Startups How would one determine if a market exists and how to validate a product idea? |
- How would one determine if a market exists and how to validate a product idea?
- Offer of 0.05% equity in an immediate post Series A startup a with slightly below market salary rate
- How to find developers for my startup?
- Those of you using lean startup methods- what tools are you using?
- How to get started?
- Need opinions on whether to join a startup
- Start Up Head! Is this a thing?
- Shipping: Automate pre-paid shipping labels
- Everyday fighting with time whatever I do. I can not spemd my free time being 100% mind-free. Do you have this problem too? How to deal with that?
- Techstars Alums: When you give TS equity, who actually ends up sharing ownership in your company?
- Is a Coffee Shop a Start Up?
- MBA alternative, am i thinking clearly? (Civil Engineer Convert)
- Startup offer worth leaving Cozy Co?
- Should F1 OPT students work for a startup? I'm considering dropping my job and looking for a startup.
- Helping startup and looking for equity.
- If You're Successful In A Monopoly, Others Will Come — My $0.02
- What is a stretch NPS target for an initial score of 42?
| How would one determine if a market exists and how to validate a product idea? Posted: 30 Jan 2019 06:24 PM PST Hey guys, So I came up with an idea for a startup several momths back - here is what it consisted of:
Judging by the needs that that specific audience talked about, I decided to create a product to address the need - but several months later - i've gained no traction. I know we aren't supposed to ask for advice on our start up per se so that's not what i'm doing here. What I want to know is, did I do my market research wrong? How have you guys gone about doing it? I've seen SO many courses telling me to pay $1000+ to learn how to validate a product idea, oh the irony 😬 EDIT - I got clarification from mods that I can elaborate my business, so here goes: What the business is - Offering AI automated resume review for free with a premium offering being a professional (human) doing the review. Who it's for - primarily for those struggling to score an interview with their resumes (struggling job seekers) Benefits I'm offering them and cost - Instant automated resume review for free (using AI) with a premium offering that's human (costs $50) [link] [comments]  |
| Offer of 0.05% equity in an immediate post Series A startup a with slightly below market salary rate Posted: 30 Jan 2019 11:44 PM PST Is that just a slap in the face? (Mainly the equity). Company is doing well, 6M funding with a solid revenue stream. Probably 50ish employees and I'd be the 6-7th or so engineer. I'd probably be one of the most senior. The more I read the more it feels like that should be closer to .5% to even be considered competitive? I posted about this in an earlier thread, but I was more or less given a sliding scale when I tried to negotiate . That was the best equity offer , and if I wanted a better base salary I could effectively take even less equity. Is that low % normal? Or am I missing something that would easily explain it? [link] [comments]  |
| How to find developers for my startup? Posted: 31 Jan 2019 12:13 AM PST Hey founders! I have a good idea for a startup product and would like to start soon. But to implement it, I need a group of developers (Android dev, IOS dev, front dev, back dev, product designer, UI/UX) Where and how to get in touch with all these people? Maybe there are dev companies or agencies? Actually, I'm interested in a small group at some reasonable price. Would be freelance a good option? Please share your case and how you have proceeded with your startup. Can you please share your experience or your thoughts about that? Thanks [link] [comments]  |
| Those of you using lean startup methods- what tools are you using? Posted: 31 Jan 2019 02:35 AM PST Are there any apps for creating personas, defining customer needs and overall guide you through the idea validation process? Or do you write it all by hand? I've read some books about lean methodology and I try to apply it for couple of my ideas. For now I've been sketching all out on paper but wonder if there are some tools that could help me with the process of defining market, choosing MVP features and running test series. Do you use tools for that? Is there an all-in-one solution or should I look for multiple apps/websites? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Jan 2019 09:31 PM PST This is my first post on this issue, so I hope not to come off as a total moron on all things startup-related. I'm a student studying computer science at a well-ranked school (UC Berkeley), and I have software internship experience at three major companies (Apple, Google, and Facebook). I'm familiar with mobile development and I've coded a bunch of my own projects in the past. For some time I've been developing an idea for tech startup, and I've just recently started thinking about putting it into action. My questions are to people who've started tech startups, whether right out of school, or well into their careers.
