Home Inventory Web App - Ready to make it big

[narcninja]

Hello all!

Last night I posted in the intro forum so some of this info is duplicated but I felt this was a more appropriate place to branch off and ask for advice/guidance. Sorry in advance if that offends some but I am eager to hear others' replies.

Soon after reading MJ's book I began the goal of creating a home inventory web app with a (soon) accompanying mobile app to help the process. I tried to keep all the principles in mind that I read throughout the whole process.


Denventory - Own what you own


I just released the app yesterday and felt I should share it with the community that got me inspired to do such a thing in the first place.


So, from November 2011...6 months later and I'm still a one man band with only hiring contractors or doing it myself. Design was pretty much all myself and the code was a group in Switzerland on Elance. I had NDA agreements signed on everything. Just this week I got my LLC.


Now it's pretty much getting the word out and fixing application bugs as I go. I know it won't all mean much unless I can land on the first page for "home inventory" or "home inventory software". I'm probably going to hire some SEO contractors on E-lance and write some articles on home safety, home inventory, home improvement, etc...


I'm looking for advice on what's next, looking to give advice, looking for feedback on what I should and shouldn't do. Wanting to humbly take advice from the aces who have sunk these battleships before.

Cheers,

Austin

 

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[Amail]

Great looking site - very professional!

The concept has me a bit puzzled. I don't understand why I would spend $10/mo for you to keep my inventory. I can make Google spreadsheet, fill in the inventory information, and have access to it forever for free. You need to do more on the first page to make it clear why your offering is better than what I could do for free.

 

[narcninja]

Great looking site - very professional!

The concept has me a bit puzzled. I don't understand why I would spend $10/mo for you to keep my inventory. I can make Google spreadsheet, fill in the inventory information, and have access to it forever for free. You need to do more on the first page to make it clear why your offering is better than what I could do for free.

Thanks for the comment and the criticism, the last one more importantly

I should probably emphasize the less obvious features. Excel is very powerful and in combination with Google Docs it's easy to create an inventory this way. However, my app aims to provide advanced reporting features, allows you to make an exported PDF, notifications of increased coverage upon insurance renewals, keeps your photos (pretty hard to track in Excel)...

I guess those are the things I need to be highlighting.

 

[Amail]

Have you discussed this with insurance people? If they see the value in it, you might find a way to team up.

Does having a detailed inventory like this qualify one for insurance premium reductions? If so, that could be a very strong selling point.

 

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[narcninja]

Have you discussed this with insurance people? If they see the value in it, you might find a way to team up.

Does having a detailed inventory like this qualify one for insurance premium reductions? If so, that could be a very strong selling point.

I actually haven't, although it's been on mind. Just this afternoon I messaged my local insurance office who I just got home insurance with. They seemed extremely excited at this prospect and promised to look up some corporate contact info. Also asked about discounts for the well documented inventory. We'll see where that goes.

I think I'm going to hire someone on Elance tonight to mine a list of emails for independent insurance agencies to mass email and raise some interest and awareness.

I think that's a good start.

 

[awesom-o]

The design of the website is great very professional :smx9:
An interesting concept also....keep us updated with your progress teaming up with insurers could give you some excellent press and I'm sure would lead to a huge increase in sign ups.

 

[BeingChewsie]

I like the idea, but you need to show me some devastation on the landing page, some loss, so that I "get" why I need and why I should want your service? Maybe some fast stats that show how much people lose by not having an inventory in cases of fire, theft, natural disaster? In other words how does this help me?? Tell me fast and on the first page, I'm lazy, I won't hunt for it. Make it easy for me.

One more thing which goes to what I said above, your first page is all about your features, that's great but, you have to tell me how it benefits me. I glanced at the features, uh huh, uh huh, nice to have but, how does this help me?

Sue

 

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[BrucetonGuy]

I like the idea of selling this to the insurance agencies! It might be a way to get discounts (the need: save money on homeowners insurance) Anxious to see the progress! Very nice.

 

[PatrickP]

For me personally it is a no go. I have very very few possessions inside a house and what I have probably amounts to a few thousand bucks.


BUT I think this is EXACTLY one of those sorts of businesses I would read about on Yahoo or see on CNN and think what the HECK does someone need that for. And it would be hugely successful and I would just shake my head in utter disbelief and jealousy.

