Home Inventory Web App - Ready to make it big

[andviv]

narcninja, take a look at this article found today by the news aggregator here in the forum:

6 best home apps - MyHome Scr.app.book (1) - CNNMoney

MyHome Scr.app.book

Great for: Preparing for disaster
Price: Free
Available for: Android, iPhone

A detailed list of your possessions is crucial if disaster strikes. This app, developed by insurance regulators, makes creating one easy: Photograph your stuff and enter information, such as what you paid. Then store the report you'll get by e-mail in a safe place.

This validates your market even more....

 

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[EastWind]

I love your site layout, beautiful. It inspired me to reskin and resign my site, and I've been at it this week.

 

[narcninja]

Well, right now I'm on the front page of KillerStartups.com, but here's the article. Denventory Founder Austin Kelly On Self-Funding, Outsourcing & Bears.

As for the site, I have hired a new programming team (Not the Swedes) and they have been wonderful. Been on voice chat/Google Doc with them on new features and it seems to be going very smooth. I find myself so involved in making the actual app better than I somewhat forget about adding the features in that will make money.

Once I get those in place, I think I will remove the 15 item limit. I may do it sooner. I know exactly what direction I want to go with the app and its features except for how to monetize it, that's kind of a slew of methods at the moment. Maybe it always is, maybe it should always come from different methods in an app like this...?

I haven't reached out to any more real estate agents like I should. I don't think I should try the email route again though. I read on one thread around here about Linkedin groups, I joined a few and plan on introducing myself and Denventory. To be honest, I don't think the app is where it needs to be yet to do that sort of connecting. I don't want to leave a bad impression.

Using Twitter has been more fruitful than I thought, finding companies to follow then emailing them leaves an nice impression. I've had some shout outs I didn't think I would get.

That's about it for now!

 

[Nick]

For a one man show, you have done quite a lot, congratulations. Your website looks very professional - have not checked the app myself yet- like a VC backed startup. I hope you have your first paying customer soon. How much have you put in the business so far?

(When and if you want to develop an iphone app as you said, you can give me a message)

Good luck.

 

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[narcninja]

For a one man show, you have done quite a lot, congratulations. Your website looks very professional - have not checked the app myself yet- like a VC backed startup. I hope you have your first paying customer soon. How much have you put in the business so far?

(When and if you want to develop an iphone app as you said, you can give me a message)

Good luck.

Thanks a lot!

Having my first 'paid' customer is a bit tricky for me, as I'm still trying to figure out if I want to keep the plans. I definitely plan on removing the 15 item limit for the free account. However, I don't know what kind of 'pain point' I should have for people to upgrade. Also, I don't know how much of a % of income this should/would account for versus insurance referrals, product placement ads, and ebay commissions.

I am struggling on the belief in fully monetizing off the aforementioned methods instead of payment plans.

I answered you privately but I'll say to everyone that I've spent under 5k but I'd have to check my Quickbooks.

 

[narcninja]

Not really an update but just a brainstorm. I've had lots of great feedback from the users here and I really appreciate it. I truly do.

I'm now trying to zero in on monetization models and trying to decide which one is best, or which combination is best. I have a few in mind and want the forum opinion. One thing to keep in mind is that it must be advantageous to use on both the web app and mobile platform.

1. My first model I originally had, which I don't think is viable in it's original form, is having pricing plans. I thought first to limit the free account to 15 items and the next plan, $100 a year plan, had unlimited items. The other two tiers allowed for other things like multiple properties and/or unlimited items.

I have seen so many other free web apps (albeit not as slick as what I'm aiming for) online that I feel this exact setup is no longer viable. However, I still think there is money to be made with pricing plans. Offering multiple properties and/or other features for a paid plan I think would still work...just trying to figure out what features people would actually upgrade for.

2. My second revision of the monetization model is to have the free account have unlimited items with one property. I will call this the Mint.com approach. This would hopefully incite a mass 'viral' appeal. I would then make money via home insurance affiliate referrals, allowing users to sell their items directly to eBay, and also maybe presenting product ads using data based on what the user owns. This one feels like it could have potential but just not sure how much there is to be made off of this. The one problem with this is it provides for some complications on the mobile app.

