

Ask HN: Review my startup, For tech startups - www.inqvest.com - klein0891

InqVest (www.inqvest.com) is an online platform for technology startups to get seed funding. The site is in beta but you can sign up using any dummy email address.<p>I would value any advice on the general concept, design and usability of the web app.
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tstegart
I like it. Design seems a little dated - its missing the rounded-ness of
today's apps - but very functional. How do you plan on seeding enough
entrepreneurs and angel investors to make it useful? Sadly, I think if you
used the word "crowdfunding" you'd have people signing up in droves. Any plans
to explore that avenue?

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klein0891
Thanks a ton for the feedback. Can you give me some more information about the
rounded-ness? :)

Well, I would have to think about crowd funding as my main motive was to keep
the site as an entry point for serious angel investors to search apps based on
their selection criteria.

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tstegart
I made Rounded-ness up for lack of a better word. Check out
<https://parse.com/> or <http://www.hipmunk.com/> The look and feel is close
to your button on the bottom of your main page. Rounded corners, bold fonts,
subtle gradients, drop shadows, icons with depth and shine elements. The
button is fine, but the chart on your front page looks more Windows-XP while
sites these days take their cues from iOS.

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klein0891
Thanks for the clarification. I do agree they look trendier. I am a developer
not a designer but I will keep that in mind.

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Donito
If you have no designer in your team, it's quite useful to learn to become a
bit of a designer yourself (good skill to acquire). Truth is, first impression
matters, and no matter how good your algorithm or service is, if the site
doesn't look attractive customers might never get to even try it.

So while some design polishing sounds like "chores" with low ROI, they can
actually increase convergence rates with subtle touches (e.g. rounding
corners) resulting in a great overall ROI.

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klein0891
Hmm, true. I will have to push the redesigning task up the ladder then. Do you
have any other comments on the usability or the general concept?

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justjimmy
Anything a user can do w/o handing over their email address and info? That's a
pretty big barrier of entry these days.

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tstegart
I don't think that's a barrier to people exchanging large amounts of money.
Granted, it could have been left off today for testing and asking for
feedback, if that's what you mean. But in the long run it is needed to
effectively complete the transaction and to keep out people who just want to
browse and use up resources.

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klein0891
Exactly, it is hard to validate a genuine user without an email address.

For now, you can enter a dummy email address and the system will let you in.

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ssmc
Cool project.

Agree on that you could give a bit more before asking for a email though.

I actually like how lean the design is, just good enough to be serviceable and
leaves you time for feedback.

Kudos.

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klein0891
Thanks! I will add some more content to the site.

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codegeek
clickable <http://www.inqvest.com>

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klein0891
Thanks :)

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upgradeind
looks nifty, will need to try it out a bit then get back to you

