Hey, I feel you on rejection - it stings. Just remember that, like any company, that place is just a collection of humans making imperfect decisions with limited information. Trust me. Your worth isn't defined by one hiring decision.
> I find it extremely hard to believe that most consumers have a strong enough moral compass to go out of their way to buy something they already have access to.
This is zero-sum thinking. Do you oppose libraries on the same principle?
Sometimes making a thing accessible can increase the overall market for the good, because it trains the behavior. The market for books requires readers, and readers are created by people reading.
No, because libraries have to buy the books! If lots of people check out a book, the library will have to buy more copies! Yes, maybe the authors loose out on some revenue, but there's a clear relationship between number of readers and the author getting paid for their work.
This is also why I thought the Internet Archive's lending lending library was great! I'm aware they got sued anyway, and I think that's a real shame.
Yes, but whereas libraries need to buy more copies of books that lots of people check out, Anna's archive only ever needs one. Not exactly sustainable for the author.
As I said, I loved the Internet Archive's approach to this! That's very much not what Anna's archive is doing.
At this point, we are just arguing about what exactly the numbers are, though. There is not a black and white difference between public libraries relationship to publishers, and gray libraries relationship to publishers.
Libraries have to replace paperback books after ~20 checkouts on average. (This number is from memory but I'm quite sure it's in this range.) Hardcover books last a bit longer but of course are also more expensive.
I agree the industry would have a hard time surviving off library sales alone, in the same way that most businesses rely on multiple revenue streams to make ends meet, but I think library revenue is much more significant than you're making it out to be!
It's also likely true that a library that bought 10 copies of a book initially is unlikely to buy 10 more copies once there have been 200 circulations and they are needing to be replaced. They may only buy 5 replacement copies since the book is likely to be less popular than at initial release so it will take much longer for the next 100 circulations to occur.
As for anecdota, I have more than once borrowed a library book and then purchased a copy so I could read it again or to finish it if demand is strong enough that I would have to wait weeks or months to be able to borrow it again.
The principle of virtual libraries is the same as physical ones: only one person has access to the book at any given time. For popular books, either the library has to buy more copies (or digital licenses) or else it rations access by waiting list. The idea is sound IMO.
Have you tried borrowing a mildly popular recent book from the library? There's often a digital queue of 20+ people with reservations.
There's plenty of incentive for most people to buy the real book rather than wait for the queue.
(I've also found libraries a useful way to discover lesser-known authors, since you can quickly sample/browse books on the shelves. But they wont have all of the books published by those unknown authors.... so I end up buying/ordering other things by them)
> If you can't judge that funding war criminals is a wrong action
Yandex does not equal Russia though.
The United States gov't has participated in what many consider illegal acts of aggression (i.e., war crimes) and do so using tools like PowerPoint. Is it moral to accept Microsoft as a client?
I'm not saying I know the right answer here, but the purity test you're proposing seems quite stringent.
You'll be shocked to learn that some people avoid US products for exactly the reasons you've mentioned. Right now some avoid Israeli stuff for similar reasons. And so it shouldn't be a shock to learn that some people don't want their money to end up in pockets of Russians and their state (via taxes).
not if the oil is warm. if its cold where you are use a block heater so your oil is warm to begin with. then you can idle no problem, and get the cabin up to a human temperature
Recovering marketer from the productivity space here. Your product looks great. Here's my two cents on the "positioning" dicussion happening: the copy on your "Our story" page reads like most other productivity apps out there. Sorry to be so blunt, but it's generic, buzzwordy, and you can swap your company name out for any other company.
> That's why we decided to build XXXXX — an all-in-one work management software that is simple to learn and easy to use.
What's missing IMHO is this: why did you undertake the drudge of building this? All software creation is motivated by a disatisfaction with what's already out there, so what is the unique point of view that motivated you and... it is hoped, will motivate an audience who shares that point of view. It's not why you are better, cheaper, faster (those are terrible vectors for positioning btw) it's what makes you different.
Are you anal-retentive about detail and hyper-connectedness (JIRA)? Are you psychedelic burners who want to bend a spartan UX into infinite directions (Asana)? Are you cutesy but robust (Trello)? Are you so hyper-opinionated about product management to the point of pedantry (Basecamp)? All these are perfectly cromulent points of view by the way. Marketing positioning is about articulating YOUR point of view, in order to activate the tribe that shares it.
For more on this see Simon Sinek or Chris Lochead. This is my favorite topic in the world. Good luck with your product!
Thanks so much for your invaluable feedback and suggestions. We're tech guys, not marketers, so we find positioning really challenging at the moment. Thanks again for taking the time to give us some GREAT advice.
as a founder, you are no longer allowed to say "we're tech guys, not marketers" anymore :) this is now your job. hope you take this great advice and stand out. vsri said it faster and better than i could so will just endorse - please dont say what you think you're supposed to say (leads to generic corporate bs) and say what you really think and give examples to "show, don't tell".
