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Ask HN: As a first-time founder, where should I be spending my time?

4 points by Apane101 ↗ HN
We've just launched and I find that there's so much to do but I'm almost paralyzed by it all. The obvious answer is to spend your time where you'll get the largest return right? Well, how do you know where this is when you have little data?

To be clear though, it's a marketplace application http://www.venuevortex.com - we've built the product, we've launched it, I've on-boarded 50+ venues (supply side) now I need the demand side (users) in order to create value for the venues so they continue using us/paying.

I've tried Facebook ad's targeted in Ontario as we've launched locally, to certain demographics and folks with a proclivity to book events, and interests in weddings, business etc... With low conversions, and no sticky users.

The goal is to get even just 1 person to send a request to a venue right now. If I can get 1, I can get 1000.

So the question is how do I get that 1 user to send a request? And where do I find them organically?

9 comments

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sound_of_basker
Think about this: how should you fake it till you make it?
warewolf
First, Congrats on your Launch! I really like the site it's simple, clean and to the point. I also like that you have consistent content on your blog which should be helping you with SEO.

Now for the fun stuff!!!

I have this process I follow called the ABLE process. It stands for Access, Build, Launch and Evaluate.

Assuming before you built and launched your product you accessed your market by doing research and conducted user feedback. If not this is a great place to start. If you want to gain users, you have to know who your users are. In advertisement data is key, You say you used Facebook but what if your users are the people on twitter? You have venues, What is the most popular event/s at these venues? Advertising can get expensive, advertising on the wrong channels can kill your startup.

Once you know who your users are you can use that data to market on platforms they use organically. Some times organic users come from partners or places. When I think Venue, I think weddings just like you tried on Facebook. Have you tried partnering with wedding retail stores, wedding planners, cake decorates etc? These are all people who connect with your potential users that could promote your business. That is of coarse if your users are people getting married. Your venues might book more birthdays than weddings. Thats why the research is important.

Hope this helps!

maxwin
This background color and white text does not give the best reading experience. I don't know. Maybe it is just me.
dhehir
Maybe see if you can have a chat to somewhere from here: http://www.canspep.ca/ since they could be a good group to get regular requests from.

Also maybe look at eventbrite/meetup for events in the future that don't have a venue yet and try to contact them to use your system. Good luck!

GFischer
That's good advice. You have to "get out of the building" as they say, and try to find people with that problem.

You're probably competing with wedding planners (they already have a list of venues!).

Congratulations on your site, it looks clean and professional. I'd add some info (prices are in XX CAD per person, right?). Also to consider, you might want to add a calendar (when you have the availability data), but that can wait - get information on your potential customers first :)

See Steve Blank's advice on Customer Discovery:

http://steveblank.com/2014/06/28/customer-discovery-the-sear...

murukesh_s
IMO, The chance of users discovering your service from a google search is higher than accidentally discovering it in FB. Google ads might convert better.

I know your state of mind. I have been through it. The only thing I could say is to be patient and persistent.

alain94040
The home page is weird to me (and I have used cvent to find venues in the past): I select a city, and I have no other options. Venue size? Wedding hall or meeting room? No. None of these are options on the first page. Therefore, I don't expect much value from that site.

That being said, I assume you current problem is that no one knows about your site. Can you clarify what the value of your site is? It has to be more than a directory of venues. How does it help me? And who is yout target, businesses, conferences, weddings? Don't say all, unless you intend to serve all of them equally poorly.

Based on the style of the site, it has a modern template, unlike cvent. Maybe you are trying to displace Cvent just like AirBnb displaced vrbo: similar in features, but just so much better looking and "user friendly". If that's the case, it means your target demographics must be younger than the average Internet user. Does that match business admins who look for venues more than people getting married? You need to figure it out.

Apane101
Thanks for your feedback, a couple points:

Once you select a city you'll get results with venues for that city. On the left hand side you'll notice additional filters such as "Event type, Venue type, Venue Capacity, Price, Amenities". You can play with these filters to further curate the results to your liking.

We're more than a directory, if you actually create an account you'll notice that you can select "Add To My Queue" on several venues and send them all a bulk message at once with your budget, event details etc... This message will be delivered directly to the venue representatives of those venues - you can expect responses shortly thereafter. I've on-boarded 50+ venues so they will be receiving your message directly.

To your last point, yes this is the goal so we're in search of our market segments/users.

boniface316
I am a second time founder. I would say go acquire them manually. Go ask them in person.