3. The latest idea I've been kicking around is letting the user buy 'virtual' points, where they can spend what they need to add items or what not. Somewhat like MailCheat(Chimp) lets you flex your plan or do a 'pay-per-use' style. Not sure what I think about this model.

4. And of course there are things like re-branding and banner ads...I haven't put much thought into how I would set this up but this may be a very viable method as well...

So there you have it...I hope I can get some great feedback on what the community thinks of these models. Also, if any of you want to PM me feel free to do that as well

 

[futhey]

First off, great idea with loads of potential, but work on your execution. Your pricing model is not viable and the market will not bear it out (Although I think you have already discovered this).

My first recommendation is to move from the "Subscription" model to impulse buy. People are very likely to change their mind about how much they really think they want or need this down the road. Make them an offer they can't refuse for lifetime membership.

While we're on the point of marketing, my second recommendation is your site needs to be a lot more doom and gloom, much scarier (Think Security/Fear from Maslow's hierarchy of needs). Look to the ad copy for renters' insurance. They are essentially doing exactly what you need to emulate. The sell the buyer on how screwed they will be if someone breaks into their house and steals their crap and how scary it will be, unless, of course, you buy their product.

As far as the app goes, let people take pictures of their item and the serial number quickly and this will save them a ton of time cataloging their stuff. Also look into bar codes and OCR character recognition (Worked great on one of my own projects). Many items can be looked up in a database from a UPC OR the model number on the label (Think TVs, consumer electronics). Best yet, this can be done server side with the tweaking of a few existing libraries, so you don't need a complicated (expensive) app.

 

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[Kfleming]

I would then make money via home insurance affiliate referrals, allowing users to sell their items directly to eBay, and also maybe presenting product ads using data based on what the user owns.

I think this model is much more viable. The value is in being able match users with products and services using the data you collect. You also may want to check out CreditKarma and PageOnce - both services are using a similar model - I work with CreditKarma and know that they are KILLING it right now.

 

[narcninja]

I think this model is much more viable. The value is in being able match users with products and services using the data you collect. You also may want to check out CreditKarma and PageOnce - both services are using a similar model - I work with CreditKarma and know that they are KILLING it right now.

I'm determined to have a "Ways to Save" page like Mint.com. I think this will be beneficial. I'll also try to tie in contractors for hire in their area for home improvement work.

I am just not getting the traffic I need and I'm hoping when I fully convert it to free with unlimited items that picks up. I imagine the app will help too.

 

[LamboMP]

how many sign ups so far?

 

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[narcninja]

how many sign ups so far?

It's very hard to tell but from what I can tell it's little to none. I need to re-design my admin back end to tell me this information more easily.

Most are just test accounts, I am not sure if it's contractors from Elance or just people testing the waters. :sigh:

 

[narcninja]

Is there anyone on the forums that has played around with highly targeted product ad networks or has some knowledge about the best platform to use for something like this for products?

I am also trying to gain some more knowledge about how credit card and home loan offers work. This is another way of how I'm hoping to monetize off the app instead of charging monthly/yearly...seems like I'm going in circles and just needing some expert opinion.

I could always sign up with an ad agency like CJ.com but I'm trying to look for something more targeted that has like a zip code lookup or a calculator already built in or an API to use.

Another idea that I think has serious potential is to create my own ad platform where advertisers can have their own banner ad or suggested product list that will be shown to the user.

 

[narcninja]

Hello all,

I know I haven't updated in a while...I guess I'll let you know what's going on...even though it doesn't feel like much. One thing that really sucks right now....I NEED USERS. The big points are the following:

- I got in direct contact with a certain disaster organization's director of digital products and have been in talks about cross-promoting opportunities...no clue what's in store with this but they recently released a new hurricane watch app for the iPhone and Android and it seems like there may (hopefully) be room for a referral to Denventory in the app.

