Startups Stack Exchange Archive

learn different steps about executing an idea

I think the best way to learn is by doing and implement the theory.
I have tried to build my products before. Though I can work tirelessly just to get a product completed and up on the server, but once it’s done, the product becomes, like a lifeless tombstone with an URL name staring back at me with nothing.
it no-more excites me and with nobody using it, it just dies. I have previously helped startups pull through the critical prototype builds, but i guess its my inability to understand the stages after the proto is complete, that it gets me to loose every time.
So this time i have decided to learn what it means to execute, by taking a simple service, and executing it. I have decided to create a [social login][1].
why?

  1. because its dead simple to create such a service and distribute the sdks for different platform, it will take me a maximum of 10-15 days to build it.
  2. there are already some companies with this idea, which means that there is market for it.
    So, here are my questions:-
    1.after the build, how do i get clients (what are the marketing strategies)?
    2.is there a way to collect the information about the users who are already using these services?
    3.how to get them interested?
    4.should i just send them a cold mail?
    5.how to bootstrap and make them pay quickly (i am not looking for any significant payment, just some few dollar, as this is an experiment idea for learning about bootstrapping)
  3. should i start building the product immediately or should i first gather the data’s for my potential customers?
  4. if you were to build such a product, how would you have executed it?
    [1]: https://www.getapp.com/customer-management-software/a/loginradius/alternatives/

Answer 12159

This is not a direct answer to your questions.

The questions that you asked are for you to answer. No one can answer them for you. For years, I studied how some businesses survive and some die in the exact same industry.

There are a hundred decisions that are going to make up your business success or failure. If there were one formula for success, someone would have it on the market by now. I have come to realize, there is no one formula for success.

All the questions you asked are the right questions to propel you in a forward motion. The main ingredients for a business are

If those three things don’t come together, there is no basis for a business. If 1 and 2 don’t produce 3. A business can’t exist.

Being able to separate people from their money is difficult. What you are offering has to be compelling enough to engage a person to WANT to pay you. The psychology behind the exchange of money for a product or service is difficult to understand or ascertain why people do what they do.

Your goal is to find those of like mind. That is hard but not impossible.

Remember “he who has a thing to sell and yells it from the mountain top will sell more then he who yells it in a well” -unknown author.

Find a way to the mountain top in your industry and yell out from there.

UPDATE:

Answer number 6 & 7. Most people put the cart before the horse in starting a business. They come up with an idea then try to find people to buy it. It can work because most times people are trying to solve a problem. But for it to become a business, how common is the problem that is being solved.

Find where your target market hangs out online and join them. This is what I did. Whatever forum, chat or message board that your target market frequents is the best place for your to start for people to get to know you. Remember word of mouth is always the most powerful form of advertising. For me, I joined the group and started answering questions. People are attracted to answers and will engage with you when you answer their questions. Like now.

Then you can start to build a reputation that will embody trust in what you say. Then you next step is to leverage that trust into the product you want to offer. People will trust the product because they can see you are knowledgeable by the answers you have given and they can trust you to not be a slip shot artist.

Trust is the key to get people to separate from their money.

Don’t make the mistake of using the message boards and forums to advertise your product. That degrades trust. In answering a question, mentions you have a product but don’t over sell it. Don’t tag all your messages with your product. Your are only using the forums, chat or message board to gather information and build a following that will contact you outside of the message board.

The build a sales channel find a third party marketing firm to buy leads. This is cut your cost of acquisition of customers.

But if you insist on building your own sales channel. Please get educated on marketing. Hubspot is a good place that sends out daily advice you can use for free. They are employing what I am tell you here. They give away free advice in hopes to gain your trust and in turn you become a paying customer.

So I have learned that in business it is as much about what you give as well as what you are getting in return.

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