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Ask HN: Review my startup, For tech startups - www.inqvest.com

5 points by klein0891 ↗ HN
InqVest (www.inqvest.com) is an online platform for technology startups to get seed funding. The site is in beta but you can sign up using any dummy email address.

I would value any advice on the general concept, design and usability of the web app.

17 comments

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justjimmy
Anything a user can do w/o handing over their email address and info? That's a pretty big barrier of entry these days.
tstegart
I don't think that's a barrier to people exchanging large amounts of money. Granted, it could have been left off today for testing and asking for feedback, if that's what you mean. But in the long run it is needed to effectively complete the transaction and to keep out people who just want to browse and use up resources.
klein0891
Exactly, it is hard to validate a genuine user without an email address.

For now, you can enter a dummy email address and the system will let you in.

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tstegart
I like it. Design seems a little dated - its missing the rounded-ness of today's apps - but very functional. How do you plan on seeding enough entrepreneurs and angel investors to make it useful? Sadly, I think if you used the word "crowdfunding" you'd have people signing up in droves. Any plans to explore that avenue?
klein0891
Thanks a ton for the feedback. Can you give me some more information about the rounded-ness? :)

Well, I would have to think about crowd funding as my main motive was to keep the site as an entry point for serious angel investors to search apps based on their selection criteria.

tstegart
You would have to know a lot of serious entrepreneurs and a lot of serious angel investors to make that happen. Crowdsourcing adds a regulatory hurdle, but it makes the money easier.
klein0891
I will give it a thought. I appreciate your honest feedback.
tstegart
I made Rounded-ness up for lack of a better word. Check out https://parse.com/ or http://www.hipmunk.com/ The look and feel is close to your button on the bottom of your main page. Rounded corners, bold fonts, subtle gradients, drop shadows, icons with depth and shine elements. The button is fine, but the chart on your front page looks more Windows-XP while sites these days take their cues from iOS.
klein0891
Thanks for the clarification. I do agree they look trendier. I am a developer not a designer but I will keep that in mind.
Donito
If you have no designer in your team, it's quite useful to learn to become a bit of a designer yourself (good skill to acquire). Truth is, first impression matters, and no matter how good your algorithm or service is, if the site doesn't look attractive customers might never get to even try it.

So while some design polishing sounds like "chores" with low ROI, they can actually increase convergence rates with subtle touches (e.g. rounding corners) resulting in a great overall ROI.

klein0891
Hmm, true. I will have to push the redesigning task up the ladder then. Do you have any other comments on the usability or the general concept?
ssmc
Cool project.

Agree on that you could give a bit more before asking for a email though.

I actually like how lean the design is, just good enough to be serviceable and leaves you time for feedback.

Kudos.

klein0891
Thanks! I will add some more content to the site.
upgradeind
looks nifty, will need to try it out a bit then get back to you