Ask HN: Going in circle – no traction, no investors

5 points by gab007 7 years ago | 19 comments

I am the single developer of a note-taking app. I've reached a point where the app needs a team and some funding to move forward. I would like to apply for seed-investment, but given the fact that investors like to see (among other things) traction, some customer base, etc - I know that chances are slim for me to get any investment. Did my homework and I am able to articulate the key differentiators properly.

Right now I cannot get any traction with the current state of the app (not consumer-ready). So I am stuck in this loop... I am reluctant to apply for seed investment as a single developer - as I know that this does not look good to investors. All I have is a website, screenshots, a blog, a demo and a deck.

I know that's not enough, but I also know that this has some potential. How do you break this loop?

thecupisblue 7 years ago |

Because, as you say it yourself - there is a million note-taking apps out there. Your "differentiator" feature isn't that big of a deal. The UI is ugly-ish. Honestly, if I was an interested investor and you pitched me this I'd be out of that meeting faster than you can say elevator pitch.

It's not a niche, you've got competition that raised a ton of money and is dominating the market and the competition is showing wounds that point at the market being not just saturated but not profitable as much as some investors thought. Don't waste your talents on this.

gab007 7 years ago | |

Thanks, thecupisblue. This is a "cold shower" - I appreciate you being straight-forward.

I agree that the UI is not the best, that's not what's worrying me :) Initially I've started working on this because I needed an app that does this, this and that - and I could not find one.

As it is now, I am actually using it on regular basis. Right now I am trying to figure out if there are any others looking for the same features - and validate that. Thanks for the input.

quickthrower2 7 years ago | | |

Its a nice feature set, but its hard to sell me on a separate app. I persevere with google keep and google calendar even though they are less than ideal because I already have a login for them. For notes at work its one note because everyone else uses it. So great features are less of a sell than convenience for me.

mygo 7 years ago |

what exactly do you need seed money for? what’s its purpose? Is it to keep you eating so that you can finish building the app?

IMO you need proof that people actually want this thing.

I wouldn’t write another line of app code.

put up marketing material and get your market to sign up to be notified for when it comes out.

Treat those sign ups as validation of demand. It won’t be as good validation as actual payment, which would validate the business prospect... but those RSVP numbers will indicate that this is something probably worth investing your time in (and other people’s money in). and you can get your beta users from that list.

gab007 7 years ago | |

The funding would be for driving the development of the application further, and not to "keep me eating". Right now "it screams" single developer all over. I agree that the app needs validation.

About a month ago I've put Mailchimp signup forms on my website - to see if there is any interest in the app. This is not ideal however, without a demo of the app (sign up for what?)

Proof that people actually want/need the service - yes, this is a good point, I am still trying to figure out how to validate this without having a finished product... Thanks!

mygo 7 years ago | | |

You need validation.

You don't need to develop the app to have a demo of it.

You can put together mockups that look and function the way the finished app is supposed to look and function. You can have someone to put together an animation based on the mockups.

If there's a problem it's addressing that people are trying to address, someone's going to want to be notified when the solution is brought into the world.

fundamental 7 years ago |

Looking at the app/block/deck in question, it feels like it is still somewhat unfocused. You compare it to your competitor and it comes off as "like them, just better". Obtaining 1-2 alpha users could help refine how you would present and target specific differentiating factors. Since I'm not very familiar with the space, feel free to take this with a large grain of salt.

gab007 7 years ago | |

Thank you!

May I ask where did you see the deck (you can use the email associated with my account)?

fundamental 7 years ago | | |

The deck appears to be the second google result when searching for "NoterBox".

DrNuke 7 years ago |

> How do you break this loop?

Crowded market, half-baked product, no sales? Honest answer is stop here, learn from your own post-mortem, add this project to your portfolio and move on. Next time you will do better.

navd 7 years ago |

Probably not what you want to hear but, the next step is that you continue iterating to test to see if you can get traction.

If you can’t convince people to use the product it might mean that it is not something people want. Try treating your product like a science experiment. Your idea and execution is a hypothesis for what you think people want.

If you’re an engineer then the above doesn’t cost any money and hence doesn’t require investors. If not you have to get good at convincing people to work with you.

gab007 7 years ago | |

I have not attempted to convince anyone to use the app so far :) Initially, I've built the app for personal use (and I am using it).

And yes, it will cost a considerable amount of money to have the app live - for testing purposes.

"If not you have to get good at convincing people to work with you".

That is actually very good advice. Without money and proper market validation, this is not a bad idea at all.

Thank you.

ezekg 7 years ago |

If you don't have traction yet, how have you reached a point where you need a team?

gab007 7 years ago | |

That's actually a valid question - never thought of it this way. It's probably what an investor would ask.

Thank you ezekg.

zachguo 7 years ago |

How about serving a tiny niche first and aiming at profitability?