So yes I vote keep going ahead with it, I think it will turn out great and I STILL wont understand it

 

[narcninja]

I like the idea, but you need to show me some devastation on the landing page, some loss, so that I "get" why I need and why I should want your service? Maybe some fast stats that show how much people lose by not having an inventory in cases of fire, theft, natural disaster? In other words how does this help me?? Tell me fast and on the first page, I'm lazy, I won't hunt for it. Make it easy for me.

I thought long about this. I didn't want to rain pestilence and plague on the visitor but I realize the need to show emotional AND statistical appeal. I will think on this.

One more thing which goes to what I said above, your first page is all about your features, that's great but, you have to tell me how it benefits me. I glanced at the features, uh huh, uh huh, nice to have but, how does this help me?

I had this suspicion, thanks for confirming it.

Thanks for your criticisms, they are very much appreciated.

 

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[narcninja]

For me personally it is a no go. I have very very few possessions inside a house and what I have probably amounts to a few thousand bucks.


BUT I think this is EXACTLY one of those sorts of businesses I would read about on Yahoo or see on CNN and think what the HECK does someone need that for. And it would be hugely successful and I would just shake my head in utter disbelief and jealousy.

So yes I vote keep going ahead with it, I think it will turn out great and I STILL wont understand it

Let's hope

 

[narcninja]

Update...I contacted the realtor I just got my house with and she is supposed to talk to the 25 agents at her agency. I know that's not much but it's a start. I'm also searching on Elance for contractors to get a mailing list together for insurance agencies as mentioned before but also realtors across the US.

Still waiting to hear back from the insurance company.

 

[andviv]

A couple, friends of mine, got back home one day to find out they have been robbed.

It seems the robbers entered through the patio door.

they help themselves to all her jewlery.

Estimated loss? $25,000.

Insurance coverage? $1,000

Insurance deductible? $500

Total received? $500

What happened?

They did not itemized and inventoried their stuff

Insurance policy was clear about this, itemize or take the standard coverage

They did not know enough about it back then when they got the insurance

So they had a big loss with this one

Problem is, your app will have to educate people about it

Also, not sure how well insurance companies will receive this (instead of covering ~$20K in losses, they will only pay $500 hmmm)

So clearly there is a need, but the public does not know it

In any case.... great looking site, congrats!

 

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[healthstatus]

I would suggest that you add information on purchase date, warranty information and model numbers for items. You could send out recall notices, maintenance alerts, warranty expiration, host replacement part lists, online manual links. So not only is it an inventory, but a centralized info center on the stuff you own. Throw a front end phone app on it, then when you are at the hardware store and your fridge bulb has burned out and you didn't bring it with you, you could look up online what the replacement specs are.

 

[narcninja]

A couple, friends of mine, got back home one day to find out they have been robbed.

It seems the robbers entered through the patio door.

they help themselves to all her jewlery.

Estimated loss? $25,000.

Insurance coverage? $1,000

Insurance deductible? $500

Total received? $500

What happened?

They did not itemized and inventoried their stuff

Insurance policy was clear about this, itemize or take the standard coverage

They did not know enough about it back then when they got the insurance

So they had a big loss with this one

Problem is, your app will have to educate people about it

Also, not sure how well insurance companies will receive this (instead of covering ~$20K in losses, they will only pay $500 hmmm)

So clearly there is a need, but the public does not know it

In any case.... great looking site, congrats!

As we speak I'm getting an animated video made explaining a situation like this for my "Why Inventory" page. Thanks for the compliments.

 

[narcninja]

I would suggest that you add information on purchase date, warranty information and model numbers for items. You could send out recall notices, maintenance alerts, warranty expiration, host replacement part lists, online manual links. So not only is it an inventory, but a centralized info center on the stuff you own. Throw a front end phone app on it, then when you are at the hardware store and your fridge bulb has burned out and you didn't bring it with you, you could look up online what the replacement specs are.

A few of those I already had in mind and am working on creating that feature set. The idea machine keeps churning for me. There seems like there's so much you can do for people with this application. I want to be the Mint.com of people's stuff. Reports out the wazoo and features they couldn't have imagined to make managing their stuff easier.

Now it's just getting there.

 

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[narcninja]

One thing that's been on my mind with this niche is that there are other applications that are free or cheaper. It's a bit scary as they have been cropping up mid development, which means I'm not moving fast enough.

