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I dropped over 40 grand when I could have spent $100

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Re: I dropped over 40 grand when I could have spent $100

#41

Post by edw519 »

The target audience for Rewire Attire, the high end fashion marketplace, was women with enough money ...

Whenever I read "target audience" and "with enough money" in the same sentence, I run the other way.

My experience with prospects "with enough money":

  - there are far less of them than everyone else
  - many of them didn't earn it themselves, so...
  - they really don't really understand the concept of "value"
  - they don't understand investing vs. consuming
  - they think they are actually the source of their own gifts, so...
  - they think they're better than others, so...
  - they will treat you like shit, not like a trusted business partner
  - they will second guess you
  - they will override you
  - they'll blame you for the bad things
  - they'll take credit for the good things
  - they won't pay you on time
  - they will protest their bills
  - they'll make you hate them and wonder why you're doing this
Save yourself the agony and just build something for the masses, where no one can become big enough to make that much difference.

Edit: Like OP, I'm referring to B2C, not enterprise.

Edit 2: Normally when I see a bunch of bizarre replies to a post of mine that begins with "My experience...", I just close my browser and go back to work. But I guess I'm in a strange mood, so in order to avoid cluttering up this thread (and in the spirit of good clean fun without malice), here goes:

diego, you say "One data point is not generalizable..." and then introduce your own data point. It was never my intent to "generalize", just to share my experience.

chc, I'd prefer to read about what you did over of what you hear. If I'm going to listen to someone else's antecdote, I'd rather do it over beers.

PaulHoule, nice story, but what's the point?

larrys, My list does not directly contradict the success of just about all luxury brands that have been successful. They would probably agree. They've just chosen to thrive in such an environment. I don't.

Samuel_Michon. I believe you. Thanks for sharing your experience.

fredsted, it pretty much does not differ from everybody else? I'd rather have 100 difficult customers with 1% of my ass than 1 difficult customer with 100% of my ass. That's all.

(Sorry if the tone seems negative. I'd love to learn how to better communicate in writing on-line without being misunderstood... It's a work in progress.)

Re: I dropped over 40 grand when I could have spent $100

#42

Post by diego »

edw519 wrote: post #41

The target audience for Rewire Attire, the high end fashion marketplace, was women with enough money ... Whenever I read "target audience" and "with enough money" in the same sentence, I run the other way. My experience with prospects "with enough money": - there are far less of them than everyone else - many of them didn't earn it themselves, so... - they really don't really understand the concept of "value" - they…

One data point is not generalizable. I was very successful building enterprise products, and I never figured out how to build anything for the masses.

I disagree strongly with your conclusion. If anything, save yourself some agony by building something for a market that you know well, and are interested in.

Re: I dropped over 40 grand when I could have spent $100

#43

Post by Samuel_Michon »

adamt wrote: post #26
GabrielF00 wrote: post #5

Unless I'm missing something here it looks like there were a total of 17 responses (8 yes 9 no). Are you really making a major business decision on a survey with an N of 17?

Exactly. Furthermore - if you go to the link below, you appear to go straight through to his survey which now has over 400 responses. The results stil show a slight 'no' bias, but 59% of women in the $75k-$99k earnings bracket said yes they would. http://www.google.com/insights/consumersurveys/view?survey=b...

Nice find.

There were only 2 responses from women earning $100-150k. A suburban woman answered 'No', an urban woman answered 'Yes'. The vast majority of the remaining surveys were filled in by women earning $25-49k, which isn't OP's target audience. However, most women earning <$75k answered 'Yes', so the market might be large enough after all. Maybe not for haute couture, but for reasonably good prêt-à-porter, sure.

Re: I dropped over 40 grand when I could have spent $100

#44

Post by fredsted »

edw519 wrote: post #41

The target audience for Rewire Attire, the high end fashion marketplace, was women with enough money ... Whenever I read "target audience" and "with enough money" in the same sentence, I run the other way. My experience with prospects "with enough money": - there are far less of them than everyone else - many of them didn't earn it themselves, so... - they really don't really understand the concept of "value" - they…

Number 7 and below: how does that differ from everybody else?

Re: I dropped over 40 grand when I could have spent $100

#46

Post by chc »

diego wrote: post #42
edw519 wrote: post #41

The target audience for Rewire Attire, the high end fashion marketplace, was women with enough money ... Whenever I read "target audience" and "with enough money" in the same sentence, I run the other way. My experience with prospects "with enough money": - there are far less of them than everyone else - many of them didn't earn it themselves, so... - they really don't really understand the concept of "value" - they…

One data point is not generalizable. I was very successful building enterprise products, and I never figured out how to build anything for the masses. I disagree strongly with your conclusion. If anything, save yourself some agony by building something for a market that you know well, and are interested in.

This is what I hear from everyone besides Ed that I've ever heard on the subject: It's easier to make money with a product that appeals to a few rich people than with one that depends on large numbers of average people buying in.

Re: I dropped over 40 grand when I could have spent $100

#47

Post by [deleted] »

diego wrote: post #42
edw519 wrote: post #41

The target audience for Rewire Attire, the high end fashion marketplace, was women with enough money ... Whenever I read "target audience" and "with enough money" in the same sentence, I run the other way. My experience with prospects "with enough money": - there are far less of them than everyone else - many of them didn't earn it themselves, so... - they really don't really understand the concept of "value" - they…

One data point is not generalizable. I was very successful building enterprise products, and I never figured out how to build anything for the masses. I disagree strongly with your conclusion. If anything, save yourself some agony by building something for a market that you know well, and are interested in.

[deleted]

Re: I dropped over 40 grand when I could have spent $100

#48

Post by chc »

mxfh wrote: post #45

Fun fact: Women seem to be more willing to share their body measures than men: http://www.google.com/insights/consumersurveys/view?survey=b... http://www.google.com/insights/consumersurveys/view?survey=b... n about 450 each

I'd wager that women are more likely to confidently know their measurements than men.

Re: I dropped over 40 grand when I could have spent $100

#49

Post by Samuel_Michon »

edw519 wrote: post #41

The target audience for Rewire Attire, the high end fashion marketplace, was women with enough money ... Whenever I read "target audience" and "with enough money" in the same sentence, I run the other way. My experience with prospects "with enough money": - there are far less of them than everyone else - many of them didn't earn it themselves, so... - they really don't really understand the concept of "value" - they…

All your points except number 1 and 2, I’ve experienced far more often with small clients (self employed, or a small business), not with larger companies or independently wealthy individuals.

It’s the ‘I Built This!’ mentality.

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