I apologize if I come off as naive on any of this. I'm really just thinking semi-seriously about this and exploring my options, so I'd love some advice. [link] [comments]  |
| Need opinions on whether to join a startup Posted: 30 Jan 2019 05:11 PM PST I've been working at a tech startup for over a year as the top tech executive on a contract. At some point in the next 120 days, I may get offered a full time position, but am not sure whether I should join. Here are the pros / cons, and would appreciate advice on what to do. Pros
Cons - Co-Founders are burning cash, consistently demonstrate low integrity and have a history of poor decisions making, plus are actively gossiping about selling the company in the next 120 days as a contingency plan, while fighting with each other - Likelihood of raising life saving A round in time to preserve the company are dubious at best, layoffs are projected at the same time as first go live - Current product is being narrowly developed and loaded with tech debt, putting roadmap projections, and ultimately evaluation metrics at major risk [link] [comments]  |
| Start Up Head! Is this a thing? Posted: 30 Jan 2019 02:46 PM PST Hey people, So every time i have a new idea or plan. I feel i get what i call Start Up Head. I seem to only be able to think about only good things the business, the plan, the idea the dream. (The Bentley) The risks seem to disappear. When doing a business plan the competition, that are obviously competition disappears out of my head. Because "they are not the same" :P I feel that people when they have an idea their head goes it to a different place and it is hard to really pay attention to the risks, reward, competition and the future. Is this a thing? Have you experienced this? Is there another word for this? [link] [comments]  |
| Shipping: Automate pre-paid shipping labels Posted: 30 Jan 2019 04:01 PM PST Hi all, I'm working on simplifying the shipping experience for my customers and am wondering if anyone has done this before. Current: - Buyer pays for standard shipping based on seller location, weight, etc - Seller receives total cost including shipping fee and is responsible for all shipping (packaging, buy & print label, ship) Future: - Buyer pays for flat rate fee for standard shipping (lets say $10) - Once payment has been processed, an automated shipping label (plus return label) is sent to the Seller's email. - Seller downloads and prints the shipping labels (return label included) - Seller packages the items and ships the package. I've seen OfferUp and Poshmark use this and I really like this. Have any of you done this? I'd imagine this is possible by accessing 3rd party API's such as Easypost, Shippo, Pirateship but am keen to hear from your experiences. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Jan 2019 05:55 AM PST I fuckin want to be successful man. I have got some projects, one main which I focus on, I am learning programming also I have passions. I am not making a lot of money, I am investing on myself and my ideas. Every time, when I do something, I constantly fight with time. When I try to spend my free time (watch movie, play games, meet friends ), I have obsessive thoughts like: - "I should work/learn now", - "I am now working, I don't want to be broke", - "I have to be first milioner from my family and support my people", - "This is stupid, I waste my time", - "Go dancing? This is not serious, I would talk with richer man instead and get some info instead". I have huge pressure to be successful and rich. Want to build house, ride good car, have happy family and provide them everything they need. This is my life goal. I feel that I have some problem or this is normal for ambicious guys? I don't know. Please help me. [link] [comments]  |
| Techstars Alums: When you give TS equity, who actually ends up sharing ownership in your company? Posted: 30 Jan 2019 06:40 AM PST I'd be interested in hearing from other equity-based accelerator alums too but I'm especially curious about TS. It looks like their main investment vehicles are Techstars Ventures, with $265m under management, and Star Power some sort of Index Fund for all TS companies. Does that mean that when you join the TS program Star Power is the entity that has equity? What is the legal and management structure? If someone wants to show up to a board meeting what is their title and what power do they have (in the VC fund, not in your company)? If there was a lawsuit who would be named on the investor side of things? How does a startup form personal relationships with investors under these conditions? Thanks for any and all input! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Jan 2019 03:07 PM PST I talked to a guy the other day, He asked what I was doing I said "Just working on a project." He said "Same I am working on a Startup too" I asked what is it. He replied with "A Coffee Shop around the corner." I replied "nice" BUT: Is a coffee shop really in the startup category. Like yes I understand he is starting up something, but I feel it did not suit. I feel this is the same with the word Entrepreneur, it used to have a lot of meaning. At networking events I meet so many people that I ask what they do and they same they are a Entrepreneur. I ask what business? They say they haven't got one yet. I feel Entrepreneur is just saying your unemployed now. J Thoughts? [link] [comments]  |
