

Ask HN: Can this work? - peasquared

Hey everyone,<p><pre><code>  I&#x27;ve been learning Rails the last few months, and</code></pre>
my main project to learn with has been something called Isement. It&#x27;s a marketplace for buying and selling physical ad space on people&#x27;s property.<p>In other words, advertising in certain areas of a yard, a rooftop, an office wall, a semi trailer, on long haul bike gear, etc etc. Users place their space up for sale, and then other users who want to advertise can search by area for available spaces where they can place their ad.<p>I realize that some people despise ads, so obviously this won&#x27;t be liked by all, but I have actually gotten mostly positive feedback on this so far, and I have decided I would really give this a go. I know getting &quot;good idea&quot; feedback is nice and all, but when it comes down to it, I need to find users who will actually use this.<p>I have a few people lined up to help beta test so far, but I still am looking to get as much feedback as I can on this idea.<p>What are your thoughts?<p>If you were launching something like this, or any marketplace really, how would you go about it? What would be your first few steps?<p>The lovely chicken and egg problem will certainly be an issue, but I&#x27;m thinking I will try and work the hardest on finding people who have spaces available first, give them perks for helping to launch, and then work on finding people who want to advertise.<p>Thanks everyone, and I really hope I can get some feedback. Even if it&#x27;s all bad!<p>(Oh, I do have a landing page setup at http:&#x2F;&#x2F;isement.com if anyone wants to critique that as well.)
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thegrif
This will likely be against local zoning laws in residential areas. Usually
they have very specific rules about what can and cannot be displayed on
residential property.

Even if there are no rules on record for the municipality, nothing stops a
motion being passed that would outlaw advertisements being sold on residential
properties after the fact.

Assuming you can get around the above, I would solve the cold start problem by
first focusing on a single geographic market. Small, local businesses are more
likely to purchase this type of alternative/non-traditional advertising - and
they'll want to be able to market in their specific towns.

I would also make sure that you provide some sort of science in terms of how
the advertisements are targeted. Agencies will look for that. For example, an
agency ad trafficker is going to want to market in neighborhoods with mean
household incomes in line with their target audience.

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peasquared
Ahhh, thank you! Great point about the mean household incomes.

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duncan_bayne
Business hat:

This sounds like a profitable idea, but will likely be subject to odd local
zoning regulations. Expect a fight from people opposed to advertising in
general, and from incumbents who will throw anything they can at you. Get
legal advice early, and be prepared for a bit of nastiness.

Personal hat:

Please God no, the world does _not_ need more advertising. Make it STOP! I
used to carry a TV-begone, now I use an app on my Galaxy Note, and I still
can't stop the constant bombardment with ads; these days they're even on
screens at the local service station while I'm fueling my bike. You are making
the world a worse place by creating this service, and that makes you a bad
person.

You might prefer me when I'm wearing my business hat :)

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peasquared
Hahaha, I hear you loud and clear. Thanks for your input!

