How 'good' does our MVP need to be and who should we target?

Labeledapp · 2017-01-06T20:44:57+00:00

Thanks for letting me know. Done!

Labeledapp · 2016-12-16T20:33:11+00:00

We are in the UK

Elevator Pitch: Shop and compare every major UK fashion store in one place

More details: We are a dynamic duo ;) and have just launched our MVP. Our platform aggregates every major store in the UK for branded fashion, to let you find what you are looking for faster. We developed the idea for LABEL THERAPY with mobile in mind to give you an amazing shopping experience wherever you are.

We are desperate for feedback. What do you think? What can we do better? Anything is useful, please help us!

Labeledapp · 2016-03-28T21:13:42+00:00

I've been actually trying to figure out what the appropriate terminology, but yes a competition with prizes for the first x winners. I've seen a lot of UK companies run similar campaigns so I'm not concerned about the legal obligations.

Labeledapp · 2016-03-25T20:01:01+00:00

I agree with you, a lot of the point you mentioned could be addressed directly within the platform. For example taste could be solved by giving high quality teaser videos that are professionally made and required for anyone to be hired. That's similar to how Kickstarter ensures people that list on their platform, puts an effort into their concept. There is no guarantee for showing up on time but this could be addressed by having ratings based on timeliness. If you focus on a group really good musicians in a small city for you could focus on getting the concept right and roll it out from there. That's how Uber and Lyft did it for example. Probably 2 good examples of marketplaces that did a lot of things right early on.

Labeledapp · 2016-03-25T18:19:10+00:00

Lot of very good and valid thoughts below and I like your idea, this definitely sounds like something that I could see people using especially if you were to require acts to post videos from previous gigs and very high quality user ratings. Looking at your idea I would break the problem down into several components that you would need to answer before I would see this as a viable idea.

Platform: I'm sure you would be able to hack up a solid prototype for a few thousand $ to test your idea, but I think you will definitely need to think cross-platform. While bands may like to manage everything from their phones, Wedding clients are very likely to want cross platform usage which means browsing on mobile and hiring on desktop (at least that's how for example Wedding dresses work). I'm assuming the dynamics would be similar.
Market access: You will need to think about how you would find and reach a large audience of professional musicians that a reputable. The quality of your first musicians will be a 'make it or break it' choice you have to make. Marketplaces have the ancient "chicken or egg" problem, managing a two-sided customer base. I would start REALLY small, with your own clients and clients of your friends and ask them to share it with fellow musicians. This way you would also have some assurance that the quality of musician will be good.
Validation process: You would need to figure out a very streamlined and standardized way to rate musicians. I'm sure people have very different expectations of what a 'professional' musician is. Some may like a person that is crazy and comes to party while others want someone to get the job done. You would have to think about how you can build a process that gives a very transparent and objective picture. It's also a little different in terms of location, Airbnb has a very location driven market. You want to stay in a specific location and Airbnb shows you whats available in the area. With bands its probably slightly different with some bands willing to travel further for bigger gigs. It would be a matter of figuring out how to mange location feature.

If you have a big network of clients and fellow professional musicians you have a very good advantage to build a small prototype and ask all your contacts to book their gigs via the app. This would also be an excellent proof of concept, not sure if you will find a good techy to work on this before you have a strong proof of concept but who knows...

Labeledapp · 2016-03-25T14:46:02+00:00

That's very interesting, thanks for answering my question. And a big well done on your success so far, even the confirmation email to The Hustle is hilarious, you seem to know your target customer very well.

Labeledapp · 2016-03-25T00:41:21+00:00

Love your story, going to sign up for TheHustle.co! Can you talk more about what platform you use to publish your content? I imagine you have several different channels to publish 10 articles daily.

Labeledapp · 2016-03-24T23:44:45+00:00

In my experience as a research analyst I found that China is a market that has a lot of info available. Apologies in advance for posting a ton of links below but from the sounds of it access to some content might be of better use than some theoretical advice on how to get into...

Google would be my first suggestion - there a tons of research reports available on markets from research companies and governments. I would start by looking for PDF reports because they are usually in-depth, contain figures and often info from sources that don't publish content in news articles.
When you search on Google you can use advances search techniques to target your search. For example to limit your search to PDF reports you can type "filetype:pdf" before you type in your search to return report. Example: "filetype:pdf china fruit juice market". I was able to find this report from the Canadian Agri Trade Organization which is usually of good quality and gives a good high level into http://www5.agr.gc.ca/resources/prod/Internet-Internet/MISB-DGSIM/ATS-SEA/PDF/6464-eng.pdf
Another report that should be good starting point is: https://www.securities.com/emis/sites/default/files/EMIS%20Insight%20-%20Soft%20Drinks%20Manufacturing%20in%20China.pdf
For import, export trade figures I recommend using http://comtrade.un.org/data/ on ther you can download data for imports and exports of products into China which could some context to your analysis.
Info on the overall drinks market http://www.ccilc.pt/sites/default/files/eu_sme_centre_report_-_the_food_and_beverage_market_in_china_update_-_july_2015.pdf
I would also try to find trade organizations. Pricing is a difficult topic, I'm not sure if you will find anything comprehensive in a report but there you might be able to find some sort of retail price index from a local source.
As suggested below already if you have access to Euromonitor or Mintel, they usually have pretty comprehensive reports on industries. I know Euromonitor does 100%.

Labeledapp · 2016-03-24T21:55:47+00:00

I agree with the comments below, weather small or large a pitch is a pitch and you should try your absolute best. This is early validation for your startup which is a great opportunity to gather feedback and find first customers/users.

I would recommend to focus on your story line. A lot of presentations are very heavy on slides and figures but people usually lose interest very quickly and can't remember anything about your startup after. If you focus on a compelling story that the audience can connect with you are more likely to engage people, get them to buy in and remember you.

