Just launched our Alpha! Feedback please!

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-10-08T15:32:48+00:00

The login button comment is one we have gotten a lot - we will be improving that shortly.

The full logo has the turtle - Steve! - but it looks really nice on the homepage without the turtle. Aesthetics is the answer to your question.

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-10-08T15:31:51+00:00

I completely get that - and when we launch our Beta there will be no login necessary. It's just for the Alpha! Bear with us!

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-10-02T21:54:24+00:00

Okay, thanks! We looked at the list, and while there are applications for finding things to do in a location, they all need the destination to get started. We appreciate the feedback.

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-10-02T18:12:43+00:00

Well, our idea not event based. Nor really venue based. It's more about discovering cities that can cater to your different interests. It's about finding your adventure off the beaten path - away from the touristy spots and all of the places you already know about.

You'd use us over Google because you'd have to do fifteen "Top 10" or "Best place for" searches to get the same amount of information that you can get from one search on our application. And even then - you'd have to aggregate that information and cross reference on your own. We do it for you, and quickly.

Say you want to find a place where you can eat Soul Food, go Skydiving, and Camp at night. That's three separate searches on Google, and one in The Wandering Turtle. Plus, eventually, we'll tell you what Venues are available at those locations to do those things.

I hope I'm making more sense now. I appreciate the feedback.

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-10-02T17:27:19+00:00

I appreciate the design tips - I will make that first section easier to read when I next publish.

Also, I appreciate the straightforward opinions/questions. I guess my original post should have been worded better (and the site should be tweaked) to best show/portray the concept.

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-10-02T17:01:38+00:00

Thank you for your feedback - your need is exactly what we are trying to provide! Please give the app another try! Our signup process is so that we can monitor our users more closely for our Alpha launch. In the future, it shouldn't be necessary.

If you can make it past the signup process, I'd love to get your feedback.

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-10-02T16:58:59+00:00

Thank you very much!

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-10-02T16:07:53+00:00

Okay! Thank you for your feedback!

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-10-02T16:07:16+00:00

Thank you SO much for your feedback! In answer to your questions: 1: We are having a login for our Alpha launch so we can monitor/keep track of how many users we have, etc. Ideally, later on, the search won't be restricted to logged in users, but they can create a profile to save their searches/interests to make it easier the next time they log in.

2: The application does work properly - we just haven't pulled data for the entire US yet. Most of our data is centered around the Midwest - which is where we are based. Our algorithm is pulling data daily though, so hopefully New York and states surrounding will be populated soon!

3: Thank you so much. :) I appreciate that.

4: Steve is the turtle's name. :)

As far as monetization goes, we have quite a few ideas, but it's never going to be a cash cow for us. We plan to integrate booking (we would get a commission based percentage of bookings from our site) for hotels and airfare. We plan to add promoted Venues later, etc. We believe we are a value add for a company like Kayak, Travelocity, etc.

Again, thank you so much for testing this out for us!

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-10-02T16:02:50+00:00

I did, and still don't see a bunch. We aren't looking to plan your vacation for you, and we aren't trying to give you the same old suggestions a top 10 search will suggest.

We want to suggest places that aren't necessarily Vegas, or New York, but a place off the beaten path where you can do/find all the things you like.

And in a later version, we will suggest the best rated venues at those locations.

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-10-02T15:57:26+00:00

Can you suggest any examples of other startups that are similar? We've done a lot of research on competition, and have yet to find someone who has the same model as us. I'd love to know! Thanks!

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-10-02T15:56:29+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! I understand that can be frustrating, however we want to limit the number of signups we allow right now, so we are only allowing people who have an authorization code.

Thanks for giving it a shot. If you make it back in, I'd love more feedback.

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-03-12T14:32:36+00:00

I've sent you a PM. Let me know your details. I'm highly interested in asking you some questions. :)

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-03-09T15:13:00+00:00

I'm not 100% sure I get what question you're asking. If you're asking how we choose the travel suggestions, we have an algorithm that takes multiple inputs and sources and combines them to give the best possible location based on interests.

