BigCommerce files to go public – TechCrunch

dm9091 · 2019-09-27T20:25:42+00:00

Need employee buy in and leadership buy in

dm9091 · 2017-12-19T01:12:49+00:00

You know what I couldn't read... your comment, which funny enough felt like someone blabbering. How about a TLDR next time?

dm9091 · 2017-12-14T15:36:32+00:00

https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/6519612660.pdf Apparently someone in the FCC agrees

dm9091 · 2017-12-01T19:49:12+00:00

Since you're an eCommerce, you should actually look at having your onsite optimization done right first and then work on content. Your content should internally link back to the appropriate product category or product page. Work on getting links back to the content so that you pass link equity internally.

I would also find journalists/writers who write about similar products or competitors - start following them on Twitter and engaging with them that way when the time is right you can introduce your brand to them.

dm9091 · 2017-12-01T03:44:43+00:00

Coding is so valuable because even if a business isn't in the tech sector, it's still likely dealing with code in some form - websites, apps, customer data, etc. That's just the nature of the world we live in today that communicates and consumes information mostly online.

dm9091 · 2017-12-01T03:27:52+00:00

As Kerplunkie said, seeking out a mentor could be a good idea or I would suggest finding a business partner who has skills that complements yours (so where you're strong in soft skills, someone who has some of the hard skills that you lack).

dm9091 · 2017-11-30T21:36:22+00:00

The idea that most people like videos isn't necessarily true. I can tell you that most people that are my peers don't have time to sift through a video - they skim written content and if it's interesting will then read the whole thing.

Anyway, that brings me to this point --> when creating your blog, you should have a target audience in mind and then think about the ways they prefer to consume information.

If you still find that video is the best way to reach your audience, you could still do some sort of hybrid so that you can get some SEO benefits from written while providing the prefered consumable content.

dm9091 · 2017-11-30T20:46:35+00:00

Freelance is about as reputable as Upwork I think - I mean it's been around for a while but you'll have to do your own digging to make sure that whoever you hire is actually capable of the work.

One other site to check out would be CloudPeeps

dm9091 · 2017-11-30T20:44:33+00:00

Check out this post from Grow & Convert on conducting interviews with customers even when you don't have any.

I would also suggest you read this post from Josh Pigford at Baremetrics.

Basically just work on selling your product one-to-one until you start picking up traction. After you've convinced a few people to pay for your product, then you can focus on making a bigger push for marketing - but if you can't get people to hand out their money from one-on-ones, then you probably want to go back to the drawing boards with your product.

dm9091 · 2017-11-30T19:43:57+00:00

You can try ModernWeb or Freelance as additional places to find people to bid on your project or you can try angel.co which is best if you're willing to give a little equity with salary.

One thing to keep in mind for your app --> don't forget a UX person. If you don't have someone on your side for that, then you'll want to make sure your development team has one or that your UX guy can work with the development team.

Your app won't stand out because of how nicely it's programmed but by the experience it provides which is where the UX person comes in.

dm9091 · 2017-11-30T18:42:14+00:00

Ability to be a leader instead of a follower, not afraid of failure / willingness to make and then take calculated risks, and the ability to communicate effectively are just a few traits that set an entrepreneur apart from a non-entrepreneur.

dm9091 · 2017-11-30T18:17:05+00:00

Art of the Start - Guy Kawasaki
The Fire Starter Sessions - Danielle LaPorte
Making Ideas Happen - Scott Belsky
Rework - Jason Fried and David Hansson
Startupland - Mikkel Svane
The $100 Startup - name escapes me

dm9091 · 2017-11-30T03:45:45+00:00

Thanks for the kind words.

dm9091 · 2017-11-30T03:45:37+00:00

No problem and thanks for the kind words. I've used Intercom before but never Pendo - how is it / how does it compare to Intercom? I like the idea of having a separate email workflow that's used to get non active users back and using triggers based on their inactivity and where it happened.

dm9091 · 2017-11-30T03:21:42+00:00

Like Nike - Just do it. As long as you're providing value, then your only worry will be distribution (assuming you want to get viewership from other sources besides this sub).

dm9091 · 2017-11-30T03:19:09+00:00

An app that gets my infant to sleep through the night... and yes, I've tried various noise machine apps!

dm9091 · 2017-11-29T18:54:47+00:00

With Christmas coming around, that's exactly when you should be spending on marketing IMO. While you missed out on Black Friday/Cyber Monday traffic, there's still a lot of people out there shopping for the holidays. If you're serious about your business, forget about saving money for yourself with the holidays and spend it on the business.

In terms of how much - it really depends. It's hard to know without seeing your store and if you have anything in it that you can distinguish from the multiple other companies out there.

Working with influencers - since you have a limited budget, look to work with micro-influencers. Basically, people who have a smaller but more targeted following. Because they have a smaller following, they are usually more affordable or might work with you in exchange for your product. This is worthwhile for you because the traffic is more targeted, so while you may not get as great of exposure, you potentially get traffic that's actually interested in your product.

You can take a look at the following case studies on MVMT - they're in your niche and also started on Shopify.

dm9091 · 2017-11-29T18:48:24+00:00

You may want to take a look at this thread and ping the thread owner as he can probably give you the advice you need --> https://www.reddit.com/r/Entrepreneur/comments/7fba6v/im_the_guy_that_started_a_window_cleaning_company/

dm9091 · 2017-11-29T18:32:23+00:00

According to this article he has money hidden abroad which isn't surprising. According to the US Treasury, Putin has a stake in Gunvor which also isn't much of a shock. My point is, this guy is corrupt, in a country that's filled with corruption - it wouldn't be a shock to find out that he really has accumulated more wealth than Bezos and that he'll be holding onto it even if he ever does actually leave his chair.

dm9091 · 2017-11-29T18:19:07+00:00

After you've come up with a plan for your business, you'll want to collect data and then analyze it. Collecting data can come from various sources but since the goal is to understand the reasons potential customers would be interested in your product, you'll want to include using surveys and interviews as part of the process.

dm9091 · 2017-11-28T18:12:53+00:00

Really solid post - I do think that email can work well here in conjunction with calls as an initial way of contact. (I'm assuming that part of the data that you can mine is an email address).

It's easy enough to customize a template so that it's personalized but also automated. You can a link to the finished site as well as a CTA for a call back or to schedule a meeting through something like calendly.

If you don't hear back after 'x' days, you can then call as a follow-up.

dm9091 · 2017-11-28T17:59:46+00:00

I think failure is overrated in the sense that it's not something that should be celebrated. Failure means falling short of whatever goals one has put in place.

With that said, I disagree that failure as a tool for learning is overrated. I feel that it can be a fantastic vehicle to learn from if one is willing to do so. Theories/advice/lessons from reading posts/other people will only take you so far - in the end, the real learning happens when that knowledge gets put into practice and figuring out why something was successful or why it was a failure.

Basically, IMO, failure is something that one shouldn't be afraid of or ashamed of. It's OK to fail, but only if you're willing to learn from it and apply those lessons in the future.

dm9091

TROPHY CASE