- I am in touch with the Founder of "The Inventory Institute", they are a group that trains home inventory professionals and home inventory businesses. I suspect there's an opportunity to fine tune Denventory to meet some of their needs for their clients. However, I'm having trouble understanding how I could sell them this application when it's already free to users. Give them a re-branding opportunity or possibly a 'agent dashboard management' account?

- No iPhone app yet. This is my cry to help for anyone who is interested in working for me or with me on an app. Or even if you know someone who is good at this work for cheap(er).

I'm really trying to figure out my target market at the moment. It seems like a silly thing to ask THIS far in the game, but it's a conundrum. Should I target the older crowd who is going to want to PAY somebody to inventory their home? Thus partnering with home inventory specialists and charging. Or should I make it free for normal users and make money off ads, sponsorships, product recommendations, etc. Also, is there room for both?

Did I mention the one thing that really sucks right now? In case I didn't....I NEED USERS.

I'm always willing to talk more than you would think. I'm in the lonely-and-I-have-no-clue-if-I'm-doing-this-right phase. If anyone has some advice to impart but chooses not to on the forum for some reason, feel free to hit me up on my Skype listed in my profile.

Enough rambles.

 

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[andviv]

The agent console sounds like a great feature.

- No iPhone app yet. This is my cry to help for anyone who is interested in working for me or with me on an app. Or even if you know someone who is good at this work for cheap(er).

What's your budget for this?

 

[narcninja]

What's your budget for this?

HOPEFULLY, under $500. I'd do all design. It's just going to be basic add/view/delete with scan capability....no reporting for now.

 

[narcninja]

Bumping to see if anyone has suggestions or some leads. Thanks.

 

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[awesom-o]

Any updates on this?
See you have made the change to making the service free
Has this eased your sign up situation?

 

[AlasdairM]

I haven't read through this entire thread, so sorry if this has already been suggested.

If you can find a relatively cheap way to drive potential customers to your site (e.g., press releases, radio shows, local/national newspaper articles, real estate agents etc.), you could have a big honking banner (or as just part of your header graphic) advertising something to the effect of "Inventorying all your stuff is a lot of work. Get in touch with one of our recommended partners to get your stuff inventoried. Click here for more info..."

Using geo-targeting, you could supply them with a list of companies in their local area who can do the work for them.

You could charge inventorying companies $50-100/month (more? you'd have to experiment) to be listed on your site. Or, you could sell leads to companies for $X/lead after capturing a person's name and phone number.

The potential for this is enormous. Large cities could be broken down into areas, and towns etc. would each represent an area. In the US alone, there has to be thousands of such areas. You could limit the number of such companies to three, for example, thereby allowing you to raise your monthly rate.

Some people will use your app for free, and there are ways to monetize that, as many people here have already suggested, but many will want someone else to do the work for them.

To my mind, if I had such an inventorying business, paying $50-100/month for several strong leads a month would be a no-brainer.

 

[narcninja]

I haven't read through this entire thread, so sorry if this has already been suggested.

If you can find a relatively cheap way to drive potential customers to your site (e.g., press releases, radio shows, local/national newspaper articles, real estate agents etc.), you could have a big honking banner (or as just part of your header graphic) advertising something to the effect of "Inventorying all your stuff is a lot of work. Get in touch with one of our recommended partners to get your stuff inventoried. Click here for more info..."

Using geo-targeting, you could supply them with a list of companies in their local area who can do the work for them.

You could charge inventorying companies $50-100/month (more? you'd have to experiment) to be listed on your site. Or, you could sell leads to companies for $X/lead after capturing a person's name and phone number.

The potential for this is enormous. Large cities could be broken down into areas, and towns etc. would each represent an area. In the US alone, there has to be thousands of such areas. You could limit the number of such companies to three, for example, thereby allowing you to raise your monthly rate.

Some people will use your app for free, and there are ways to monetize that, as many people here have already suggested, but many will want someone else to do the work for them.

To my mind, if I had such an inventorying business, paying $50-100/month for several strong leads a month would be a no-brainer.

This is a great lead gen tactic and one I would love to use. However, I don't know that I have enough popularity at the moment, and that's the inertia that's hard to build up at the moment.