Now, I know this doesn't always equate to value. I may have the solution that someone is willing to pay for. I just hope that I can find an area to dominate where the others fall behind.

Any ideas or insight on this?

 

[andviv]

Any ideas or insight on this?

Have third parties pay for it?

For example, if an insurance company uses your site as "the approved" site to maintain the inventory, then you are golden.

They could pay you, say, $1 per user per month, or something like that.

Not sure if that would work, but worth checking into.

 

[CommonCents]

The sticking point to yours and any free apps is data entry. A huge portion of the market wont do the work to inventory their stuff. A solution could be charging a fee and have local contractors do the work. You'd have a better value proposition as the stuff will actually be inventoried and itemized. The homeowner doesnt have to think as they'd be prompted by your contractor. Secondly, you could have a business opportunity revenue stream by charging contractors an application fee and % split. Millions of people are looking for part time jobs.

I think you might have better luck with businesses for insurance itemization, asset control, employee theft etc...you could also inventory excess/obsolete inventory and list it for sale for them for a fee and %split when sold.

 

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[Fisherman]

site is great! Your copy is very good for your first site.

the idea on the other hand sucks hard...

my suggestion is offer the service for free... hook up with insurance companies... offer discounts to customers for filling their inventory and sell leads to insurance companies..

 

[narcninja]

The sticking point to yours and any free apps is data entry. A huge portion of the market wont do the work to inventory their stuff.

I hope to alleviate this with the iPhone app but I understand this is a problem

A solution could be charging a fee and have local contractors do the work. You'd have a better value proposition as the stuff will actually be inventoried and itemized. The homeowner doesnt have to think as they'd be prompted by your contractor. Secondly, you could have a business opportunity revenue stream by charging contractors an application fee and % split. Millions of people are looking for part time jobs.

This seems like a lot more overhead if you actually keep employees, but now if you have some sort of contractor sign up program or like a sign up sales rep to sell the local work, it seems fine. However, I still wouldn't want to be responsible for any real employees with this wide of a reach.

I think you might have better luck with businesses for insurance itemization, asset control, employee theft etc...you could also inventory excess/obsolete inventory and list it for sale for them for a fee and %split when sold.

I plan on integrating selling on eBay into the program, so this would be built in for residential and businesses alike.

 

[narcninja]

the idea on the other hand sucks hard...

The pricing, or the entire idea?

my suggestion is offer the service for free... hook up with insurance companies... offer discounts to customers for filling their inventory and sell leads to insurance companies..

I toyed with using this method for so long. In my mind, it was really the clear step to becoming the "Mint.com" of belongings. This is how Mint makes their money but with credit cards, so it's a model that seems to work.

However, I don't know how easy/willing insurance companies are to shell out commissions for referrals. On one hand, it's business...but on the other, they are losing out when a inventory is well documented. It also plays into my fear of what MJ warned about being dependent on someone else's constraints in affiliate marketing.

I really just don't know what's better on this point.

 

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[Amail]

Don't know why this didn't occur to me earlier. A long-time friend of the family has been in the insurance industry forever. Specifically, she represents insurance companies at disaster sites. When a tornado rips thru a neighborhood, she shows up.

I was going to suggest talking to people who've suffered insurance losses and ask their advice on how to sell this service. They might have some good suggestions. Then I thought of Randi, who has dealt with thousands of people in this exact situation.

I'll let you know what she says, and if she's got anything really useful I'll put you two together.

 

[johnp]

Like a lot of people pointed out..I would offer this for free and try to get insurance companies involved. But I think that you are also in a interesting position because you can do so much more with this (through the future). In one sense it looks like you are creating a massive data mine for the inventory in one's home. All of the inventory must comes from somewhere, correct? My bed for example is from Ikea. I'm not sure what sort of information that you are collecting because your site has not loaded on my slow connection yet. But if I were you, then I would focus on getting as much information as possible from as many people as possible. For example, collect information (if you are not already) on where the items came from (stores, ebay, etc..). Where did the dishwasher come from, where did your couch from from, etc..). You can collect, re-shape, and probably sell the data in different ways to stores. Or better yet, place advertisements into your site that match people's interests. If for example, I tend to buy stuff from Ikea, then maybe more Ikea ads will appear. A cool future tool could be something that suggests that some inventory might be getting old (aka the dishwasher) and referring the user to a place that sells dishwashers. Better yet, you could have the system stream ads to older items that might be ready to break down after x number of days that pass. I think that would create a high click through rate on your advertisements.
If I were a loca business then this data would interest me. I would want to know who has had a dishwasher for 5 years vs who has had one for a shorter period of time. It could help with targeting big time. Especially because stores cannot track people who don't buy from them. Best buy might be able to track you if you buy a computer from them, but what if you don't? How do they track you?

