Ask HN: Should I pull the plug on my startup?

1 points by ellisonf9 11 years ago | 2 comments

We launched our mvp a month ago to some fairly decent PR/success. Naturally, our growth has tapered off (we didn't put in place any growth hacks etc). We're getting about 25 users a day with no real marketing/PR (of which maybe <5 stick around as active users). People really like the idea of our app, it gets them excited. About 30% of users who visit our site try our product at least once. One of the struggles we have is our app is very general, lots of potential applications (from social to enterprise).

Should we keep kicking at the can? Is this just a Product/Market fit issue? How do I know if I should jump ship? What are key signals I should be looking for?

Note: We have about 10 months runway left. But we're quite lean.

zhte415 11 years ago |

I don't know what your MVP is, or even what it stands for. Minimum Viable Product?

But...

5 people per day via a few blog posts doesn't actually sound awful, around 20% of people that are taking a look are sticking around. For me, that's enough to pay my bills (not a lot more), but I'm sure we have a different product.

I think you identify generality being a problem. Split your potential audience into discrete segments that make sense to you (these boundaries of discreteness may shift through time) and interact - ask questions like "Thanks for taking a look. How can we tailor this to your needs more / was there anything you wanted to use this for that you didn't feel you could?" You've got to ask your customers how you can make their life easier, and focus on that need.

Enterprise can have deep pockets, but may need careful understanding not only of their needs, but of who can approve requisition of the product / tool / service you offer. Small enterprises are typically easier in this regard.

General / social are often hard to monetise.

As a bootstrapper that generally avoids (though not always) funding, I'd go for the former, but that's my preference.

My 2c. Happy to add anything more.

ellisonf9 11 years ago | |

Yes, minimum viable product. I would love to email you with more details. Would you mind sharing your contact info?