$200k in sales from a $6k advertisement

#1

Post by mildlyclassic » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 1:51 PM UTC

$200k in sales from a $6k advertisement
wifidabba.com

Re: $200k in sales from a $6k advertisement

#2

Post by toomuchtodo » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 2:28 PM UTC

Wifi Dabba HN thread from a month ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24790350

Launch HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13879335

Re: $200k in sales from a $6k advertisement

#3

Post by TuringNYC » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 2:29 PM UTC

Firstly, this is an awesome project, congratulations! (You'd be surprised, this is even a problem in parts of the US once you leave the metro areas.)

I was curious about a couple of things:

- You list some sophisticated machinery -- did you run into permit/regulatory challenges around running all this?

- Did you get challenged by incumbents, even if they weren't providing service in your specific locale?

Re: $200k in sales from a $6k advertisement

#4

Post by treypitt » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 2:32 PM UTC

I wonder how the return would have differed if they had advertised in The Talk Show, Gruber's fantastic podcast, rather than his blog. My guess is there is a lot of overlap between readership and listenership.

Re: $200k in sales from a $6k advertisement

#5

Post by vmception » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 2:50 PM UTC

This is pretty good, 10 sales!

What are their overhead costs on the hardware unit?

Re: $200k in sales from a $6k advertisement

#6

Post by ada1981 » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 2:53 PM UTC

Also this post on the campaign may also attract investors.

I just booked a call.

Re: $200k in sales from a $6k advertisement

#7

Post by mildlyclassic » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 2:53 PM UTC

TuringNYC wrote: post #3

Firstly, this is an awesome project, congratulations! (You'd be surprised, this is even a problem in parts of the US once you leave the metro areas.) I was curious about a couple of things: - You list some sophisticated machinery -- did you run into permit/regulatory challenges around running all this? - Did you get challenged by incumbents, even if they weren't providing service in your specific locale?

OP here. Thanks for the questions! We are a licensed ISP so we've got the regulatory aspect covered pretty well. The best part of our laser system is that it uses so called 'free space' which doesn't require government approval. We're confident in our superior technology and lower costs when competing with telcos and ISPs.

Re: $200k in sales from a $6k advertisement

#8

Post by NiceWayToDoIT » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 2:54 PM UTC

Nice.

I have few technical questions if you do not mind:

How strong are those lasers how many watts?

What is wave length and what is optical spread over distance?

Lastly, how does system handle flock of birds or any other optical barrier?

Re: $200k in sales from a $6k advertisement

#9

Post by dtwest » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 2:55 PM UTC

Is it really $200k in sales if the people that are buying are guaranteed a rate of return? When I looked at the site a month ago it looked like these PoPs were being marketed as an investment. Given the capped upside, it looked as if the buyers were not buying equity, instead providing more of a loan with an expectation of getting their money back and more.

Don't get me wrong, I think this is a very cool project. I just find the marketing confusing.

Re: $200k in sales from a $6k advertisement

#10

Post by Crazyontap » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 2:58 PM UTC

Interesting product. Since this is kind of related what avenues do you guys (HNers doing SaaS) use for SaaS advertising nowadays?

I used to get good results from FB ads (AdWords never worked for me after 2012) but now FB ads are also a loss.

So wondering what other people are using for advertising?