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I just launched my bootstrapped startup. Pray for me.

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Re: I just launched my bootstrapped startup. Pray for me.

#71
post #48

I get: "Ooops. Something went wrong. The right people have been notified of the details, and we'll do our best to fix the issue right away." after signing up and if I try to sign in. My username is the same as here so check it out if you have a chance. NOTE: I'm just asking for help why am I being voted down?

I voted you back up. :) Checking it out right now...

Thanks for the quick response!

BTW, I have a feeling it could be due to my zip-code not being in the database.

Re: I just launched my bootstrapped startup. Pray for me.

#72
Terrific concept!

The site is beautiful.

Feedback wise: I signed up for the email and initially it wasn't obvious that all the checkboxes of vegetable varieties were applicable to the zipcode that I entered (so have something that states "these varieties apply to zip code: -----_. Also - it would be great to have a "check-all" option. I am a total newbie when it comes to gardening and I just checked off everything.

Great job - keep at it!

Re: I just launched my bootstrapped startup. Pray for me.

#73
This is a really cool idea, and I would totally be a user if only I had a yard. A few small things I'd change:

a) If I click the 'Get Started' button without entering a zip code, it says 'Oops! Something went wrong.' I understand what is actually going on here, but if I weren't a developer I'd probably think the site was broken.

b) I want to view pretty pictures of what my seeds will grow into!

c) Re: asking people to pray for you -- I highly recommend scrapping that and instead adopting the mentality of working your ass off to achieve success.

Re: I just launched my bootstrapped startup. Pray for me.

#74
post #48

I get: "Ooops. Something went wrong. The right people have been notified of the details, and we'll do our best to fix the issue right away." after signing up and if I try to sign in. My username is the same as here so check it out if you have a chance. NOTE: I'm just asking for help why am I being voted down?

I checked into it, and the problem is that SproutRobot doesn't have weather data for Puerto Rico yet, so things are broken for you. I'm sorry about that... the site should've handled that more gracefully.

Support for places outside of the continental U.S. is definitely on the todo list but it will be a while. If you follow @sproutrobot on twitter, you'll be sure to get the announcement when we get Puerto Rico in there.

Thanks for testing, and sorry it didn't work for you.

Re: I just launched my bootstrapped startup. Pray for me.

#75
What's so scary? The worst that can happen is nobody uses it. Even in that case, you'll probably still learn something about programming, and might learn a bit about product development.

If you put effort into it, it will be a good experience even if it doesn't take off. And if it does, so much the better.

Re: I just launched my bootstrapped startup. Pray for me.

#76
It is like FarmVille for real life! I think you should highlight that, definitely would get some eyes on the site. Maybe even a targeted ad on Facebook? Another suggestion (maybe you already do this) is to give detailed info on how to take care of the plant. Spin a user community around it, and they'll be exchanging tips, posting photos and celebrating their flowering plants.

Other than that, I love the idea, and really nicely executed for a launch! I'd signup if I were into farming, and did not live on the 10th floor of an apartment complex.

Re: I just launched my bootstrapped startup. Pray for me.

#77
post #49

Totally like this idea ... very clever, and I've never seen anything like it before. Concur with some previous comments that price page needs attention. Sounds cliche, but go back and look at some of the older 37signals.com/svn posts on making purchase process easy/intuitive/good design. Also, can confirm that page is dorked somewhat in IE8 ... pretty sure it's not the look that you were after! Let me know if you nee…

If only Microsoft would provide a version of IE8 that would run on Ubuntu, I could test it... :) That's no excuse though. I'm definitely going to find an internet cafe and do some more testing. Thanks for the reminder.

http://browsershots.org/

Re: I just launched my bootstrapped startup. Pray for me.

#78
Hey Erik,

Congratulations on the launch! It is a very aesthetically pleasing web design. Seeing the product kind of gives me an itch to start gardening :)

Here's some general feedback I had:

1. Instead of "SproutRobot tells you when to plant & sends you seeds," how about an even more general statement, like "We'll give you everything you need (to grow your own groceries)!" I feel as if the current statement limits your what your product does in people's perceptions. Personally, the main reason I don't garden is because I'd have to do a lot of initial work. If you positioned yourself as making the initial work a lot easier, I'm sure a lot more people would be encouraged to sign up. Sure, gardening may mainly be knowing when to garden and having the seeds, but I think most people perceive that there's a lot more to it than that - of course your product will change that :)

2. Why not change the "Get Started" button to "Get Started, It's Free!" and remove the small banner underneath it that says "It's free to sign up!" I like the button, and I think it's one of the more prominent features on the page, so why not use it to induce trial by incentivizing clicking on it?

3. I also agree with one of the comments above me talking about how the actual sign-up page is a bit wordy. While having illustrations like you mentioned would certainly help, you should try to greatly shorten the sentences. It made me think it would take too long to read the page.

4. Sorry for jumping around, but on the homepage, you should also put in some client-side validation to ensure that the zip code field is already filled in before they click "Get Started!" Receiving that error page would be enough to discourage me from continuing.

Other than that, I'm liking the website. I can't comment too much on the actual product itself because I haven't tried it out yet, but I will certainly give you my feedback when I do.

Thanks, David

Re: I just launched my bootstrapped startup. Pray for me.

#79

Very nice, Erik! I put in an NYC zip code, so a "Small garden" won't work for me. Patio/rooftop would. Maybe something that accounts for urban/suburban/rural? In fact, urban gardening is a nice niche and people here like having things packaged and served up for them. Might be an opportunity. :)

Yes, I heart urban gardening. :) Definitely something we want to support, going forward.

Re: I just launched my bootstrapped startup. Pray for me.

#80
post #68

bug: Current plan: Family/$69.99 (up to 10 varieties). Upgrade to Small Garden/$39.99 to get 3 more. also make the logo take the person to the home page also make the background image wider(at least 1400px wide)...anyone on a wide screen monitor sees the bad blue color.

Ah, good catch. I hadn't seen that bug yet.

The background image is an interesting point. I don't know if I want to have people download a 1400px wide image. I'll maybe make the gradients fade out to blue so there's a smooth transition.

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