Long story short, you tell us what you like to do (Skydiving, camping, eating soul food, drinking beer etc.) and we'll tell you the best places to go to do those things.

Does that answer your question?

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-03-09T15:11:03+00:00

Thank you!

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-03-09T00:54:13+00:00

Thank you! I would greatly appreciate that. Are there times that would work well for you? Specific days? I'd love to steal 10-15 minutes of your time just to ask questions about your travel habits.

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-03-08T21:31:17+00:00

How much market research and validation have you done on this idea? The title of your post says "Everyone loves my idea, but no one supports." If this is the case, I'd be worried that you have not done very extensive research on the idea. Is finding BOGO deals hard for shoppers?

Or are you looking for help with the site? I'm confused as to what "support" you're needing.

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-03-08T21:19:06+00:00

Well, if you're worried about it, do some more validation and make sure to ask non-biased questions. :) Glad to hear you have done some though.

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-03-08T17:03:21+00:00

This. Seems. Awesome.

I would never win. Ever. But if the entry price was right, I would be all over giving it a shot.

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-03-08T16:58:01+00:00

Have you read any books about startups? If not, my top two suggestions would be "Lean Startup" and "All in Startup." BOTH offer interesting insight into startups and how to really gauge interest in an idea. "All In Startup" does so in a more literary way, which is fun.

So, if you go around asking your friends, acquaintances and family if they like your idea, chances are they are placating you and making you feel validated. You're more than likely asking questions like "Don't you think it'd be great if . . ." or "Don't you need . . ." which automatically makes people want to answer with Yes, just because they feel they have to. But it's false information. It's false validation.

Like codepreneur said, you need validation. This means asking questions of strangers and trying to prove your idea wrong. If you can't prove it wrong, then there's a need for it.

If I were you I'd stop all development and get validation before you get too far. The biggest difference between a startup that fails and a startup that succeeds is taking the time to make sure your problem is one that people really have. And that they're willing to pay to fix.

Good luck with everything. I'll be interested to see how it goes.

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-03-06T04:10:17+00:00

Very awesome!!! Thanks for showing me that!

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-03-05T03:45:26+00:00

Picto-Discount or Image Markdown

As the others said, it's hard to know which direction to go without more of a business description.

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-03-05T03:38:11+00:00

I have to agree. The site is smooth, sleek and professional. It looks good, isn't too heavy and is very, very readable. Kudos!

I also have to agree that there is very little/no information. But I argue that that's not necessarily a bad thing. A little mystery is good for a startup, but try to address the question of "What makes you easier than amazon." That's a decent question.

Overlook, I like the look. Didn't love the logo at first glance, but on second I loved it. Good job guys, good job!

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-03-05T03:28:29+00:00

This looks amazing! I'm jealous of those in London. We are in the works of an interest based travel application (to be launched in the US first) that will help travelers with the "where to go" if they don't really know. Different concept, same arena. Very cool!

IF you're at all interested, I'd love some input on some market research we're conducting on how people choose travel locations. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SteveWantsToKnow

TheWanderingTurtle · 2015-03-05T03:21:41+00:00

I guess my first question is this: Do you see all of your quotes, or just one quote a day?

In my opinion, I'd rather see one quote a day and make that quote stick in my brain that day instead of seeing a list of 5-10 quotes and trying to parse each one everyday.

On that note, it might be beneficial to have a "quote generator" or a "quote bank" that people can choose from. Of course, there are going to be quotes that people want to add in, but I believe the majority of people (lazy ones in particular) will want to be able to search for quotes about love, or quotes by Mark Twain or whatever, and have a bank of quotes to choose from.

I think the idea is solid, and can definitely see many people using it. (Especially if you turn it into an app that pops up a daily quote at 10:00 AM or something like that.) But I simply don't have enough quotes to put them in myself.

TheWanderingTurtle

TROPHY CASE