 

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[AlasdairM]

This is a great lead gen tactic and one I would love to use. However, I don't know that I have enough popularity at the moment, and that's the inertia that's hard to build up at the moment.

Yeah, it's a bit of a catch 22 situation for sure. However, you may be able to utilize Adwords etc. relatively inexpensively if you target local searches to get the ball rolling.

How about contacting companies/individuals that inventory people's assets and offering them your service for their customers (they do the work, but the customer can access everything online from a smartphone etc., plus they have piece of mind that the info is safe)? Again, charging $50-100/month would be reasonable and potentially there's a huge pool of clients for you. In this case, there'd be no need to limit the number of companies you could offer this to.

 

[narcninja]

Haven't been on here in a while, thought I'd update. What a ride it's been....not so much for Denventory, but for myself and my adventure through entrepreneurship. I've been doing a lot more reading, stepping back, and analyzed my overall situation. I may have picked the wrong market and possibly targeted the wrong crowd for an app like this.

I've learned a lot about soft launching and how you should get a customer sold on the idea before even registering a domain name...in the B2B world anyway.

I can't lie, I'm let down a bit by how much effort I put into the idea without doing more due diligence, making phone calls, emailing. ASKING. LISTENING. I consider this venture as training.

It's hard to tell how much time and money to invest in this further. I've considered AlasdairM's idea and just calling home inventory businesses to see if they would be interested and what kind of product they are looking for....problem is, there isn't even much of a market for home inventory.

I'm not giving up on entrepreneurship by any means, but I might be putting Denventory on the back burner for now.

 

[andviv]

I've learned a lot about soft launching and how you should get a customer sold on the idea before even registering a domain name...in the B2B world anyway.

Speed for you. You did an amazing job in the 'product' area of your business and now realized your next topic to study: Identifying Market Needs.

It's hard to tell how much time and money to invest in this further. I've considered AlasdairM's idea and just calling home inventory businesses to see if they would be interested and what kind of product they are looking for....problem is, there isn't even much of a market for home inventory.

Well, why not? All you need to do is make some phone calls? Go for it, and get started right away in your next lesson.

P.S. I love the fact you called it 'training'

 

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[OzGrinder]

It's a shame, because the site looks so awesome and professional. You've done well.

Can I ask who you used to do the video? It's great, and I'm looking to get a similar video created for what I'm working on.

 

[FastLanePursuer]

Hey, great progress! The site is simple and clean. The video was awesome! It really got to the whole point of the site clearly. I was wondering how much it cost to design your website and was it by the group in Switzerland? Also, what about the video?

 

[CommonCents]

One business pivot you could take with this is target small/med businesses for a simple turnkey asset tracking service. Plant equipment, office equipment etc...

 

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[smithytzu]

Haven't been on here in a while, thought I'd update. What a ride it's been....not so much for Denventory, but for myself and my adventure through entrepreneurship. I've been doing a lot more reading, stepping back, and analyzed my overall situation. I may have picked the wrong market and possibly targeted the wrong crowd for an app like this.

I've learned a lot about soft launching and how you should get a customer sold on the idea before even registering a domain name...in the B2B world anyway.

I can't lie, I'm let down a bit by how much effort I put into the idea without doing more due diligence, making phone calls, emailing. ASKING. LISTENING. I consider this venture as training.

It's hard to tell how much time and money to invest in this further. I've considered AlasdairM's idea and just calling home inventory businesses to see if they would be interested and what kind of product they are looking for....problem is, there isn't even much of a market for home inventory.

I'm not giving up on entrepreneurship by any means, but I might be putting Denventory on the back burner for now.

You're giving up too easily, if there's any lesson here, it's about putting in the hard work, and continuing to refine your idea and offer the best solution available, I googled home inventory software/home inventory software free and Denventory doesn't even show up.

Look at what does show up but:
Online home inventory software | The simple, hassle-free way to manage an online home inventory list. | iKeepm
Home Inventory, Document Storage, Free Trial Software | DocuHome.com
Belongings - free home inventory software

Basically, it's your idea, but a little bit more evolved that apparently has been featured on TV around the world!

