recurring revenue at what are probably $5 a month plans (this does not include any other costs such as office, servers etc). That's abo…

Not to disagree with your overall point, but $5k/month x 12 months = $60,000/year, not $50,000/year. (Perhaps you were rounding up rather than down?)

Yeah I completely messed that post up. :P

Re: diary.io - should we build this?

#50

Post by drharris »

RyanZAG wrote: post #29

You should build this if you want to build it. It's something you can point to and say "Look, I built something awesome!". But, chances are this will not be able to make money as it (1) requires user setup (2) will be fairly difficult to build - api integration is not that easy (3) most users simply don't care about what happens to their data until it is gone. (3, my experience) goes directly against your Thesis #2.…

I think this identifies the issues I was feeling with the product, primarily the point that users are rarely forward-thinking. Instead, they use the single service that is hot right now, and don't look for alternatives until their current one starts to die. The thought that they'd have to set up multiple services (some of which might require a subscription and others that require new accounts) will probably scare many off.

That said, I think an MVP is the way to go on something like this (NOT something fake with a fake button; that's for scammy money-grubbers). There is probably a niche for something like this; the only question is if they will pay for it or not, and pay enough to keep the service alive. I know of photographers that would love a one-click upload to all the photo sites. Same with videos, tweets, and blog posts. Seeing if they will pay will simply require you to try it.

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