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Launched a MVP building service. Feedback needed.

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

Tobore

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Hello guys,

Just launched this service.

The purpose is to help non-technical entrepreneurs build Minimum Viable Products of their software idea.

The problem we solve is to give non-tech entrepreneurs an option apart from:

  • shedding equity with a technical co-founder.
  • the stress of hunting for a technical co-founder.
  • the opportunity cost in learning to code.
  • paying huge cash in hiring a dev team.
Therefore, our value preposition lies in building fast and scalable mvps (not drag 'n drops but real code) for non-tech entrepreneurs without deep pockets or financial backing.

I've executed the following marketing plan:

- Social proof (social media likes) and case studies
- Landing page to offer a free service
- Content distribution (blogging on site, Quora answers and medium)
- Paid ads (from Quora to landing page) - no conversion.

I'm still struggling to get customers.

Please what do you think I could be doing wrong? If you were doing this, how would you go about getting customers?



I feel lost. Please help.
 
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rwhyan

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Well for starters your "Get Started" page is missing...

I hope that is just a temporary malfunction.

Where do your target customers (non-tech entrepreneurs) hang out?

I can't find your social media presence at all so not sure what you mean that you've "executed" "social proof (social media likes) and case studies."

Have you tried influencer marketing? Instagram could be a good choice.

You could show a case study where someone built an MVP with your service, validated it, and turned it into a business.
 

AdamMaxum

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I think it's a good idea....I didn't look to see if there were already companies doing this but I would try it...

Based on the link in your sig - the landing page needs more work to convince me of what it is and how much this MVP is going to cost me.

The image of the analytic site is confusing to me and the case study doesn't really show me much. I need more in-depth. How does the process actually work? Are you taking my idea and bringing it to life? What do I get at the end of it? How long does it take? Tell me more.

Once you convey the actual service/product better, add in some better CTA's to capture user interest. The learn more buttons go to a 404 page at the moment..

I wouldn't waste money on influencers or social media page work yet....find your target market and run ads or whatever to them and gather feedback. Offer something to entice people to sign up and give it a try. Again...I don't know how much work I have to submit or provide to get started. Is it software or do I send you details of my project.
 

JM35

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I've had a SaaS platform idea in mind for awhile. I don't have any coding experience, don't know much about building software, and haven't tested the market or validated my idea.

So it sounds like I would be a good candidate for your service.

But I think the issue is, when I land on your home page and read through it, I have no idea what service you are providing or what you are trying to sell me.

Is this a drag and drop software builder? If so, show me some pictures of the backend, videos explaining how your software helps, etc. Or are you a developer and building the product for each person that signs up? If so, what is your value prop vs. outsourcing and what are you trying to charge me?

I would use your homepage to walk a potential user through the process of what's going to happen once I click that "Get Started" button.
 
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Tobore

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I've had a SaaS platform idea in mind for awhile. I don't have any coding experience, don't know much about building software, and haven't tested the market or validated my idea.

So it sounds like I would be a good candidate for your service.

But I think the issue is, when I land on your home page and read through it, I have no idea what service you are providing or what you are trying to sell me.

Is this a drag and drop software builder? If so, show me some pictures of the backend, videos explaining how your software helps, etc. Or are you a developer and building the product for each person that signs up? If so, what is your value prop vs. outsourcing and what are you trying to charge me?

Hey, thanks for your feedback.

- It is not a drag and drop service: Yes, I am a developer with a small team. We build the first version of your application with real code.

- It is a productized service: There are no contracts, so we offer a flat rate...YES, building a product for each person that signs up.

I would use your homepage to walk a potential user through the process of what's going to happen once I click that "Get Started" button.

The "Get started" page was disabled due to changes we were making. It is back up now. It explains the process of how the service works.
 

Tobore

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Thanks man,
Well for starters your "Get Started" page is missing...

I hope that is just a temporary malfunction.

Yes, that was a malfunction. The page is working now.

Where do your target customers (non-tech entrepreneurs) hang out?
Good question. For starters, I think most non-tech entreps are good with marketing and should be hanging around forums like ours here...and marketing blogs.

