

How HN Helped Manpacks Take Off - gatsby
http://mixergy.com/manpacks-ken-johnson-interview/

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zaidf
I posted this on HN. I'm always interested in how messages spread, so here's
the breakdown AFAIK:

1\. manpacks guys make the product.

2\. post facebook ad

3\. my brother see fb ad(nice targeting?)

4\. bro shares link with me on gtalk

5\. i post on HN

6\. <lots more coverage?>

7\. profit???

The real thanks should goto my brother Shadab!

Here's our original chat between me and my bro from March 8(he works in
advertising so I thought he was doing a campaign for them):

12:46 AM Shadab:
[http://manpacks.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&...](http://manpacks.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=what2&utm_content=intel2)

LOL

12:47 AM me: LOL!

doing campaign for tht?

Shadab: clicked on FB ad

hahahahahaha

What I'd like to know from them is what other marketing ideas they tried?

How much did they spend on FB?

How did they go about targeting?

How are they scaling sales now(all WOM)?

I'm yet to watch the interview so I'm sure they've answered some of that
there!

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jrockway
I am not that excited by Manpacks, and I hate shopping. It's the typical web
startup. Web 2.0 design. A few famous brands. Lots of logos from "traditional
media".

Then you look at the product and it's nearly twice as expensive as Amazon, if
you are willing to get 6 pairs of underwear at once. So who does this target?
People who are too poor to afford 12 socks at once? Not compelling. Amazon is
trusted and less expensive. Where is the value add?

~~~
jseliger
_Where is the value add?_

Not having to think about it, click any buttons, do anything, remember
anything, etc. Buying socks and underwear is one of those tasks that's very,
very easy to perpetually put off until tomorrow.

~~~
jrockway
And then you pay Amazon $6 for same-day shipping and get a crate of underwear
all at once.

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rsheridan6
I'd like to see something like manpacks, but with food (not pizza-style
junkfood crap, but something good and healthy like you would cook at home if
you were inclined to cook).

~~~
yaknow
www.graze.com is doing snack subscriptions over in the UK. Haven't found a
similar service in the US yet.

~~~
_dan
It's a great idea, and the snacks they send are varied and interesting. But
they're really not "meals", and it's far too easy to scarf an entire box.

I found myself eating normally PLUS whatever they sent, which kinda defeated
the purpose for me.

(Their website is stunningly good, though)

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davi
Interesting that HN now has enough reach that mainstream media mine it for new
stories. From the transcript --

Andrew: How about that “Inc.” article? There was an article in “Inc.” which
announced Manpacks, and then it asked other entrepreneurs to give feedback and
suggestions for Manpacks. How did you guys get that article written about you?

Ken: The editor reached out to us in March. He said they would be interested
in doing an article on Manpacks. Would you be interested in an interview? I
said, of course.

Andrew: Okay. Was this after the Hacker News hit?

Ken: Yes. It was maybe a week and a half after.

Andrew: That’s so interesting. By the way, I found that other reporters will
look at Hacker News and come up with stories. And then those stories end up
just kind of growing and growing and feeding on each other.

------
tbeseda
My 3rd manpack will ship this weekend. Found via HN.

~~~
AndrewWarner
I'm a customer too, thanks to zaidf.

~~~
zaidf
Tiny correction: so it was the facebook ad which my brother saw which then
made it to me; not springwise as you guys credit in the interview :)

------
zacharycohn
I think this is a great idea. I'm only 1/2 through the interview, but it seems
like it's inspired by things Amazon Fresh, etc.

What does <demographic> hate to do? Shop for food, shop for boring types of
clothes.

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ajb
Currently, <http://www.google.co.uk/images?q=manpack> shows luggable military
radios. Wonder how long that will take to change.

