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krispetek

44 karma · joined March 26, 2014

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krispetek··on Ask HN: Crowdfunding for goals, offering services in return. Viable idea?
OP here... here's the link if you want to check it out https://www.taskwer.com
krispetek··on Raising Funds for an App by Providing Web Development Services
Hi guys,

I'm the guy behind Taskwer. Taskwer is a crowdfuding platform which allows people to raise funds for their goals e.g. education, travel, business ventures etc. What makes Taskwer different is that people don't have to ask for donations, instead they can offer services. Services can range from in-person services like tutoring, baby sitting, home repair and online services like writing, graphic design, software development etc.

I've been building this app for some time now, most features have been implemented but there is still a lot of work to do, many features I would like to add but even more importantly, I have to focus on getting users and building community around it. This project has been bootstrapped so far and I don't have a marketing budget for it so I would like to raise $20,000 to take this app to the next level.

Also, raising funds for something and offering services in return is a new concept and with this campaign I want to see if this is a viable concept. I will be my first user and I will see first hand if this is something people find useful or not.

krispetek··on Ask HN: I spent months building an app and now I don't know how to get users
Hey, good to hear someone was looking for something like that. The idea to create my own campaign to raise marketing funds is a great one, thanks a lot. Regarding investors, I would like to get at least some users first, know that this thing works and then go talk to the investors.
krispetek··on Ask HN: I spent months building an app and now I don't know how to get users
Well, it is in a way, but with a story. People can raise funds for something, very often very important like paying rent or mortgage so it's not just work-money exchange between them. It's more, when a person buys a service, they also did something good, they helped someone.
krispetek··on Ask HN: I spent months building an app and now I don't know how to get users
Hmmm... I don't see it as a charity. Campaign creators create their campaigns and offer their services. People in their community can buy those services. Let's say a person who has a full-time job, a person you know, wants to raise $1000 to help pay her rent and offers babysitting services in return. You need this service and instead of searching for someone you don't know, you hire that person. At the same time, you get a job done and you know you did a good things and helped her pay her rent.
krispetek··on Ask HN: I spent months building an app and now I don't know how to get users
This is a very interesting feedback and yes, I agree completely, especially the part where you say that this is how communities already work. The reason why, at least in my mind, Taskwer makes sense is that it makes spreading the word easier. Let's say you want to raise $1000 for something, you will have to get in touch with your friends, it will take time to spread the word about it. What Taskwer allows you is to create a campaign, tell your story and offer services and it's all in one place, on one page which is very easy to share online so when you share it with your friends, they could support you and share it to their friends and in a couple of hours your campaign could reach quite a lot of people who wouldn't know about it otherwise. Just like GoFundMe campaigns, most donators are people who campaign creators know already. That's at least my opinion.
krispetek··on Ask HN: I spent months building an app and now I don't know how to get users
Yeah, I like this idea a lot, another user also recommended something similar. As I don't have a marketing budget right now, creating a campaign to raise funds for it makes a lot of sense and it would show people how the platform really works. Thanks a lot!
krispetek··on Ask HN: I spent months building an app and now I don't know how to get users
You know, this is very nice idea, I like it a lot, thanks a lot for this.
krispetek··on Ask HN: I spent months building an app and now I don't know how to get users
Thanks, after so much time, I feel like I just wasted a lot of time, so some encouragement means a lot.
krispetek··on Ask HN: I spent months building an app and now I don't know how to get users
> So it sounds like of like Upwork/Fiverr/etc, but with a story about why the person is trying to raise money, and an end date/amount for their offer?

More like GoFundMe because there is a cause and Taskrabbit as people are offering services.

> And if I'm making decent money through your platform, why would I want to stop when I reach the $1000 goal (or whatever I set)?

Right now, the focus is on raising funds for a cause with a time limit. There may be option to offer services indefinitely, like TaskRabbit, in the future, but that's not something I'm thinking about right now, I have to get some users first to see if this whole idea even makes sense and iterations in any direction can always come later as the project grows, if it grows.

> If you're pushing the local angle Yes, I'm pushing the local angle, I think this platform would work best if creators and supporters know each other directly or through people they know. That way a lot of scams could also be avoided.

In case the service isn't delivered, or you're not happy, you can report it using the support system and we'll try to resolve it. If you paid with card, there will be an option to get a refund and if you selected cash payments, you would have to resolve that with the campaign creator on the spot.

And yes, you will be able to see current campaigns in your area but first I need to get some users and campaigns. :) Published campaigns are just placeholders so people could see how campaigns should work.

krispetek··on Ask HN: I spent months building an app and now I don't know how to get users
Thanks for taking the time to check it out, you got it 100% right.

> I have no idea how to market this.

This made me laugh, thanks man one more time. :)

krispetek··on Ask HN: I spent months building an app and now I don't know how to get users
My idea was to build an app for someone, as you said is undergoing a rough patch and doesn't want to ask for donations, instead they want to take situations into their own hands. And supporters should be people around them, people in their community, their friends, friends of their friends, people who have a need for their services and want to help creators at the same time. By going hyper-local, I wanted to avoid strangers and fraudsters buying services as much as possible.

Campaigns on the landing page are just placeholder campaigns to show how it works. I apologize for not making it clear enough. I will fix that.

krispetek··on Ask HN: I spent months building an app and now I don't know how to get users
I'm struggling quite a bit with market positioning and that's why I need people to give me some feedback. Thanks man!
krispetek··on Ask HN: I spent months building an app and now I don't know how to get users
Thanks man, design is something that I struggle with as I'm a developer so it took several iterations to create it this way.
krispetek··on Ask HN: I spent months building an app and now I don't know how to get users
Order details are discussed between creator and supporter before confirming the order. After the task has been completed, supporter has to confirm it and then the funds are updated. When cash payments are involved, it's about tracking the campaign progress.
krispetek··on Ask HN: I spent months building an app and now I don't know how to get users
Exactly, creators should offer services in their community to people they know and people their friends know. I know there are multiple platforms that give people the ability to offer their services but they are based on good reputation and ratings which takes a long time to build. The idea behind Taskwer is to have a place where people who need to raise funds quickly, can come, create a campaign, offer services mostly to people they know and raise funds for their cause that way.
krispetek··on Ask HN: I spent months building an app and now I don't know how to get users
The idea is to give people a place where they could offer their services like tutoring, babysitting, home repairs, etc, services that they can provide after their work, like a side jobs to raise some extra funds for their cause.

Regarding example campaigns, yes, they are placeholder campaigns, just to show how they are supposed to look.

krispetek··on Ask HN: I spent months building an app and now I don't know how to get users
> gofundme/Taskrabbit?

Yes, Taskwer has elements of both. As I said in my previous comment, it's different from GoFundMe in a way that campaign creators don't have to ask for donations, instead, they can offer services to people in their community. Taskrabbit gives taskers the ability to offer various tasks and people go there in a search of someone who will perform those tasks. Rating system is very important there and taskers with best rating will get most of the jobs and new members will have much harder time getting them. It takes quite a while to build a reputation and this is what I wanted to avoid with Taskwer. Taskwer is for people who need to raise funds quickly by offering services to their friends, friends of their friends etc, much more similar to GoFundMe in that way.

Thanks for advice on marketing, that is something I don't know how to do but I will have to learn obviously.

krispetek··on Ask HN: I spent months building an app and now I don't know how to get users
Hey, thanks for checking it out. Well, it's different from GoFundMe in a way that people don't have to ask for donations; many people don't like that. Instead, they offer services in their community. Also, supporters, on the other hand, get something in return for their contributions, which I believe would incentivize them to support campaign creators.