Am I on the wrong road by being in the foundation?

[FreeMan]

when interviewing or setting up an interview...would you suggest telling them exactly what im doing?( im a SaaS guy and I want to know your problems so I can solve them) OR ask about their problems and hassles and see if these problems and time wasters CAN be solved by SaaS then suggest a solution and test it by asking them to buy or putting up a quick sales page with a buy now button and funnel people their via google adwords ala tim ferris and noah kagan method?

What approach has been working for members in the Foundation? Or are you on the lower plan where there's no interaction?

I used this approach in the health industry space recently and emailed the owners telling them that I am involved in software development and wanted to know more about their market with the email subject containing their job title, e.g. 'Physician Question'. My response rate to that email was better than the Sam Ovens email, but YMMV. And on the call, my intention was to first understand what their problems were and not worry about trying to think of a solution at the same time. At the end of the call, I'd ask them if I can contact them again if I had any questions and most were OK with that (and that could be the opportunity for the follow up beta testing, presales).

I found by mentioning software, some people do focus on that a bit, but others are happy just answering the other questions regarding problems and time wasters.

I only did a handful of interviews and didn't manage to get a viable SaaS solution out of it, but I did identify some common problems they had.

I'm putting this approach on hold for the time being as it is a bit trickier to schedule time for these interviews working 9-5. As essentially it is like cold-calling since none of the people you speak to are pre-qualified leads. For my next test (I have a product idea in mind), I am planning to use the landing page approach first and then possibly follow up with customer development interviews.

 

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[Brander]

1) As someone before me said. Just go through:
Lean Startup - Eric Ries,
Four Steps to the Epiphany - Steven Blank

and quit that copycat "program" and get a refund. Sorry to be blunt, but it needs to be said.

2) Do you enjoy developing software? Even if you don't code you'll have to know something about it to not be taken advantage of from coders. Do you enjoy looking at code? If not, are you great at marketing and sales, so you can attract a technical co-founder?

 

[1step]

when interviewing or setting up an interview...would you suggest telling them exactly what im doing?( im a SaaS guy and I want to know your problems so I can solve them) OR ask about their problems and hassles and see if these problems and time wasters CAN be solved by SaaS then suggest a solution and test it by asking them to buy or putting up a quick sales page with a buy now button and funnel people their via google adwords ala tim ferris and noah kagan method?

Im not sure which would work better, I could see people getting turned off or not wanting to "waste" time once you mentioned being a SaaS guy, also fear of selling could come into play. On the other hand if you tell them something else and lead to much with SaaS or technology or even just seem like you have an agenda they may get turned off by that and not trust you.

I would maybe phrase it as you are working with (insert niche) to solve business problems that save them time and help them make more money and wondered if they had 15 minutes one day to chat about their business. I dunno you could tweak this but it may provide a good start, I like that its focusing on solving issues that any business would love to solve (more money or time), Im not a huge fan of it potentially sounding too salesy.

What do you think?

 

[GregH]

okay so I could really use some advice regarding a specific issue here.


I cannot decide which Niche market to target to create a SaaS product.

Ideally my business would be only me. I would outsource development and do the marketing myself.


However I just can not seem to nail down an industry or niche to target.

I know I want to target small business owners

- They must have an online presence.
- Spend money on their business and already pay for software
- must be a forum, group or someplace they hang out to reach out to people to talk to them
- large enough market size
- profitable enough to justify spending at least $50 bucks a month on a service
- can make fast decision and pull the trigger on buying a product without having to go through upper management


Anyone have any suggestions on what mindset I need to adopt or where to look for a niche?
Do I just brainstorm a niche out of thin air and then go with it? Do I go with a niche I understand?

So far I was thinking about targeting Football Scouts or Sports Agents.

Can someone give me advice ? thanks

-Greg

 

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[GregH]

1) As someone before me said. Just go through:
Lean Startup - Eric Ries,
Four Steps to the Epiphany - Steven Blank

and quit that copycat "program" and get a refund. Sorry to be blunt, but it needs to be said.



2) Do you enjoy developing software? Even if you don't code you'll have to know something about it to not be taken advantage of from coders. Do you enjoy looking at code? If not, are you great at marketing and sales, so you can attract a technical co-founder?

Ive read Lean Startup and I found it hard to find actionable clear steps.

I understand and agree with the process but Its tough when you're looking for specifics.

" do you just pull an idea out of thin air and then begin testing it?" no I dont think so

Right now my biggest issue is which niche market to enter.
My mindset is I want a 1 person SaaS business where I can outsource the development and worry about the marketing and sales myself.

I don't have the desire to start a large company. So SaaS model makes sense.
Also I dont have the desire to tackle some large technical challenge right off the bat for my first company so Id like to target an audience of customers ( B2B model) who have a pain that I can solve with a $20-100 dollar a month service business.

I just cannot seem to decide/ find the the niche to pursue.

The foundation doesnt seem to be the problem. the problem is me.

 

[Twiki]

The foundation doesnt seem to be the problem. the problem is me.

Well I think neither the Foundation is the problem, and neither is you. There is no problem actually. (although I'm surprised if you're saying the Foundation isn't providing actionable clear steps?) From what you're describing and the actions you're taking, you're doing it "right". Remember the Lean Startup is all about uncertainty and applying semi-scientific experimentation to your ideas... execution is secondary. There are no specifics. Whatever process you follow that validates or more importantly invalidates your assumptions in a systematic manner is what would make it possible to measure progress. As long as you are following some process that's a good thing, as long as the process is not just about pretending that failures are a "learning experience".

If you feel despair now, consider this: Imagine you took the path of most people with a "great idea", let's say it was some bright idea about how a Family Fun Center could use some web-based Family Fun app or something... imagine you thought about it for months, then one day decided to go ahead and hire some ppl from elance or wherever... spent lots of time and money on building your big idea, keeping it under wraps because you didn't want anyone to steal your brilliant idea... then after a year or so of working on it, getting excited and nervous about launch date... spending more dough and energy on marketing and PR efforts leading up to it... then the big launch day comes Feb 13 2014 and BOOM you get the feedback from potential customers that you're hearing NOW: "What's that? Why would I need that?" Either that or you hear crickets chirping in the night.

Wouldn't you rather know that now? I think that's probably the most valuable thing about this kind of process. You're doing the right thing, keep going!

 

[andyredsox]

You are doing great. Don’t quit, I know it is risky, but if you give up easily, you don’t know the outcome of it. Just try hard; I know you can do it. And always have a positive thinking, and tell yourself that you can do it, and you can.

 

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