Show HN: Startup Tools (and who actually uses them)

Show HN: Startup Tools (and who actually uses them)(b2brev.com)

54 points by browser411 14 years ago | 18 comments

browser411 14 years ago |

Our goal is to make it easier to choose products/services for your business based on the companies that actually use them: What analytics do YC companies use? What do small non-profits use for CRM?

This product is pre-beta, and we definitely plan to add more features/data, including reviews. We'd really appreciate feedback on what would make it more useful for you!

alexhaefner 14 years ago | |

This interface is absolutely terrible to browse. Really. You have data but the presentation is very very bad. I actually start to feel physically sick while browsing it.

I am not trying to be harsh, I am trying to be straight-forward and honest, and I really do start to feel that way when trying to figure out how to use the site. It took me a few minutes to understand what the front page was telling me. Once I got past that, the layout for products/users was terribly confusing.

Data visualization is hard, I get that. But I would suggest you spend some time thinking about how to take these large (thousands of customers) and diverse (Hosting, CRM, SEO) data sets and simplify their presentation. At this point it feels like a regurgitation of sql tables, and that's not something I want to use.

browser411 14 years ago | | |

Got it. Thanks for the frank feedback.

paraschopra 14 years ago | |

Hey, how do we request for inclusion? Our tool, Visual Website Optimizer, is currently missing. Thanks.

dannieb 14 years ago | | |

Neat! Thanks for letting us know, we've taken note.

OJKoukaz 14 years ago |

The design is bad, but you're serving a need that is big enough (for me, at least; I'll probably come back). I'd an accounting "accounting" category (I know of very few accounting "solutions" for startups).

I would also get a new domain name. I already forgot yours. In general I would stick to one abbreviated component (e.g. B2BREVIEW) if you're going to stick to this route. Finding another, more memorable name, should be easy. Better name may also marginally improve SEO.

Like the business, and if the index is robust enough, I would imagine easy to monetize.

browser411 14 years ago | |

Thanks for the constructive criticism. We definitely want to flesh out the content, and accounting is a category that several folks have asked for (i.e., software, human accountants, etc).

OJKoukaz 14 years ago | | |

Also, would love for you to list our startup, MiraPost.com under email marketing.

brehardin 14 years ago |

This is a pretty nice idea for people not based in the valley or that don't have a startup based network.

I like the idea, but the site design is a little painful to the eye.

browser411 14 years ago | |

Thanks for the feedback! We are trying to condense a lot of data into a small amount of space, which can be trying... Anything in particular that could use some design love?

mzuvella 14 years ago |

Surprised to see Linode not on the Hosting Provider list

dannieb 14 years ago | |

We've cataloged linode here: http://b2brev.com/business-tools/hosting-provider/. You may have viewed a filtered view.

jf 14 years ago |

Where are you getting the data on who uses what?

browser411 14 years ago | |

Self-reported, vendors' own websites, and a variety of other sources.

jf 14 years ago | | |

How much of that data is collected manually vs. automated tools? (I ask as the author of https://github.com/jpf/domain-profiler/ and someone with a casual interest in such things)