Nooance

Hmm, it's mixed. Yes, a culture that would force people to take Adderall would be bad (what about Caffeine though?). But there's nothing inherently wrong with giving people the tools that let them choose their own mindstate. If I want to focus, but it's not working, why would it be a problem to take something that helps you focus? How is it different from practicing meditation, or wearing noise-cancelling headphones, ceteris paribus?

And yeah, it might very well be that ceteris non paribus, but that's case-specific, and doesn't mean that giving people tools and options stops being good.

* nod * I see what you're getting at. We do have a "nootropics sampler pack" on the road map, which would make things more accessible to new users, but that doesn't address all concerns you mention.

As for Amazon... I'd think they're closer to Powder City? The focus on low cost seems to match, anyway. I'm not sure if the your model of priorities of customers applies to literally everyone — we're not trying to capture the entire nootropics market at this point, as that would seem doomed to fail.

Your final advice sounds very much like the lean startup approach — and I will readily admit that we've not been very lean, and that a lean approach would have been better. But yeah, better to gather info now than not at all.

I won't deny that being on HN gives publicity — but the request for advice is genuine. There's a lot of knowledge and experience in this community, and a much higher degree of civility and helpfulness than most places on the internet.

As for prominent people using nootropics:

Astronauts on the ISS use Modafinil and Melatonin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_medicine

There's some indication that President Obama might be using Modafinil, but the evidence is a little thin. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/03/04/the-white-h...

Dave Asprey, from the bulletproof executive uses Modafinil. https://www.bulletproofexec.com/why-you-are-suffering-from-a...

Tim Ferris from the four hour workweek uses racetams/choline. (Can dig up a source if you're interested)

Soylent's new Coffiest contains the classic Caffeine+L-Theanine combination.

Peter Thiel takes human growth hormone — although more for longevity than nootropic effect. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-12-18/investor-p...

As for why not more smart people tout their use: why would they tell the world? There's no value in it to them, and there's a lot of stigma around using "chemicals" when someone isn't ill.

I'd say our differentiator is clear information, guidance, and trustworthiness. (for the latter Jamesbeam had some strong but fair critique, so we need to work on that.)

And yeah, having those as differentiators won't be of value to long-term nootropics users, but it could be to new users. There's also value in having a product that looks good. (Honestly do let me know if you disagree with this paragraph, I'd like to test and verify my beliefs in this area)

Trying to compete with ceretropic on quality or customer service seems pointless: they're seen as perfect. It's hard to beat that — partnering with them like this seems like a much better plan. So yeah, I agree that we need a differentiator, but I feel that we do have one?

Thanks, valuable feedback.

I see what you mean with the red flags. I wasn't aware that of the association with the mailbox forwarder, that's kind of unfortunate.

As for the PhD, that's inferring a little much; it could be that he judged Nootropics.com to have a higher expected positive impact on the world. But again, yeah, I see how that would increase a customer's worries.

We're indeed still selling that batch. I'm on two minds about displaying the COA more prominently; on the one hand frequent nootropics users would be looking for it, but on the other hand, New users might find it odd? But you're the second person with this feedback, so I think I should just update.

Hmm, not sure if I entirely agree with you? Providing clear information is in itself valuable — not to everyone, but to some for sure. But also apart from that people tend to stick with what they know. If they've had a successful order from us, then switching to a different vendor would come with more uncertainty.

There's also value in having a good looking product, and value in having a place where you can comfortably send your friends without worrying that they'll buy something dangerous without knowing how it works...

These aren't universal values, some people won't be willing to pay a premium for them. But that doesn't mean that we need to be deceptive in our marketing.

My bad, by saying "very typically for reddit", I didn't mean to dismiss it, but rather that it was a mix of useful advice/feedback/helpful critique, and… unhelpful critique.

I've tried acting on the feedback to the degree possible since then (such as adding a disclaimer), but most of it seems to be around the price. I'm still not quite convinced that a webshop at this price point is unviable though; as far as I can tell there is space for a vendor with clear information and product guidelines – and that that would be worth a markup. Would you say you'd disagree? Or perhaps that you partially agree, but that the markup is still too high?

"Nootropics" is too broad, really. There's different ones with different effects. But since you mention coffee, I'd assume you're thinking about Adrafinil/Modafinil, or perhaps racetams.

Here's a study of Modafinil vs Coffee, for example. It's pretty old and has a low N, but I just mean to show that such research does exist. http://www.gwern.net/docs/modafinil/1993-warot.pdf

FDA approval, yeah that would be nice. Unfortunately there's very little public acceptance of the idea that you can take things to improve yourself even if you're already healthy. That being said, L-Theanine and Melatonin are FDA-approved.

As some background: The nootropics space is pretty hard to get into for new people. Since most vendors don’t really have clear information on what to expect, and because nootropics tend to affect people differently, it’s difficult to figure out where to start. We’re trying to focus on clarity by having clear product guidelines for every product, an elaborate introduction to nootropics, and a search/filtering system on the shop page that allows you . There’s space for improvement on this front too: On the roadmap are including an information leaflet with your order, getting superscript references on the product pages,* and offering a “nootropics sample basket” so you can try what works for you. But that didn’t seem quite as MVP.

* We have references under Further Info, but people seem to keep missing them.

Additionally, we try to focus on quality. Both in raw product, but also in presentation/design/“quality-feel”. We’ve gotten positive responses to the design of our site, boxes, and jars, and we’re aiming for people to be proud of displaying them, instead of storing a sachet in a drawer somewhere. Something that would look good as a gift.

As a further background: Nootropics are typically defined as “cognitive enhancers” or “study drugs”; things that help you focus, improve your memory, help with motivation, etc. For me nootropics has a definition that’s a little broader: Any supplement that gives you more control over your own mindstate. For example, Tianeptine might not increase your focus, but it does allow you to mitigate a bad feeling a little bit. Phenibut can help you with social anxiety. And sure, Adrafinil increases your focus and energy.

You've got a typo on the front page:

"Our powerful search capanilities will allow you to find the 3d models that are most relevant to you."

s/capanilities/capabilities/

I'm not very involved with the 3d model space, so I have little else to add about your startup. Good luck though!

I'm currently sitting on a beach, in the shade, reading this post on my phone. (And also reading up and planning the marketing for my startup, and probably writing a Facebook post and a blog post soon. Edit: Nope, still reading HN. It's getting cold though. Should've brought a blanket.)

I wouldn't universally recommend typing on your phone, but I'm (relatively) fast at it, and I can do it wherever. The limiting factor is formulating and such anyway, for me.

My current view: https://m.imgur.com/cMXoY7H