

Ask HN: Review my startup Hachi (a tool to connect smartly) - hachilabs

Hachi launched into private alpha last month. It's still a minimum viable product - we have a long way to go, and lots to do.<p>Hachi warms any cold call - it helps you connect smartly with anyone you want to reach out to (or connect with). Just input the name of the person, and Hachi will search thru all your social networks to find the best person to ask for a personal intro. Currently, Hachi searches 2 social networks, and we're working on adding more.<p>Demo video is on our splash page - http://www.gohachi.com/<p>Sign-up at http://www.gohachi.com/users/register , using the invite code: HN100<p>Would love to hear your thoughts and/or suggestions.
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naada
First of all.. wonderful idea!

I tried logging in twice and this is what Hachi showed me

Warning (2): Invalid argument supplied for foreach()
[APP/services/users_service.php, line 255] Warning (2): Invalid argument
supplied for foreach() [APP/services/users_service.php, line 264] Warning (2):
Invalid argument supplied for foreach() [APP/services/users_service.php, line
303] Warning (2): Invalid argument supplied for foreach()
[APP/services/users_service.php, line 333] Warning (2): Cannot modify header
information - headers already sent by (output started at
/home/hachilabs/hachilabs.com/cake/libs/debugger.php:673)
[CORE/cake/libs/controller/controller.php, line 742]

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hachilabs
Hey - sorry that this happened. We'll look into it right away. Do give it a
try after a while!

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naada
Hey Hachi, thanks for noting comment. I wonder if the user/customer will come
back after saying him "Do give it a try after a while" instead, I think more
appropriate way would be to tell/respond him when you are done fixing the
issue, rather than user checking whether the issue is fixed. Also, the later
deepens the bond between you and user(taking appropriate (such) small steps
makes all the difference and this is what separates you from your competitors
coz everybody has hold on bigger steps). -Hope this helps :)

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hachilabs
hey - great suggestion! makes total sense - we will let you know when it's
fixed. thank you :)

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nithinpb
This seems to have some issues. I tried many different connections and none
worked! I tried a direct connection as well. Apart from that, I suggest
including a "text message" in the search bar to inform users what they can
enter. I had a question - "Instead of entering a username, can I enter "Sales
at Amazon" and will your system get my connections at Amazon?" - didn't know
where to look for. Also a small change - Move logout link to top with FAQ,
About as the linkedin alert masks it. Finally, consider providing cross
connection through linkedin and facebook. That would be useful. Otherwise this
would just be another implementation of Facebook connect.

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nithinpb
Also, I could not find a link to delete my account. I think that's important.

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hachilabs
Yes, that's a valid request, and we'll work on it. For now - if you want, you
can revoke access by going to Facebook Privacy settings --> Apps & Websites
---> there you can revoke access.

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pmjoyce
Although I'm not on Facebook so can't properly check it out I do like the
concept and it's great you're getting a MVP out there.

I can think of a couple of directions for this to go in. Whether you stick to
the lead warming angle (b2b) or move towards some sort of umbrella search
across all a user's social network (consumer play) is probably a decision to
be taken once you have some feedback on how people are using it.

~~~
hachilabs
Thanks Paul for checking out the app! Whether to go B2B route or go for
consumer play, is something even we're debating internally, and you're right -
it's a decision that'll be based more on how people use the product.

~~~
notahacker
I can't see it being useful enough from a consumer point of view to warrant me
paying for it (or using it often enough to be worth showing advertising to). I
_can_ see businesses seeing it as something worth paying for if it works.

Unfortunately I can't get it to recognise even direct FB connections at the
moment.

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hachilabs
We'll drop you a mail to understand more on why you couldn't find direct
facebook connections.

And yes from monetization perspective - so far it does look like that business
folks will be more willing to pay for such a tool. Thanks for checking it out
and sharing feedback!

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evolution
Just signed up and searched for a person in my facebook network even though
I'm not directly friends with her. Hachi could not find way to connect with
her though we have some mutual friends in common. Also how about connecting
twitter account to get more connections?

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hachilabs
Hey thanks for checking it out. A bit surprised that this (Facebook) error
happened.. thanks for reporting, we're looking into it. And yeah we are
working on adding more social networks - Twitter is definitely up on the list!

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Pumba
Nice Concept. But don't get me wrong, you guys have to find a good designer
for your site. Especially, the black background panics me (gives me an
impression that I just logged in to some hacker site) plus the marquee on the
home page takes me back to 90's era.

~~~
hachilabs
Point noted. :) We've already started working on it.

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thevivekpandey
Clickable links:

<http://www.gohachi.com/>

<http://www.gohachi.com/users/register> (Invite code: HN100)

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phlux
This sounds like caller ID on steroids.

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hachilabs
hey - not sure if I understood you clearly, pls explain. thanks!

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phlux
Imagine hooking this up as a caller ID of sorts, you get an email, a text or a
call from someone - and your engine goes and crawls all your social networks
and contacts and pulls up whatever relational info it can find on the person.

Presenting you with their online social dossier as it were.

You could make it more powerful for business users and charge them for more
indepth spidering of a person.

Sure, prolly a few iterations before you could do it to such a degree - but if
youre not doing this, then who will be in your place? There has to be
something like this out there already.

~~~
hachilabs
Hey thanks for clarifying!

>>Imagine hooking this up as a caller ID of sorts, you get an email, a text or
a call from someone - and your engine goes and crawls all your social networks
and contacts and pulls up whatever relational info it can find on the
person.>>

Rapportive (and few others) provides you with this info.- when you get an
email from someone. If I understand correctly, then you're suggesting
Rapportive++ ..??

