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Show HN: VocalTap: Personal support groups for startups

4 points by sotu25 ↗ HN
We wanted to create a tool that we know more established companies make great use of - peer groups (think advisory boards, CEO roundtables, etc.)

Our goal is to help like-minded business owners learn from each other in a deeper, more intimate way online. Think of it like as a place where startups act as a personal advisory board to each other.

Would love to hear your thoughts and feedback? - http://beta.vocaltap.com

8 comments

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makyol
Live link: http://beta.vocaltap.com

Do you think your competitors follow your progress closely is a good idea? As far as I understand from the homepage of VocalTap, it helps startups to follow each others progress, right?

sotu25
The goal is to match non-competing businesses together in small groups. Not to just follow each others progress but to act as a sounding board/mentor to each as well to get over the whole "lonely at the top" feeling frequent among entrepreneurs.
johnmurch
So basically a BNI (network) group for entrepreneurs/startup-ers?
sotu25
Not quite. BNI is more for referrals and networking. The goal is NOT to network, but to form a closer, more intimate group where you can discuss things at a deeper level.

So a better analogy would be - rather than a networking event where everyone exchanges business cards, it's more like a small monthly breakfast meetup where small biz owners discuss how they're growing their business, cutting cost, tackling employee challenges, or whatever else.

johnmurch
So a forum for google groups of people you know or may not? I guess I am just trying to understand the use case as well as revenue model.
sotu25
Yes, a way for startups to learn from each other using peer groups. We're looking into also adding expert advice-givers for those who need it as a revenue model.
johnmurch
I would recommend reaching out to http://clarity.fm/home if you want expert advice.

As for peer group I see it in 2 ways: 1. You know the people but don't have a weekly/etc. meeting 2. People who you don't know but working on building a product/company

Another thought would be more of a mastermind group. Limit it to 10 people or something and focus on weekly meetings to encourage everyone to get things done. What did you do last week, what are you planning to accomplish, etc.

Just a thought

sotu25
Awesome, thanks alot for your feedback. A place to find mastermind groups is essentially what we're working to build. We just don't use the phrase because most people have never heard of it.