Ask YC: Rate My Start-up Markets.Com | Hacker News Reader

Ask YC: Rate My Start-up Markets.Com

12 pointsMarkets15 comments

Despite the great domain name, just launched this week...trying to push original material. Thoughts on how I can make it better? What else to add/change?

Thanks,

Armando

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Great domain and–I think–potential to be a great site ... you do have some stiff competition on the other hand.

I only looked for a second, but here's what I noticed:

- Having video is great, but I'd try to improve the quality. I would come in a little tighter on the girl and try to light her better (she seems real flat). Search around and you'll find some good video lighting tutorials.

- You should definitely have some RSS feeds linked off the home page. I'd say at least 1 for the reports and 1 for the videos.

- Since you're not actually selling anything, you definitely want to capture as much user data as possible. I'd suggest allowing people to create accounts and set preferences. Maybe do something like widgetize the home page–let people put their favorite stocks, markets, and news categories on the home page.

How did you get the domain name?

I really hope we get an answer to this -- really curious!

great domain name. I would think your scrolling data marque could be done in javascript rather than as a java plugin (it failed in Chrome, but works in FF).

Also, you need a search box so I can check out prices without waiting for it to pop up.

Sure, your girl is cute, but you need more dynamism in the video. Better graphics, more things around, etc. Assuming that you are thinking the video is going to be a business driver. Also, looks like your full screen of the video player doesn't work.

thank you for your comments. Iam interested in hearing more about what specific content and customization you feel we should start offering. thank you. Armando

One thing is certain, you got a great domain name.

Not necessarily. Perhaps it's easy to remember and it more easily found in search, but it's harder to build a brand around a generic name like markets.com. Bloomberg, The Street, and The Motley Fool have the advantage in this space.

That's a moot point. When you have an AAA generic like markets.com you don't need to brand it; the whole sector is yours to own!

Well done on securing this very valuable name.

I'm sure the companies behind news.com, blogs.com, tickets.com, shoes.com, and most others with generic names would argue that it's not moot, that it's the exception and not the rule. You still have to make something people want, something they can't get elsewhere. markets.com doesn't seem to have that, at least not yet. It's hard to be unique in the news aggregation niche.

provide some value.

there doesn't really appear to be anything there that provides anything there that isn't already readily available in other places.

Aggregating market information is good, but there is so much out there that does it already that it'd be better to have even ONE thing that gives someone a unique reason to go to markets.com

Wow, that's an amazing domain.

I like the site... a bit cluttered though, yes. Gradient at the top also is kind of cheesy.

Your interface seems a bit cluttered. I would try to clean up the frontpage a bit.

www.markets.com

Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com) Domain Name: MARKETS.COM Created on: 03-Aug-94 Expires on: 02-Aug-17 Last Updated on: 30-Sep-08

You've been sitting on this name for a while?

you found a cute girl to read the news :D

taking a card from that bartoloromo girl whatever her name is (prepares to be flamed by the fanboys)

site looks good other than the ads are low on the page if they're your source of revenue

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