

MyTime raises $9.3M to build mobile-first local business scheduling - ehsanu1
http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/21/mytime-scheduler/

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thathoo
Hi all, I am the engineering lead at MyTime. We built a scheduling software,
even though 100s of such products already exist because we want to provide
small businesses with the tools they need to enable online booking and
communication with their clients 24/7 - that is mobile first! Scheduling is
not an easy problem ([http://algeri-wong.com/yishan/great-unsolved-problems-
in-com...](http://algeri-wong.com/yishan/great-unsolved-problems-in-computer-
science.html)) but I think we have built a really intuitive product that is
easy to use, and feature rich. Ask me any questions you might have. Oh, and we
are hiring for all sorts of roles. Send me your resume's at rahul@mytime.com

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curun1r
I wish you all the best of luck, but there are a few serious problems you're
going to run into.

The biggest problem is consumer mindshare. Google and Yelp are where consumers
go to find small businesses and they've got integrated scheduling capabilities
that's either launched or launching. Getting consumers to come directly to you
costs a ton of money in marketing and advertising. Just look at how much
Angie's List has advertised and how little mindshare they've gained.

The second problem is on the business side. In most of the verticals that it
looks like you're addressing, it's typical to use a practice management system
which will hold the authoritative calendar. Without integrations to those
management systems, you're never going to be accurate in determining
availability. Building integrations is a long-tail problem that often involves
integrating with archaic software vendors who have no interest in helping.

Sorry for being so negative, but I've seen plenty of scheduling companies jump
into the game because they believe that poor UX is the reason no existing
player has become dominant when the reality is that it's just a horribly
complex problem where every vertical market has different scheduling needs and
there's often very little consistency between providers. And even if you nail
the technical problems, you've still got the two biggest problems I described
above, which will require some serious BizDev and Marketing, which will often
be at odds with each other (i.e. no one wants to partner with a company trying
to build a consumer destination).

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pjg
I just tried your service - got a text saying you're trying to find a slot and
3 minutes later confirmation. Nice! Good UI too. Signed up from the browser
then downloaded App - the app didn't know I'd already signed in - you may want
to add that feature in. Liked it overall - good work.

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sourc3
Congratulations guys! Having tried my luck at this years ago the bigger
challenge in getting past the front desk folks who see it as a threat. The
funding will definitely help. Best of luck!

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wodenokoto
What are your thoughts on WeChat? They seem to incorporate a lot of businesses
into their app as well.

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bgoldste
Congrats guys! Really nice people + great engineering team.