So what I'm trying to get at is 1) don't charge 10/month, 2) This goes deeper than insurance. You have the opportunity to collect a lot of cool information about what's going within the home, something that people like to keep private. I think you can do some cool things with the data in the future. So you should really focus on getting a massive amount of people using this, while gathering the most amount of information as possible.

Even though I probably wouldn't use the app, I think it's a great idea and i know about 50 people who would!

 

[narcninja]

Don't know why this didn't occur to me earlier. A long-time friend of the family has been in the insurance industry forever. Specifically, she represents insurance companies at disaster sites. When a tornado rips thru a neighborhood, she shows up.

I was going to suggest talking to people who've suffered insurance losses and ask their advice on how to sell this service. They might have some good suggestions. Then I thought of Randi, who has dealt with thousands of people in this exact situation.

I'll let you know what she says, and if she's got anything really useful I'll put you two together.

I greatly appreciate this.

I thought about even doing a Red Cross donation style promotion....like every sign up we donate $5 to the Red Cross. I still may do this yet but that hinges on if I continue to charge for plans.

 

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[narcninja]

So what I'm trying to get at is 1) don't charge 10/month, 2) This goes deeper than insurance. You have the opportunity to collect a lot of cool information about what's going within the home, something that people like to keep private. I think you can do some cool things with the data in the future. So you should really focus on getting a massive amount of people using this, while gathering the most amount of information as possible.

Even though I probably wouldn't use the app, I think it's a great idea and i know about 50 people who would!

This is the mint.com philosophy, the alternate route to me, that I considered going down. This gives me some things to think about.

 

[Amail]

You've got a PM.

 

[Amail]

Start another website selling the same service from the "Doom and Gloom" perspective. There's big money in emergency preparedness. Lots of people don't need convincing - they just need to know what to buy. Try marketing to people that are interested in:
Emergency food and water supplies
Guns and ammo for protection during the looming social meltdown
Survivalists
People that are interested in Sticking it to the Man - "Do you hate having to pay premiums to some fat-cat home insurance company? Now you can make sure to gouge them for every last cent if you have a claim. Don't let the greedy bastards rip you off!"

It is the same service you're selling, but a different mindset.

 

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[narcninja]

An update to all following this:

Was sick over the weekend but felt guilty about not working on anything…just too hazy.

Getting the video wrapped up today, will post it this week when it gets on YouTube. Got someone to email my prospect list, no responses yet. I'm starting to wonder how much insurance companies can even "love" something like my product. I feel like I might have better luck with realtors. I'm having a limited amount per day sent so I don't end up looking like spam to Gmail. I hope I don't end up looking like spam anyhow to the reader.

Getting the SEO rolled out with a company on Elance, will be some time before I see that reap a benefit. However, I myself am going through my little black book of websites I collected a long time ago that I need to comment/contact on.

One thing that occurred to me that I would love to do is have guest bloggers write articles for Denventory about anything home insurance, home security, home safety, disaster recovery, etc....after looking at Mint (I can't quit, can I?) I see this is how they do it. This seems more beneficial to have someone who is somewhat of an expert in the field writing these articles vs someone who's getting paid to research the surface level amount of knowledge.

Been toiling over the free vs paid model, serious toiling. Johnp's advice rang deep and I'm starting to realize the full benefit, but I am trying to get my head around just HOW profitable a free sign up but ad based system could be versus a paid plan. I know there's tons of examples that are obvious (Facebook, Google, etc) but it requires an enormous user base. Maybe it wouldn't take that many to see something roll in, I'm just not sure.

Will also be changing up the copy on the front thanks to Sue's advice...they need to be benefits and not features.

 

[CommonCents]

You could do a hybrid or "freemium" too. Have some basic functionality free, but offer better tools, experience, bells/whistles as an upgrade so you get both of best worlds.