And guess what, these guys are probabally doing it fastlane.

I read some of your earilier posts and I can see you have put a lot of work into it, but you need to have the killer instinct, the desire and passion to be the absolute best no matter what it is you're doing.

If I was you I'd take a good look at some of these other sites, and if you're still passionate about Denventory, I'd do a do over and re-invent it, because it can work, if you want it enough.

Good Luck.

Ben

 

[sdotsen]

Hi,

I'm the developer of iKeepm. I wasn't sure if I was going to reply (since we're competitors and all ), but I figure a little competition doesnt hurt. Besides, we are both alike, we are entrepreneurs hungry to be successful.

Here's my advice, take it as is. I had the idea for iKeepm 3 years ago. I started to code the site in late 2010 until I stopped after lack of motivation in early 2011. It wasn't until I was on my honeymoon in Thailand in June of 2011 when I started to rethink what I was doing. I loved being there and I had dreams of striking it rich with one of my projects. It was then when I grabbed my laptop and picked up coding iKeepm. My wife wasn't too happy that I was "working" on our honeymoon, but I kept it to a minimal per day when she was at the spa or pool.

Anyways, I launched in Oct of 2011, but it didn't take off immediately. I was discouraged but it wasn't until various websites picked it up. My main objective for iKeepm was to keep it simple. The UI is very minimal and a lot of folks have emailed me to tell me that they love using the app for this reason. This is the reason I still have hope for it and why I won't give up on it anytime soon.

Bottom line, if you truly believe in what you're doing, keep at it. I haven't touched the code in almost a year, but I plan on rewriting the entire app soon. The market is there, you just need to promote it. On a "good" week I average between 5-10 sign ups. When a site has a review, I've had 200-300 signups in a few days.

I could definitely do better at grasping the opportunity to market better when this happens, but I haven't found the time. Moral of the story, there's a market for this app. What you do will dictate whether it fails or succeeds.

Good luck

 

[andviv]

I'm the developer of iKeepm. I wasn't sure if I was going to reply (since we're competitors and all ), but I figure a little competition doesnt hurt. Besides, we are both alike, we are entrepreneurs hungry to be successful.

...

Cool insight. Thanks for posting this.

 

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[narcninja]

Hi,

I'm the developer of iKeepm. I wasn't sure if I was going to reply (since we're competitors and all ), but I figure a little competition doesnt hurt. Besides, we are both alike, we are entrepreneurs hungry to be successful.

Here's my advice, take it as is. I had the idea for iKeepm 3 years ago. I started to code the site in late 2010 until I stopped after lack of motivation in early 2011. It wasn't until I was on my honeymoon in Thailand in June of 2011 when I started to rethink what I was doing. I loved being there and I had dreams of striking it rich with one of my projects. It was then when I grabbed my laptop and picked up coding iKeepm. My wife wasn't too happy that I was "working" on our honeymoon, but I kept it to a minimal per day when she was at the spa or pool.

Anyways, I launched in Oct of 2011, but it didn't take off immediately. I was discouraged but it wasn't until various websites picked it up. My main objective for iKeepm was to keep it simple. The UI is very minimal and a lot of folks have emailed me to tell me that they love using the app for this reason. This is the reason I still have hope for it and why I won't give up on it anytime soon.

Bottom line, if you truly believe in what you're doing, keep at it. I haven't touched the code in almost a year, but I plan on rewriting the entire app soon. The market is there, you just need to promote it. On a "good" week I average between 5-10 sign ups. When a site has a review, I've had 200-300 signups in a few days.

I could definitely do better at grasping the opportunity to market better when this happens, but I haven't found the time. Moral of the story, there's a market for this app. What you do will dictate whether it fails or succeeds.

Good luck

Thank you very much for your advice on the matter and sharing your own experience. I would really like to talk to you further about all this and maybe we can further aid each other. I have a few ways to get in contact with me on my profile here...hope to hear from you.

 

[andviv]

I would really like to talk to you further about all this and maybe we can further aid each other. I have a few ways to get in contact with me on my profile here...hope to hear from you.

Or you can start the conversation and email him first. No?