I can't find your social media presence at all so not sure what you mean that you've "executed" "social proof (social media likes) and case studies."
We have a Facebook page where we are optimizing for more likes
Have you tried influencer marketing? Instagram could be a good choice.
No. I see IG as a platform for brands that are into fashion, health etc and not tech entrepreneurship. Am I wrong here? I would adjust my belief it that would help get traction.

You could show a case study where someone built an MVP with your service, validated it, and turned it into a business.
There one here. For now, the focus is building and not validating or growing the business for entrepreneurs as that would take a whole lot. Think of it as a "launch pad" only system.
 

Tobore

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I think it's a good idea....I didn't look to see if there were already companies doing this but I would try it...
Thanks. That's really encouraging.

Based on the link in your sig - the landing page needs more work to convince me of what it is and how much this MVP is going to cost me.
Will work harder on the copy. The "Pricing" page features the intro pricing plan. Do you think it should be on the main landing page?

The image of the analytic site is confusing to me and the case study doesn't really show me much. I need more in-depth. How does the process actually work? Are you taking my idea and bringing it to life? What do I get at the end of it? How long does it take? Tell me more.
Great. Will changes the images. What exactly would you like added to the case study to make it more convincing?
The process is more explained on the "Get started" page which is working now. Yes, the concept is: taking your idea and bringing it to life for real so you can focus on marketing and growth.

I guess the copy lacks clarity. In the end you get minimal version (with core features) of your solution a customer can use and pay for. Depending on your plan of choice, you could also get copywriting, bug fixes and a logo.

Once you convey the actual service/product better, add in some better CTA's to capture user interest. The learn more buttons go to a 404 page at the moment..
Will make adjustment. Learn more button fixed.

I wouldn't waste money on influencers or social media page work yet....find your target market and run ads or whatever to them and gather feedback. Offer something to entice people to sign up and give it a try.
Great. Do you consider Adwords as a better starting place or blogs. What advertising medium would you consider the most effective?

Again...I don't know how much work I have to submit or provide to get started. Is it software or do I send you details of my project.

On the "Get started" page which wasn't working earlier. We expect potential customers to send their ideas as text. We follow up with an NDA to protect their IP.
 
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astr0

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I think it's a good idea....I didn't look to see if there were already companies doing this but I would try it...
There are companies doing this, but their actual goal is to get funded startup. Building an MVP is more like a presale.

Your pricing seems quite weird. Would you do a search engine like Google for $499? It's an MVP, so I don't need the front page, can be just an API. Also, the plan for $899 includes "2 Bux Fix". Does that mean that you will make at least 2 bugs and I'll have to pay more to fix them?

Navigation is kind strange. Home doesn't work and menu almost completely blends when scrolled to the top. Maybe it's a design decision, but it seems quite annoying. The last button in the navigation (mobile menu burger) does something strange, possibly also broken.

The whole web site is also quite slow...
gspeed.png

I would suggest working more on quality. It really scares people if the developer's web site is not working correctly. And you probably need to explain to your prospects what would they get for their money in more detail, or just remove the whole pricing and just generate leads on the web site.

Getting leads for your services through website and marketing is definitely an option. But I'm not sure if there'd be a high enough percentage of good leads with this approach.

Where do your target customers (non-tech entrepreneurs) hang out?
Find such a place and try to direct sale there or funnel through your website.

Good luck with your business!
 

astr0

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Great. Do you consider Adwords as a better starting place or blogs. What advertising medium would you consider the most effective?
Your target audience is pretty narrow, I don't think that you can target them well/profitably with marketing. Something similar does show up on AdWords, but their pricing is way higher than yours.

Your providing very customize service, that requires a lot of communication. So why just don't go direct sales then?

Check this thread, some GOLD there:
Fox's 2019 Make $100k Starting Web Design from Scratch Challenge
 

Tobore

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There are companies doing this, but their actual goal is to get funded startup. Building an MVP is more like a presale.
Didn't know about that. That's a nice angle.


