Whether I should go for a venture funding to get my app noticed?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2893095

by Ramanean • 15 years ago

1 13 15 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I have created android app "TextOnly-Browser" which makes it easier for user to read articles on android phones..It also saves on data usage and load times are faster when compared with a normal browser

I have emailed(multiple times) almost all the top tech blogs but none of them seem to be taking notice of it...

Some of the questions I like to ask a)Why there is such a dislike towards startups or apps which are boot strapped?

b)Only when you get venture funding from some dumb xyz venture you seem to get noticed by these blogs

c)It's not only for mine..I have also noticed other apps/sites getting rejected like this..

I have seen even dumber apps than mine get funding from incubators/ventures and get noticed..So whether I should also go for venture funding???

benologist2• 15 years ago

You're focusing on the wrong blogs. Find ones that specialize in reporting on Android app, that's where your potential users are, not on TC getting the latest Apple news.

Ramanean5• 15 years ago

I already have mailed them and no response...You got to have friends in the industry or you got to be from Silicon valley to get into there

benologist2• 15 years ago

Then find a way to get their attention.

Or run ads for your app.

Or come up with some crazy viral marketing scheme.

Or build another app and double your chances of success.

senko• 15 years ago

There's no dislike; there's thousands of apps and app authors out there; the tech blogs are overrun with people pitching their apps; you need to stand above the crowd - and not by trying to shout more, but by being outstanding in some way; as for the marketing part, here's a classic article: http://blogs.balsamiq.com/product/2008/08/05/startup-marketi...

There's a number of ways you can market your app: submit to app directories, use AdMob and other ad platforms, "sell" a compelling story involving your app (see kreci's series of "independent developer progress update" articles, he posts them regularly), etc.

Sorry if this is a bit harsh, but: you seem to think venture funding is a way to raise your visibility - which is partly true, but if you can't get the blogs to write about you, how do you plan to get people to write you cheques? Also, unless your app is truly groundbreaking and has potential to grow into something much more (eg what Rovio did with Angry Birds), is there really a point in trying to get funding?

byoung22• 15 years ago

unless your app is truly groundbreaking and has potential to grow into something much more (eg what Rovio did with Angry Birds), is there really a point in trying to get funding?

Exactly. How is this app different/better than the many great Android RSS reader apps out there. What sort of business model could you build around your app? Text-based ads? I think venture capitalists and tech bloggers alike would ask these questions before giving you the time of day.

Ramanean5• 15 years ago

It's not a RSS reader..It displays a list of articles from a site and once you click on article it would display only the content of the article..I have already listed the reasons above

Main features:Less data usage,Low load times for users,easier to read content

Business model 1:I am going to let website publishers display their textlink ads in between the paragraphs of an article (They would have their own links) My revenue stream: A link in the list of articles as well as a link at the top of article

Business Model 2:A single link between the paragraphs by revenue sharing between the publisher and myself

Ramanean5• 15 years ago

Features of my app:

a)It only presents you textonly version of any article (Only content)

b) Less data usage for users as the content is cached on my servers (Only necessary content would be displayed..No need to load images,css etc.,)

c) Less hosting costs for website owners (Again content is cached on my site)

d)No need for RSS feed, just enter the url --->Click on article ---> start reading

It's bit like readability..The basic difference between mine and readability is you need to input a url for readability whereas for mine it's not..You don't need RSS feed for reading articles,Enter any site's url and you can read only the content from articles,Here is a couple of screenshots for TechCrunch (It displays only the content of the article)

https://www.gstatic.com/android/market/com.spacenext.textonl... https://ssl.gstatic.com/android/market/com.spacenext.textonl...

When I am saving data usage for users and giving them a good interface to read articles on mobile phones (android) why shouldn't I get a pitch?

If you need try it out here https://market.android.com/details?id=com.spacenext.textonly...

It works with most of the sites(80%) except the sites which have been coded badly...

pedalpete3• 15 years ago

I've read many of your comments below, and you seem absolutely convinced that the only way to get coverage is by having contacts in the industry, or by being in Silicon Valley.

Well, I can tell you as somebody who is definitely not in Silicon Valley, has never raised money, has no contacts with tech blogs and has been featured on TechCrunch, TechRadar and others, that it isn't only about connections.

You are absolutely convinced that your app should be covered by these blogs, but the blogs are covering apps that are new/different/special.

I don't mean to be harsh, and it doesn't mean that your app doesn't have a market, but the 'features' you are touting about text-only, less data usage, less costs, etc. Aren't selling points for the general population. I live in Canada where data usage costs are MUCH higher than in the US so you'd think that I should care about these things. But the plain facts are that css, images, etc. are barely a minor percentage of data usage. Video uses data, music to a lesser extent, skype, etc. These are the data hogs. You've created a product that might fit a very small niche, and you sound like you are trying to get the major outlets to cover it. That isn't going to happen unless you can pitch them a story about why it matters, and where it has made a difference.

Think about how your app has actually helped somebody do something that they couldn't do otherwise. What is the true benefit of text-only web? Make it personal.

By the sounds of things you may be trying to pitch your app based on 'features' which rarely matter. Twitter wasn't the blog darling because they only allowed 140 characters, they got all the attention because they allowed you to communicate quickly with a large group of people, and the brevity made the content easy to digest. 'Tell your friends about the great band that's playing at xyz, with Twitter'. What would your headline be? Is it interesting and would anybody care?

You've got to work on your marketing, though I also think you need to work on the reason your product exists.

Ramanean5• 15 years ago

I think I am communicating it in a wrong way...I think I should change the name of the app first!!

Yes I think I need to work on my marketing vigorously

pedalpete3• 15 years ago

One last bit of advice. You mention you need to work on 'marketing', if you think of it as 'positioning' at this point, that will hopefully help you better understand where your product fits, the need it answers. Once you know that, marketing should be much easier.

pedalpete3• 15 years ago

Oh, I just came across this link on TechCrunch. Perfect example of the human story, even if it is completely off topic and unrelated, it made it on to techcruch because it is something funny, and most importantly human relatable. http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/16/jeremy-and-his-mom/

We've all had times when Mom embarrassed us because she wanted us to call, right?

Whether I should go for a venture funding to get my app noticed?

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