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Not sure if this is the best sub-forum for this. Let me know if not and I'll move it...
Anyway, 6 years ago I became interested in a really really niche area of medical software (the area is called flow cytometry) after a doctor friend said they were frustrated with the current software options, which were all heavy desktop applications meaning he had to go back into the lab every time (the software allowed him to analyse patients blood data). So I spent 2 years creating software that was cloud based and worked on any device and released it about 3.5 years ago. Over the years about 4,000 users have registered from about 2,000 Institutes, mainly Universities (users in all 10 of the top 10 Universities in the world) but also some laboratories that do blood tests. The software is free to use but user can upgrade if they want to use it for larger datasets - worryingly only 2 ever have.
Last year I started following John Somnez and recently read Unscripted and it's given me a huge motivation to create a successful business (Im a software engineer but always hated having to trade my time for money - it wasn't until Unscripted articulated it that it hit home).
So I sent out a mass email to my users - I'd ignored the project for 2 years - and interviewed about 20. All said there is a need for the software - its a competitive market but the ease of use and being cloud-based (though there is one other competitor also the same) - means users like it. All said they would pay a certain amount for it. I've come up with a subscription model based on Grammarly (as most of my users are Uni researchers), so €29 a month or €270 per year for an organisation (like Uni or Lab). One of the users I interviewed really impressed me, so he has come onboard and I've given him 10% equity. 2 other users in Germany really liked the app so they have agreed to be advisors.
Next, I emailed the local University. There is an elderly lecturer there who is one of the most well known in Europe in this niche area. He likes my project and we discussed future direction - we want to use big data and AI and write algorithms to automate the analysis of these files so that, for example, it could automatically diagnose a blood related disease. There is one other competitor doing something similar. The lecturer has agreed to be an advisor - though worryingly he is an advisor to a large competitor. He assures me he will be discrete.
Next thing is I hired 2 software engineers - I am working full-time as a software engineer and have share options which mature in 1.5 years so there's no way I can quit. I earn €425 per day as a contractor, so I pay €27 per day to a software engineer in India and €41 per day to a software engineer in Brazil.
I was offered some private funding but turned it down as it came on the condition I quit my current job.
I have applied for some government grants but that process is very slow.
Some obstacles: competitors (e.g. Beckman Coulter and Becton Dickinson) are billion dollar companies, the area - flow cytometry - may be too niche and small, only 2 users ever upgraded (though in interviews all 20 users said they would pay if I made improvements - my software as it is is very slow to use), lecturer advisor also works with a competitor.
Advantages: a lot of data collected for 3.5 years which can be used to build AI algorithms. Really niche area with a unique skillset required. Good team assembled.
My current plan is have the software engineers build a better version - all users complained my softwares performance is dreadful - and this should be ready in 3 months. Release it - probably with a much limited free tier forcing people to go to premium (€29). After this, with some money coming in, hire another engineer and beginning working on AI based automated analysis.
I'm writing this not with a specific problem but with the hope of receiving general advice throughout this process as I've never done this before and I dont really know what Im doing, Im just doing what I think is right each day to advance the project. If any glaring mistakes are jumping out at anyone, let me know. If anyone wants to keep an eye on this project and give me advice throughout the process, I'd love that.
Thanks
Anyway, 6 years ago I became interested in a really really niche area of medical software (the area is called flow cytometry) after a doctor friend said they were frustrated with the current software options, which were all heavy desktop applications meaning he had to go back into the lab every time (the software allowed him to analyse patients blood data). So I spent 2 years creating software that was cloud based and worked on any device and released it about 3.5 years ago. Over the years about 4,000 users have registered from about 2,000 Institutes, mainly Universities (users in all 10 of the top 10 Universities in the world) but also some laboratories that do blood tests. The software is free to use but user can upgrade if they want to use it for larger datasets - worryingly only 2 ever have.
Last year I started following John Somnez and recently read Unscripted and it's given me a huge motivation to create a successful business (Im a software engineer but always hated having to trade my time for money - it wasn't until Unscripted articulated it that it hit home).
So I sent out a mass email to my users - I'd ignored the project for 2 years - and interviewed about 20. All said there is a need for the software - its a competitive market but the ease of use and being cloud-based (though there is one other competitor also the same) - means users like it. All said they would pay a certain amount for it. I've come up with a subscription model based on Grammarly (as most of my users are Uni researchers), so €29 a month or €270 per year for an organisation (like Uni or Lab). One of the users I interviewed really impressed me, so he has come onboard and I've given him 10% equity. 2 other users in Germany really liked the app so they have agreed to be advisors.
Next, I emailed the local University. There is an elderly lecturer there who is one of the most well known in Europe in this niche area. He likes my project and we discussed future direction - we want to use big data and AI and write algorithms to automate the analysis of these files so that, for example, it could automatically diagnose a blood related disease. There is one other competitor doing something similar. The lecturer has agreed to be an advisor - though worryingly he is an advisor to a large competitor. He assures me he will be discrete.
Next thing is I hired 2 software engineers - I am working full-time as a software engineer and have share options which mature in 1.5 years so there's no way I can quit. I earn €425 per day as a contractor, so I pay €27 per day to a software engineer in India and €41 per day to a software engineer in Brazil.
I was offered some private funding but turned it down as it came on the condition I quit my current job.
I have applied for some government grants but that process is very slow.
Some obstacles: competitors (e.g. Beckman Coulter and Becton Dickinson) are billion dollar companies, the area - flow cytometry - may be too niche and small, only 2 users ever upgraded (though in interviews all 20 users said they would pay if I made improvements - my software as it is is very slow to use), lecturer advisor also works with a competitor.
Advantages: a lot of data collected for 3.5 years which can be used to build AI algorithms. Really niche area with a unique skillset required. Good team assembled.
My current plan is have the software engineers build a better version - all users complained my softwares performance is dreadful - and this should be ready in 3 months. Release it - probably with a much limited free tier forcing people to go to premium (€29). After this, with some money coming in, hire another engineer and beginning working on AI based automated analysis.
I'm writing this not with a specific problem but with the hope of receiving general advice throughout this process as I've never done this before and I dont really know what Im doing, Im just doing what I think is right each day to advance the project. If any glaring mistakes are jumping out at anyone, let me know. If anyone wants to keep an eye on this project and give me advice throughout the process, I'd love that.
Thanks
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