| MBA alternative, am i thinking clearly? (Civil Engineer Convert) Posted: 30 Jan 2019 11:18 AM PST The MBA is expensive, and is primarily a tool for personal branding and networking. OK, understood. It is a calculated risk and ROI decision to attend an MBA program, depending on your goals. My goal is to "re-brand" myself to be a valuable business person in the technology industry. I want to be able to compete for roles in Product Management, Account Management, or even Program Management in the Tech Space. Currently, as a Professional Civil Engineer, I do not have the skill-set for a smooth and clear transition (right?). My question is... can working for a start up be an MBA alternative to accomplish the same thing (personal branding, networking, and business skills? My thinking It is not entirely clear to me yet on which aspects of "business" within the traditional lines of business I am most interested in, and it seems that working for a startup could expose me to sales, marketing, project/program management, customer success, and even product management. It doesn't seem natural for me to pursue " programming", as I ultimately want to pursue a career that is more aligned with entrepreneurship, soft skills and people management. I am trying to understand what is a good path forward, and good starter job that will give me a broad view of entrepreneurship and adding value to a company. I am also trying to develop my "pitch", and being able to really develop a clear pathway with an end goal in mind. Even if I were to drop my current career and start an MBA program, after two years and in $150k in debt I fear that I will be asking myself the EXACT same question. I already KNOW that I do not want to pursue a more traditional MBA pathway (Finance, Accounting, Management Consulting). Does anybody have any insights? Am I completely off base with my thinking? What are good roles that can expose me to different faucets of the business? I have experience as a professional civil engineer in technical project management, so I thought my skills could transition into a software project management role, but still trying to narrow in. For the record, I am not entirely unhappy with my career in Civil Engineering; but I do feel like there is a missing piece of entrepreneurship and the excitement of helping build a company, that I really feel like I am missing. Not to mention that I live in San Francisco! Seems to me that the best networking I can do in Business is right here at home. Thanks, Civil Engineer guy [link] [comments]  |
| Startup offer worth leaving Cozy Co? Posted: 30 Jan 2019 06:07 AM PST Hi all.. sorry for the wall of text.. I currently have a decent job in a low CoL midwest town. Usually work 35-40 hours a week. Like my coworkers and manager. I've been at this company (big health care) for 9 years, making around 90K base, with a 10% bonus every year. Good 401k with match. Glassdoor says average salary for my area is about 100K. Our bonus is based on the companies performance, and we've always hit the mark except for 2011-2012 when the economy shit the bed (it was 0, then 50% before returning to 100%). I consider myself a good worker, and I've seen our office grow quite a bit tech wise from when I first joined. Work is steady but uneventful. Lots of legacy code to fix up, few greenfield projects. Lots of commercial products interjected. We have a couple "good" projects I'm involved in, but I've noticed most of the engineers are so concerned with heading home at the end of the day there is just no real motivation for anyone to make the code better, or dive into interesting technologies. While I don't like the idea of LIVING for engineering, I'm starting to feel like it sure would be nice to have SOME excitement/pride/sense of accomplishment while going into work everyday. I feel like the job is starting to really become just a paycheck. Or maybe I've just finally woken up and need a change. The bureaucracy and apathy is now starting to really bug me. The last year I've been looking at jobs and decided to try applying to some more interesting, smaller companies. There hasn't been many that fit that criteria. I feel like medium sized companies are hard to find compared to 9 years ago. You are either acquired or trying to be acquired. In a year I have applied to 12 places. I would say 1/2 I've never heard back and 1/2 the interviews were meh either for me or them. I eventually found a startup that sounded intriguing. I figured why not interview. Well, the product is pretty awesome (I honestly don't think they have much competition), and the usual great startup perks (food, cool office, atmosphere). They have 6M series A funding and 4M in revenue already and are growing rapidly for this area. Some notable investors. When they pressed on my salary requirements I said I was interested in whatever the market rate is (hopefully more), and the interview seemed to go well. It did seem hectic there, and the tech side of the company is practically being built from scratch (I'd be the 4th and maybe most experienced dev -- it's not a pure software startup). Everyone is of course seemed super into it and excited to be building things. Shortly after the interview, I got some good news! An offer! I'm excited but nervous. The initial offer was way lower than I expected. 80K with .05 % equity (out of the total shares). At the FMV price I was quoted it would be around 10ishK in funny money. Well thats nice, it would, in some way, make up for my bonus being more or less uncompensated for. I responded how I was excited about the offer, but it was below my current market rate and I was hoping to at least get closer to the market rate for the area. The response I got was that I had options. 1) take the offer, 2) take 85K for .02% or 3) 90K for .01%. They do have a 401k with a slight match for what its worth although not as good as my current one. Benefits seem about equal, the startup may actually have an edge. I've read enough in this subreddit and other posts to consider equity.. well..worthless. And also some posts on here that says any startup worth their salt can do market rate salaries. I'm going to be working more most likely (so the hourly rate is probably even lower). My questions are..
