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Was it really that bad? Calacanis can come across as a bit full of himself, but I've often gained an insight or two from his posts.
1,513 karma · joined March 7, 2008
Was it really that bad? Calacanis can come across as a bit full of himself, but I've often gained an insight or two from his posts.
Perhaps if there were a case study of some sort up on your page? Right now, it just looks like a to do list stitched into Facebook, and that's not what we're needing.
Have you been designing this product to match the requirements of an existing software company which is selling product today, or are you trying to match the requirements you think you will have once your planned product sells?
To use a tortured analogy, large companies are like container ships plodding along a pre-defined course [they know exactly where they're going to be four weeks from now] whereas smaller developers are on the scale of Leif Erickson [we're headed 'thataway', hope to find something really valuable in the process, but realize we're going to have to change course every day to adapt to the winds, current and coastline we're discovering if we've any hope of surviving this adventure]. If you're enabling large-company planning processes for independent developers, there may be a mis-match in your marketing.
If you've not yet sat down with some small software companies to find out just what they would find helpful, I'd suggest you do so before proceeding further. You don't want to find yourself creating the perfect product for a non-existent need -- that way leads to madness.
Those people who can determine what people want don't just snap their fingers and pop out an idea. An iterative process is followed to produce that initial product. With your iPod example, a music player which is small, elegant and easy to use [so drop all the extra features the competitors have which nobody uses -- and which features are those?] took a great deal of research to spec out.
I see what you're saying and agree that product development is an iterative process, but without marketing you're depending upon luck getting you to that final result; and you'll run out of cash long before you reach that point.
I couldn't be bothered to buy a condom case either. I also couldn't be arsed to use Twitter but I'm not the target market for either of those products, so both companies would only waste resources if they attempted to match my needs.
Consider marketing the social component of design. In the whole "Make Something People Want" bit, marketing identifies the "something people want" part. "Make" is important, but it doesn't mean jack if you're making the wrong thing.
It sounds as though this guy might have had a good market for condom cases ( http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=condom+cases ), particularly in the 80s when the things were just coming out from behind the pharmacist's counter, but he didn't pursue that initially and his second attempt appears to have been an approximation of what people actually wanted to buy.
If he instead identified what people wanted (reliable condom cases) and delivered that instead of a novelty which sold well to Bangkok tourists, he may have had a business.
Although research of his supply chain was extremely bad, it doesn't seem as though correcting it would have saved his first misdirected attempt at a product.
I also suspect a bit more research would have shown that empty cases (which the customer would fill with their own product) would sell just as well. Instead, he plowed on through to obtain more inventory (wasn't discarding expired inventory the inspiration for the product in the first place?) and meet regulations (instructions, etc.) that he probably didn't even need.
Do your marketing up-front, folks. A well-designed product that doesn't address a market isn't much better than this guy's box of greasy, plastic-covered condoms.
Will these people be offering genuine marketing (tailoring and designing your product to address specifically identified markets) or will they just be 'sales guys'?
If these folks will just be bringing in contacts and shilling the work you create, I'd recommend offering them a very lucrative commission on sales instead. Say, a ridiculously high percentage for the first n-years, with that amount declining over time to a regular commission as scale and sales revenue increases. Then, these people will only be rewarded (and rewarded handsomely) if they deliver on what they say they can produce while you retain full ownership of the intellectual property you will have 100% role and responsibility in creating.
If you are Canadian and want to start a business, you can find everything you need on starting (and running) a corporation here: http://www.ic.gc.ca/cgi-bin/sc_mrksv/corpdir/corpFiling/regi...
The time and resources required for incorporation are a good metric, but since the difference in the top-ten is only a matter of hours it looks trivial. In far too many nations, it's not.
Damn, do I feel spoiled watching a modest app compile in a few seconds today!
Sexual activity aside, human creative activity did not 'produce beings of greater intelligence'.
If the average person is granted the ability to manufacture their own reality without any need for earthy concerns, one might think evolutionary forces would push people into becoming marginally intelligent beings focused on decadence.
Think of a filing cabinet(1) as an exception or error handler. In a perfect world, you could just burn your receipts and statements after you've finished with them. In our imperfect world, it saves you a world of hurt when you can snatch that stuff at a moment's notice.
(1)(Do sell the filing cabinet though: Bankers boxes are much easier to move about or squirrel away in the closet).
As there is no such thing as "The New Economy" a recession will come next.
Rather than get me fat, starting a company pushed me to build the body I'd always wanted.
Shouldn't a service be priced to reflect usage?
A new alt-key should be as difficult to master as a new coffee mug: You look at it for a fraction of a second and then put it into regular use without any further thought.
If you have to find keys, memorize them and 'practice, practice, practice', it's a sign you may need to master the basic tools of your profession first.
Patek Philippe may prattle on about how their watches are meant to be passed on to descendents, but this is something whose use is explicitly dependent upon outliving you. Heck, losing it adds to its value!
I'm not one for knick-knacks but I'd love to own one of these. Even as a fad, profitable sales could considerably increase their number and geographic distribution while reducing their cost (hand made at $25k? There must be a way to automate that!).
It's Apple's answer to the 2004 problem: "All phones will soon include free MP3 players. As this will eliminate the iPod cash cow, how do we compete with these new telecom competitors?
"Answer: We'll add a phone to our MP3 player."
Relevant "It's on the Internet so it must be true" discussion at: http://www.nasawatch.com/archives/2008/08/todays_video_sh_1....