Your pricing seems quite weird. Would you do a search engine like Google for $499? It's an MVP, so I don't need the front page, can be just an API. Also, the plan for $899 includes "2 Bux Fix". Does that mean that you will make at least 2 bugs and I'll have to pay more to fix them?
Good one. The pricing is sketchy for now and was placed as a way to entice new customers. It will change with time. To answer your question, looking into PageRank algo and some other top-notch features could be considered way too complex for an MVP. Anyways, a simple crawler/parser, storing in a DB, querying with auto-suggestions is doable.

Navigation is kind strange. Home doesn't work and menu almost completely blends when scrolled to the top. Maybe it's a design decision, but it seems quite annoying. The last button in the navigation (mobile menu burger) does something strange, possibly also broken.
Gold. Will definitely work on this.

The whole web site is also quite slow...
View attachment 23928

I would suggest working more on quality. It really scares people if the developer's web site is not working correctly. And you probably need to explain to your prospects what would they get for their money in more detail, or just remove the whole pricing and just generate leads on the web site.
wow. Will make technical changes asap.

Yes. That was the initial idea. Generate leads and test the pricing through to customers on the email list.

Getting leads for your services through website and marketing is definitely an option. But I'm not sure if there'd be a high enough percentage of good leads with this approach.


Find such a place and try to direct sale there or funnel through your website.

Good luck with your business!

Thanks for this.
 
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Tobore

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Your target audience is pretty narrow, I don't think that you can target them well/profitably with marketing. Something similar does show up on AdWords, but their pricing is way higher than yours.
Yeah, the pricing is bound to change.

Your providing very customize service, that requires a lot of communication. So why just don't go direct sales then?
How do you think that would work? Cold call individuals cell-phone? This would have been easier if the target audience were B2B (I think). Also, I'm not from the US, what do you think is the best way for getting the sales approach to work?


Thanks for the resource too (s/o to Fox).
 

astr0

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How do you think that would work? Cold call individuals cell-phone? This would have been easier if the target audience were B2B (I think). Also, I'm not from the US, what do you think is the best way for getting the sales approach to work?
I don't really have an idea yet... But at least if someone interested enough gets to your web site don't try to force them to pay ("Get started" buttons on pricing page seems to do that). Better make them contact you first.

And for the pricing... Are you sure that a todo-list/notes MVP should be worth the same as a video search engine that would answer queries like "lambos with visible license plate near the beach" (is it even doable already?).
 

Vito

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At first glance, for me, the website doesn't fill me with trust.

A few smaller details on your website don't seem right and although they might be minor on their own, the accumulative effect is that something doesn't seem quite right leading to lack of trust. A few examples: The navigation can't be seen on pages aside from the homepage, you have a hamburger menu leading to a fly-out panel with one small Twitter icon in it, the fact that theres only one case study (the biggest issue I'd say) and even that only leads to a large screenshot if you click the thumbnail.

So the two key things:

1. The lack of case-studies is a killer. For people wanting to invest their money wisely, they have to be left with no doubt that this is the right choice. The only way to do that is to show them your successes. One case study in a section called 'Case studies' says to me that this guy is new to the game.

2. The design and small details. If I'm investing in someone I don't know to make my web app mvp, I'd expect that person to have his shit well and truly together with anything web related considering he's the expert. I don't want to sound harsh, but this feels like a website put together fairly quickly using a template. The customers will think 'if this guy can't his own navigation right...what about mine?'.

But enough of the doom and gloom, I've got a great website reference for you to pour over and learn from. I stumbled across a website recently and although it's relatively simple, it stood out:

Homepage: Dreamten - Results Oriented App Design
And more importantly, a product page: Services: Analyze - Dreamten

Things I love:

– The fact that they've broken down each of their packages into separate pages so you truly know what's best for you.
– "Problems we solve"/"Perfect for" sections are great.
– The fact that step 1 in the process is a phone call with the founder. You need to build trust before asking someone to hand over a reasonably large amount of money on the first date and this is a good way to do it. If you're confident in your ability, speak to them.
– No details are overlooked.

There's more that's great about the website though, have a dig around.

