

Show HN: an app to help your family be on time - justinwi
http://www.needtobounce.com

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csutter
Google Now has this built in, a card pops up with a map to my destination and
tells me when I need to leave. Very useful.

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ktsmith
The only difference is that Google Now doesn't include a buffer. I set my
appointments based on what time I want to be there instead of the starting
time to resolve this.

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nickpresta
If I schedule an event that starts at 7:00pm and it is on the other side of
town, Google Now will tell me that I need to leave at 6:15pm to make there on
time.

~~~
gknoy
ktsmith mentioned the buffer, though, which seems to be the central innovation
of Bounce. It factors in extra time that we are prone to forget about. Google
Now accounts for traffic, but does it also easily (and automatically) account
for extra time to cover some of these:

\- find my shoes (the 1yo hid them) \- change the baby before I go \- whoops,
today's trash day, I need to take those out \- I need to stop for gas

Many of these things are solvable by pre-planning (especially gas or chore
management) and doing them the prior day, but the fact is that many of us
still forget to do them, because we don't make an effort to do so. I know I
frequently underestimate the time it takes for me to wrangle the kids, and
also often forget to account for the likelihood of one-off things like
gas/trash/errands. More importantly, when I discover those necessities, I
forget to adjust my expected departure time for future events to reflect those
new needs.

Thanks for the heads-up on Bounce, guys. The intro video is excellent, and
I've installed the Android version.

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ktsmith
This is exactly what I was referring to. Two nights a week I take my son to
swim lessons at 6pm. Google now will tell me between 13 and 18 minutes before
6pm that it's time to leave as that's all the longer it takes to get there
with or without traffic. The problem is that once we are there he has to
change clothes which means he would be late for every class if we only left
13-18 minutes before the class. I instead changed the appointment to 5:50PM
and he gets there on time including changing his clothes. That ten minute
buffer is not accounted for by Now while Bounce appears to try and figure that
out.

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gte910h
So apple recurring payments (the ones like magazines) are really only allowed
for things that grant monthly content. You can't do apps that have a service
component like this through that payment scheme.

You can sell the app 1x with the service bundled in it, launch this as a
website service that the apple app store just happens to have a client for
(that has no way to take payment), or you can sell consumable credits the user
can use in a pre-paid phone esque way to use the service, or lastly you can
have a non-automatic way to do a subscription called a "non-renewing
subscription" in which the person has to click every month to pay you.

I think you folks have some thinkin about how you're going to do this. Email
me in my profile if you'd like to chat about this a bit, I do this for a
living and have fought with apple about subscriptions for years for many
clients

~~~
justinwi
Will _definitely_ be in touch.

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gte910h
I'd love to buy this for 2 friends, however your cards are too dickish. Anyway
to do this with less dickish/no cards?

~~~
justinwi
Great suggestion. Working on alternatives now but, I'm kinda a dick. Any non-
dickish suggestions?

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gte910h
"Planning for Traffic is a pain in the rear".

Edgy is fine, until you want to make a gift to your mother in law.

~~~
justinwi
I've pushed new cards, a couple of which are less douchey. If there's still
not one that fits the bill I'll make one with the exact text above. Thanks
again!

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lazerwalker
> What exactly do I get? You’re giving a loved one the full version of Bounce
> free on the day it launches! Everyone else will have to pay $5/month for it.

I'm confused. Does that mean that the preorder version is a one-time purchase
to use it forever, or are you merely preordering one month's service?

~~~
justinwi
The pre-order is a one-time payment forever. Thanks, we'll make the wording
more clear.

~~~
justinwi
Fixed. Let me know if it's still confusing. Thanks again.

~~~
lazerwalker
It's much more clear. Props for the speedy response!

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gte910h
I don't see how you're going to get that payment scheme through the app store
approval on Apple.

Sorry, I think this money is going to end up having to be given back to people
as Apple won't let you do this.

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agrona
One of the reviews mention android, which is apparently where the prototype
is. It's unclear to me, though: is this only for iOS now?

~~~
justinwi
Sorry for the confusion. Yeah, we built a prototype for Android. Now we're
asking folks if folks want a full version for the iPhone.

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mhoroszowski
Really interesting launch page - a fantastic way to get customer feedback
before writing code... Steven Blank would be proud!

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cjwake
Much needed for WAY too many people.

~~~
bengl3rt
Unfortunately, people are sensitive about this subject, often fiercely
defensive or even in denial about their own chronic lateness...

Still I wish them the best of success and I hope this changes lives in a big
way like I know it has the potential to do.

~~~
andygcook
I think your comment is in response to the ability to only gift this app to
someone you know who is chronically late, which may hurt his feelings. If you
look at the FAQ at the bottom of the page though, you'll see the solution for
getting the app for yourself is to gift it to your own email address.

Personally, I know I'm always late, usually because I'll be in the middle of
hacking something, lose track of time, and be tardy, so I just self gifted the
app. There should probably be two clear ways to back this app though, either
by gifting it to someone, or just backing it yourself.

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charleshaanel
Interesting concept. The fact that you're using Conviva to analyze the
effectiveness of the video is good too.

I like what you did with the social proof (testimonials) as well.

Who's your ideal user?

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andygcook
A Twitter button next to the Facebook button at the top would probably help
them reach their goal a lot faster.

~~~
justinwi
Thanks for the suggestion. Fixed.

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Thrall
"…help your family be on time" and "needtobounce"

Am I the only one who assumed this was all about procreation in a timely and
organised manner?

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ndespres
Yes. What are you talking about.

