

Post-mortem: Lessons learned for consumer web startups - kabir_h
http://blog.riotvine.com

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takrupp
Thanks for sharing. We've had a couple of additional web app ideas, and I
think figuring out your user funnel is the most important part of deciding to
move forward.

After a bit of discussion, we've decided to identify a few key pain areas and
then brainstorm apps around those pain areas rather than taking the first idea
that comes to mind. With the app market the way it is, a good idea isn't good
enough. You need something that fits a market (that's preferably under-served
or mis-served), has a good viral component and is novel. Engineering what app
to approach is almost as hard, and less straight forward, as developing the
app itself.

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kabir_h
Agreed! I like to use "build for emotion" as the barometer of a good idea. If
you can actually see someone become excited to discover your app, and the
delight of the first 15 minutes of using it, you're on the road to a good
product.

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pun279
Your first point hit home way too quickly! I made similar mistakes in my first
'business' which really made me appreciate the difficulties in starting a
community oriented website. I found that I didn't truthfully answer the
question about what value it provided and whether there was truly demand or
whether it was a build it and they will come approach. When I left Co-
opRatings the adage every end is a new beginning really came true though, good
luck on the new endeavor!

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ruang
"Consumer" is too broad of a word. This probably applies more to
"entertainment" web startups, where "buzz" is more important.