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| Posted: 30 Jan 2019 12:24 PM PST I have signed an offer at a top strategy consulting firm in San Francisco, but my heart tells me I need to drop consulting (which I despise) and work for a startup instead. I always heard from multiple people that startups struggle to hire OPT students, so my strategy was to get a job at a consulting firm in SF, make connections in the startup world, get a H-1B, and then transfer to a startup. Thus, my actual job would be a side hustle for me, and my focus would be to develop the relationships in the Valley. I have no respect for consulting, and my dream job would be to work at a growth team before starting my own company. Now, realizing that I really have no interest in my position, I am thinking about looking for a job at a startup in San Francisco. I am concerned about potential OPT/Visa issues. Is it safer to get a visa by working at a big company? By how much? Ps: I have a STEM-OPT, so I'm eligible for a 3 year extension, but I'm not a technical person. My major is Management Information Systems [link] [comments]  |
| Helping startup and looking for equity. Posted: 30 Jan 2019 08:27 AM PST Someone I know started a company about 15 months ago. During this time we constantly kept updated on our projects and I offered to help. I did some counseling on packaging and customer feedback and advised on the market (which I know quite well) and introduced him to a couple potential investors. If they don't get fundings they'll have to close shop, if they do get them, I want to get involved. My current job is a dead end and I want to be involved in their market and I believe I can help them. I have 0 money to put in but without some equity (5-10%) I can't imagine working for a startup that might go under tomorrow if I can't aim at having some real piece of it. He already has a cofounder that owns 30%and a number of early investors that own 40% amongst 3-4 of them. We're raising 160k for 800k valuation, so they'll ridistribuite 1/5 of their shares to the investor. I could ask for 5% finder's fee which is about 1% but it's not enough for me to quit my job. Is it feasible that I offer myself as a third cofounder without putting in money? Can I ask for a mix of finders fee + vesting stocks + starting bonus or something? Sorry I'm a bit of a noob in the field, I don't want to ruin the relationship but I'm also aware that working for someone else doesn't work for me unless I feel really involved (e.g. own a piece of The pie) [link] [comments]  |
| If You're Successful In A Monopoly, Others Will Come — My $0.02 Posted: 30 Jan 2019 07:49 AM PST The experience can make it or break it. I've changed my barber recently, went to a new one. The job was, if I'm being honest, better than the others I've been to recently. And faster, now that I think about it. However, the experience was different. I won't go into details as this is not barber review dot com. However, this is how to build experiences and experiences review dot com. To put it shortly though with my barber, it wasn't bad but it wasn't good. Maybe it's for some other people who don't really care about the things that I care so that's okay. They're in Central London so they will be doing fine. My point for tech CEOs will be uncovered in a second. Until then, I'll note that I won't visit this place anymore because I have alternatives. If it was the only barber place within the proximity of my house, I'd happily go there. And yes, that's right — happily. I'd do so as there would be no other choice so I better get used to it. At the same time, because I have other choices, I'll shop around until I find the match. The job will probably be done at the same level, given the price (just an assumption). The experience, though, will be another discussion My point for tech CEOsIn tech, as you might surely know, there are a lot of niches and subsections of industries. Chances are, you've conquered a niche you've created yourself and thus you're in a blue ocean. If you'll be there for long, you know it (at least in the back of your brain) that with success comes competition. Your blue ocean will slowly but surely get a bit of a red-ish tint, unless you keep the standards high. So once your beloved customers get ahold of what you offer, they're happy — just like I'd have been with this barber if it wasn't for competition. They get their technical or utilitarian value out of it, all's good. A parallelA very hard to imagine one but one that will make sense, I think. Imagine Rolex in a monopolistic market where only they offer wristwatches. There are other companies who do pocket watches and all that stuff. However, only Rolex makes these very portable ones. And they're doing good. However, the competition catches up — they see there's enough space in the market for them to step up and start making wrist timepieces (wait, don't call them that) watches. What does Rolex do now? Let's get back to the present moment. They do all these things which can't be captured in only a paragraph (so through irony I'll synthesise them in a couple of words) that makes us associate their brand with high-status and successful people. Paul Newman, for one. What do other companies do? They top it up and don't call them watches anymore, they call them timepieces. See where I'm going? That, folks…Was just an extremely quick analysis. I've used a few hundred words to capture about a century and a lot of hours of work done by a company to prove this point: it's about the experience, once we're talking past utilitarian value. Would I add "only in a competitive environment" after the previous sentence? Hell no. My second point is this:
I'm saying that to point out some things that are around us and that we easily forget about when focusing so much on the utilitarian — which is what a lot CEOs do. And I don't blame them. It's perfectly normal. [link] [comments]  |
| What is a stretch NPS target for an initial score of 42? Posted: 30 Jan 2019 07:20 AM PST I work in an online travel booking start-up. We do air travel and hotel bookings using an AI algorithm. We get an average of 10-15 requests per day, 40 per week. Our current NPS score is 42. We have a total of ~80 users. We have decided to come up with few objectives to work on. One of it is to improve customer satisfaction. Another is to grow our user base and repeat transactions. I wanted some opinion on NPS goal setting - Q - Is there a threshold of users for the NPS to matter? Should we focus on growing user base / transactions without considering NPS for the time being? Q - What should be a stretch target goal for an initial score of 42? [link] [comments]  |
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