Hope that helps!
 
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Last edited:
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Deleted50669

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I really like the idea - I think a lot of people will need this service.

As others have said, it is not immediately clear what you are offering. You should make it so that the user has to do almost nothing to understand what your selling. As soon as home page loads, BOOM "We build your web app so you can focus on growth." or something like that.

On the technical side, a couple things. When I shrink the browser the columns overlap, which is a design flaw. Also, when I navigate to pricing or another route, the route to get back home does not work.

Hopefully some of that is helpful.
 

AdamMaxum

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I wouldn't focus on re-doing the website or little stuff like that...I think it looks good from a design perspective...you just need to SHOW people what they can get if they work with you and maybe have some better call to actions.

I recommend spending a little time looking at other companies in this space and how they compel people to try their services.

I agree w/the above case study comment - if you're going to have 1 case study, make it more complete. Give details. How did you help them? What did you create? If you haven't done an actual case study yet, make something up going through the process you're offering...people need to see proof of it before they can be comfortable.

I would want to see like...what was the process from start to finish...a brief on the case study. What was it. Who was it for..I would even have a DEMO mock that people can actually see and visit to see what they can expect if they work with you. Talk about how long it took. The benefits the owners got from using your service. Throw in some testimonials. Make them up if you have to. Just give a sense of you made their life easier and they are happy they worked with you. Instead of making up a case study...offer a couple projects for free or heavily discounted and then take a small loss to create some case studies and testimonials.

Don't run Adwords...it will get too expensive. Maybe FB ads with a targeted landing page. Don't spend your time writing blog after blog...it won't get you anywhere for awhile. If you do blog, focus more on writing blogs that are reaching viewers on websites/blogs that are related to your industry (reach your desired audience) and piggyback off their existing readers to try and gain traction. See if any blogs offer advertising through their email list and reach thousands that way (dont overpay tho)... I am not going to recommend any particular advertising strategy...except to try to find what works and then focus your efforts there.
 

JM35

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@Tobore - I've been thinking about this concept since I originally posted yesterday, in conjunction with the idea I mentioned I had. Would love to run it by you and maybe be one of your first customers.

Will shoot you a PM.
 
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Tobore

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@Tobore - I've been thinking about this concept since I originally posted yesterday, in conjunction with the idea I mentioned I had. Would love to run it by you and maybe be one of your first customers.

Will shoot you a PM.
PMing right away.
 

FreakyThomas

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Hello,

I think apart from the tiny issues you'll have to correct, your website looked pretty good to me on my Galaxy S8+, and your USP though imprecise is really interesting. You have your own MVP now. If you start trying to make your website perfect, you'll never end.

You should now focus on getting your first sale to validate your idea. Actually, you don't even need a website for this. Try direct marketing (phone, mail, ...). See where you can get contact info of wannabe entrepreneurs. That's my piece of advice. Getting a sale. Then a second one, and a third. Then you can start acting from the feedback you've got to improve your service/product/website.

Envoyé de mon SM-G955F en utilisant Tapatalk
 

Monkeycom

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Hello guys,

Just launched this service.

The purpose is to help non-technical entrepreneurs build Minimum Viable Products of their software idea.

The problem we solve is to give non-tech entrepreneurs an option apart from:

  • shedding equity with a technical co-founder.
  • the stress of hunting for a technical co-founder.
  • the opportunity cost in learning to code.
  • paying huge cash in hiring a dev team.
Therefore, our value preposition lies in building fast and scalable mvps (not drag 'n drops but real code) for non-tech entrepreneurs without deep pockets or financial backing.

I've executed the following marketing plan:

- Social proof (social media likes) and case studies
- Landing page to offer a free service
- Content distribution (blogging on site, Quora answers and medium)
- Paid ads (from Quora to landing page) - no conversion.

I'm still struggling to get customers.

Please what do you think I could be doing wrong? If you were doing this, how would you go about getting customers?


I feel lost. Please help.

The USP is too long. Always assume that you talk to a 12yo child with 2s of attention. Simplify your message and offer, we must catch it faster than that !
 

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