Ask HN: Is it useful to ask HN to "review my startup"?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1850183

by dfrankow • 16 years ago

6 7 16 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I've seen plenty of ask HNs for review.

On the plus side, you get feedback, as opposed to the deathly silence of the Internet.

On the minus side, asking people to populate the web with criticism of your efforts seems the opposite of marketing triumph. Transparent, open to feedback, good. Getting ripped in public, not good.

What sayest thou?

Detrus• 16 years ago

Well very few people see them, they almost never get on the front page.

Generally this feedback is for stages when people are not marketing yet.

jaspalsawhney• 16 years ago

There are in my opinion some benefits 1. There are a large number of people who are wanting to help you without anything in return - so for a startup where resources are already scarce its actually a good thing 2. Most of the "review my startup" posts come before the app/service has formally launched so it kind of works like a private launch for people 3. In the process of asking someone to review your startup. You'll get in touch with people who turn out be good sources for advice etc 4. Criticism is not in my opinion directed at someone's efforts but rather at the end product which is what the person posting asked for 5. Last thing - any marketing good or bad is better than no marketing

gdl• 16 years ago

If there is a lot to criticize, better for it to happen early and by a niche crowd that will give you useful advice than when you're trying to launch and everyone just thinks "this sucks" and silently ignores it.

Also, If the general population becomes interested enough in your site to spend the time hunting down an old unflattering HN thread then you've already won.

ljf• 16 years ago

I think it really depends on what you are asking. are you seeing if the tech solution you used, works and is what others would use? are you looking for basic design feedback? is the target audience coders/hackers/bloggers?

all those can be answered well here, but for general advice on a site aimed at non technical users you are far better asking friends and family. I'll put up with a clunky site, with poor text/design, if the site does what I want. most non technical users won't.

I see the same issue here a lot with people building sites to fix anothers supposed problem (tool to do x) without it being a tool they would use, or a problem they really understand, and without asking if others would look to solve that problem online.

jeffepp• 16 years ago

If you create a popular app you will get ripped in public. At least here you have a chance to respond quickly.

The HN community provides insightful & quality feedback that would otherwise be provided by a user.

To me, it's a no-brainer. The benefits substantially outweigh the costs.

willheim• 16 years ago

You're answer is in the true form of your question. You say "your efforts seem the opposite of marketing triumph" so you view a HN review as a marketing exercise. I don't believe that asking the HN community to review your site is a good marketing ploy. It is asking for a review. Reviews should be honest. Good sites/ideas will be praised. Bad ones will be ripped. And some sites will just not be understood.

In any case, when you ask for a review you better expect a mix bag.

dfrankow• 16 years ago

Edit 2010-11-04: thanks for all your comments. This does indeed seem like a supportive community.

Ask HN: Is it useful to ask HN to "review my startup"?

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