Getting started
Hi, and thanks for visiting CrowdMind. If you’re using the system, this is our Alpha build. That essentially means we’re evaluating what people understand, like/hate, and “need” in the process of researching decisions using the tool. Enjoy, and please leave us any feedback you think of (good and bad).
The Buildup
We’ve been churning out this product for almost a year now (not to mention the time we spent talking about it). In early November, I went part time from my old job to try to build out the CrowdMind product. We knew working “after work” was not producing much, so I took a 30% toe-in-the-water “mini-plunge” while Richesh finished out a contract he was under. Well, unfortunately, having one entrepreneur try to build out the whole vision without communication beyond IM seemed to still be too much to handle. I found myself building lots of framework features to deal with our choice of programming language instead of producing features for the actual application. We knew we needed to get in the same place as soon as possible.
The Roller Coaster
As first time entrepreneurs, this has been quite a journey. We go from being really excited about what we’ve built to completely demoralized after showing it to someone new who didn’t “get it.” Things as simple as graphics can really sway someone’s entire view of what we’re doing. There seems to be this magical simplicity level that everyone can recognize. But anything “new” or “different” has some trial and error to find that sweet spot. It’s really tough to find the words and images that represent things that are recognizable to a large group of people. For instance, what’s a common word for the sentence that you would put in an outline. Topic sentence? Statement? Opinion? Fact? They all seem true sometimes. Those are the types of problems we deal with constantly.
The Pitch
Pitching as new entrepreneurs has been… interesting. People are very willing to listen to us talk, but we’ve learned that we’re not a very good investment yet. I think our risk factor is still way too high. Here are 2 new guys who haven’t done anything (that anyone outside the consulting world has heard of), and a vision of a product that is fairly different than what they’re used to. Our frequent response has been, “Wow, that’s pretty neat. So… what can I do to help you?” That sentence does not mean, “Where do I sign up?” Early stage investments for new entrepreneurs seems to be after you’ve already got a product and a decent user base. Before that, you’ve got to believe in it enough to do it all on your own.
Understanding the Vision
CrowdMind has been a difficult product to explain. That’s a pretty scary premise. With the way the web is trending (simpler and simpler), we’ve been really uncomfortable with a vision that at one point was taking 10 minutes to explain. The pitch has gotten much better for us, but we are still struggling to make great evangelists out of our believers. That’s something we’re hoping to rectify with some great examples on the site.
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I am really excited to see what’s coming! How do I get a registration code?
Comment by Anne Hipp — November 4, 2008 @ 2:42 pm
Hey Anne, glad you’re excited! We’re doing small groups of Alpha Test users so we get as many of the confusing things out of the way as we can. We only get first impressions a certain number of times, so we’re trying to really take advantage of those. Hopefully, we’ll be spreading the test group in the upcoming month.
Comment by blake — November 4, 2008 @ 3:31 pm
I pitched with Richesh to TiE-DC.
I’ll be glad to help any way I can.
Comment by Marshall Maglothin — November 25, 2008 @ 12:34 pm
Thanks for the useful info. It’s so interesting
Comment by JamesD — June 11, 2009 @ 12:24 am
Blake -
Saw you profile on ATL Web Entrepeneurs Group.
I like what you’re doing. Wanted to offer some words of encouragement because I completely know how hard the start-up thing is. I liken it to a: black hole.
But, let me tell you, when you start to see the rays of light on a consistent basis you feel the greatest satisfaction of any work you’ve ever done.
Onward -
Debbie
Comment by Debbie Busch — June 16, 2009 @ 5:54 am
Hi Debbie,
Thank you for the support. Hopefully I’ll see you on Thursday. The startup definitely feels like a black hole at times, so I’m looking forward to those rays!
Blake
Comment by blake — June 16, 2009 @ 6:53 am