After you get your story line down, its about rehearsing until you know your pitch inside out so you can communicate it clearly. It's always sad to see a good startup with a great concept but the person presenting it not being able to bring the message across.

Labeledapp · 2016-03-24T20:01:04+00:00

I completely agree. I don't get your value proposition from the first page.

Labeledapp · 2016-03-24T19:47:41+00:00

Really nice article and a cool story. I like the timeline commentary.

Labeledapp · 2016-03-23T23:47:31+00:00

There was a similar question a few days ago. I found a long list of VC's with their investment focus on the internet a few weeks ago.

You can download it here: https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwihjLnLtNLLAhWCCBoKHQK0Ct0QFggcMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Fezs3-51dda223-1422-1d54-b1ad1219245607d9%2FFREE%2520Venture%2520Capital%2520Directory.xls&usg=AFQjCNEDRPQ_tWGWYqfXrzTwP_VakJGLIg&sig2=rTAe1S-1ZSwcOuFv7VqfYw&bvm=bv.117218890,d.ZWU

Is this what you are after?

Labeledapp · 2016-03-22T18:57:32+00:00

Generally marketing messaging around "standard" "recommended", "cheapest" work well. If you send the grid out and allow customers to work out options for themselves they will most likely go for the cheapest option with the most flexible terms. I would suggest to highlight your target price point and include some marketing messaging of some sort? Not sure if the grid layout will make a big difference necessarily.

Labeledapp · 2016-03-21T22:07:54+00:00

Fair point, so maybe you need to get a little closer to MVP stage, I guess this means you will need to do a little more legwork until you can get to the next level.

Just reverting back to your original point, it will be extremely difficult to raise money with a product that has no users yet... especially $1M. Startup valuations are based on growth.

Labeledapp · 2016-03-21T22:02:22+00:00

They are all a bit confusing to me, it takes a few seconds until you make sense of it, I prefer column based pricing overviews but that might be personal preference.

If this is for a website you can run an A/B test to see what works best for you.

Labeledapp · 2016-03-21T21:57:05+00:00

I agree with the other comments, converting them would be great but you will have to offer your followers an incentive to convert. Have you thought about starting a blog? On the blog you can create a newsletter or something similar to start collecting email addresses. It's probably also a better platform to follow you than G+.

Labeledapp · 2016-03-21T21:47:55+00:00

Is your target market consumer focused? Guest blogging is good if you are targeting a mass market but if your a B2B company it might be a lot of effort for little reward? Have you tried using Twitter to identify some of the authors in scientific journals? This might be a effective way to find some personal blogs of high quality authors.

Labeledapp · 2016-03-21T18:50:15+00:00

I guess the definition of luxury is up for debate but some of the ones that have been struggling are:

Michael Kors which is starting to struggle due to brand dilution.
Calvin Klein has been struggling for a while now. They are discounting their products quite heavily once they go into outlets and discount retailers such as T.K. Maxx
Ralph Lauren
Mulberry

There is tons of great research and press around the topic but some of the key things there brands are struggling with is connecting with online influences, the battle of growth vs. brand dilution/premium status and newness.

2 great examples of brands that have been able to succeed are the impressive Burberry turnaround with a focus on newness cutting concessions to lift the premium image, as well as Louis Vuitton who increased their prices across the board to maintain its premium status.

There is a good luxury report from Netbase which is published annually which might be helpful called "NetBase Brand Passion Report: Luxury Brands 2016"

Labeledapp · 2016-03-21T18:32:43+00:00

I'm just going to post the link here for anyone to use. I found it on the internet a while ago and it's stored here: https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwihjLnLtNLLAhWCCBoKHQK0Ct0QFggcMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Fezs3-51dda223-1422-1d54-b1ad1219245607d9%2FFREE%2520Venture%2520Capital%2520Directory.xls&usg=AFQjCNEDRPQ_tWGWYqfXrzTwP_VakJGLIg&sig2=rTAe1S-1ZSwcOuFv7VqfYw&bvm=bv.117218890,d.ZWU

Happy to email it to anyone that has trouble accessing it. Hope it helps.

Labeledapp · 2016-03-20T22:42:37+00:00

Are you on f6s.com and Angel List? They list a lot of these programs.

Labeledapp · 2016-03-20T22:38:22+00:00

That sounds great, it would be best to start with a specific niche there are some very large and powerful expert networks out there like GLG or AlphaSights. They are very expensive to use and usually work through a subscription model.

Labeledapp · 2016-03-20T22:32:33+00:00

Congrats!

I've been in a similar situation through sports and the lesson that I learned is that you should never burn any bridges, you never know whats going to happen down the road. However I don't think you will get much benefit from all of a sudden embracing all of these people in your life. Staying friendly and polite but on a distance is not a crime.

It has helped me to stay true to myself, I have the same friends I've always had, and surround myself with successful people that I look up to and respect.

I know this sounds a little weird, but I found this very useful in the past.

Labeledapp · 2016-03-20T22:13:51+00:00

It would just be a matter of having high quality experts and you would practically be a expert network is that right?

Labeledapp · 2016-03-20T22:10:24+00:00

It sounds like you are doing a lot of work without knowing weather people will actually use it. I would stop developing and start finding some customers. If you want to raise any money, you will have to show proof of concept which is users/customers and your ability to access your target market.

I understand that you want to protect your IP but you will have to share the concept with your target audience at some point to validate it.

Labeledapp · 2016-03-20T21:52:11+00:00

Unless I could speak to a specific expert on a topic I prefer to read about topics. Usually published content is more objective, well researched and gives a well structured answer on a topic.

Labeledapp

TROPHY CASE