How important was the drip email system to your overall success? And how did you find mailgun to integrate / work with?
2
It definitely saved me some sales. The most important Email in the sequence is the one I send 10 days before the end of the trial, asking the user if they need more time. A lot of people respond that they didn't have the time to go over it in detail yet and would love another month. Also an opportunity for me to start talking to them.
Mailgun is very easy to work with, I had already integrated with it in my previous company so I didn't have much work to do there.
1
Thanks. Also, can I just say, good job! It's really encouraging to see someone build something for a defined audience and put the customer first - and see these great results!
2
Thumb up for insisting on staying in touch with customers daily. And many other useful tips. Thanks.
1
For the initial pain points that you uncovered, did you build them all into your MVP? What where those? What were things that you added later and how long did it take you to build your app to its current state?
1
Yes, I felt that in order for the software to be able to replace existing solutions at a gym, it needs to answer all the major use-cases. That included member sign-up and waivers, payment processing and memberships and attendance tracking. I think perhaps the website feature was not necessary since most existing software solution do not provide it, but I want to differentiate there and it was part of my growth strategy.
Some features that were added include a POS (Point of sale) feature (for selling equipment at the gym), rank and sport management, a document management feature, a revamped membership features, additional payment processors and many more. Those updates all happened incrementally since I launched it and it still goes on today (2 years later).
1
Nice work Eran, hey your customer are only from brazil or around the globe? if so, how you manage the bills/invoices with the localizations for each specific country?
Very inspiring indeed.
2
Actually, I don't think I have a single user from Brazil :)
Though it's called "Brazilian Jiu Jitsu", it's actual a global sport right now - and I cater to every martial art regardless (as well as yoga studios and fitness gyms). Most of customers are US based, but I have some from Europe and South America. The UI is only in English right now (might consider localization later). Payments are handled by payment processors such as Stripe and Authorize.net, so as long at your country is supported you'll be able to process payments through my software.
1
Congrats on your success Eran!
Did you include the digital members sign in from MVP, or was this feature added at a later stage? (For example instructors manually input the info later)
It must have been hard to explain how to use the software to early users.
1
The instructors use the same UI as the members to input the details, so it was baked in from the start. That was a critical element of the software in my opinion.
I tried making the software as user friendly as possible, and feel that I did a good job in that respect since most users have no difficulty using it with minimal to no input from me. Of course, I continuously improved on some pain points that I saw people asking about a lot. User feedback is very important for that reason also
1
Damn. Capterra. Yeah... Didn't even think about that one. Love this community. Great choice on learning BJJ and providing value to that community.
1
Eran, congratulations! As a young software developer/amateur entrepreneur myself, I find this kind of post just amazing.
Specially after Binpress, seeing you succeed warms my heart. I hope that someday I can be just like you :)
You said you track some technical parameters. Do you mind elaborating on that?
Cheers,
Bruno
1
I was to referring to common conversion metrics, such as clickthrough-rate, time on page, conversion rate to trial, conversion rate to paying customer, churn rate, segmentation by channel, etc
Those are useful to track but don't tell the whole story
1
You have a great business model on your hands, Eran! Just allow me to make few suggestions:
-your price page needs re-doing - colours, plan names, pricing, offer... I assume this is causing you some loss of revenue
-your website design does not seem to be gym oriented, but more SAAS oriented. Gym crowd likes explosive, energetic things, not corporate and neutral...
-if its hard to spell it, change it. Your domain might be cool for IT guys, not for gym folk, dont you think? If it would be "Man Rails" - ok'ish, but "Mano Rails" is harder to remember, pronounce and I bet it will get lost in minds of busy people.
1
Hi Bart! Thank you for the kind words :)
I agree about the pricing page not being ideal, When I get the chance I would definitely love to redesign it.
Regrading the overall design of the website - It's geared towards gym managers / owners, not gym goers. The goal was to convey a clean, professional feel, and I feel it's doing that while having some martial arts influences.
Regarding the name, you got it a bit wrong - it's MA on Rails. MA stands for Martial Arts - anyone who trains should not have a problem with that. It's actually a good conversation starter - a lot of people have heard of Ruby on Rails (yes, even gym managers) and ask if that's where it comes from.
Appreciate the feedback!
1
Right, I have misread the domain name. Sorry about that.
I still think gym owners/managers are more lenient to energetic designs rather than corporate. I understand that this is focused on top-tier people, but since they work there and probably use the facilities, they live in the world of Proteins and Gym Gear with all their hyped ads. This is why I think your website styling can be a bit too neutral and calm.
2
Martial arts gyms have a different vibe than what you are talking about :) For fitness gyms, I definitely agree though
1
Yep, I agree with you, and I think your approach is correct. A martial arts gym and a fitness gym are two very different places.
How important was the drip email system to your overall success? And how did you find mailgun to integrate / work with?
It definitely saved me some sales. The most important Email in the sequence is the one I send 10 days before the end of the trial, asking the user if they need more time. A lot of people respond that they didn't have the time to go over it in detail yet and would love another month. Also an opportunity for me to start talking to them.
Mailgun is very easy to work with, I had already integrated with it in my previous company so I didn't have much work to do there.
Thanks. Also, can I just say, good job! It's really encouraging to see someone build something for a defined audience and put the customer first - and see these great results!
Thumb up for insisting on staying in touch with customers daily. And many other useful tips. Thanks.
For the initial pain points that you uncovered, did you build them all into your MVP? What where those? What were things that you added later and how long did it take you to build your app to its current state?
Yes, I felt that in order for the software to be able to replace existing solutions at a gym, it needs to answer all the major use-cases. That included member sign-up and waivers, payment processing and memberships and attendance tracking. I think perhaps the website feature was not necessary since most existing software solution do not provide it, but I want to differentiate there and it was part of my growth strategy.
Some features that were added include a POS (Point of sale) feature (for selling equipment at the gym), rank and sport management, a document management feature, a revamped membership features, additional payment processors and many more. Those updates all happened incrementally since I launched it and it still goes on today (2 years later).
Nice work Eran, hey your customer are only from brazil or around the globe? if so, how you manage the bills/invoices with the localizations for each specific country?
Very inspiring indeed.
Actually, I don't think I have a single user from Brazil :)
Though it's called "Brazilian Jiu Jitsu", it's actual a global sport right now - and I cater to every martial art regardless (as well as yoga studios and fitness gyms). Most of customers are US based, but I have some from Europe and South America. The UI is only in English right now (might consider localization later). Payments are handled by payment processors such as Stripe and Authorize.net, so as long at your country is supported you'll be able to process payments through my software.
Congrats on your success Eran!
Did you include the digital members sign in from MVP, or was this feature added at a later stage? (For example instructors manually input the info later)
It must have been hard to explain how to use the software to early users.
The instructors use the same UI as the members to input the details, so it was baked in from the start. That was a critical element of the software in my opinion.
I tried making the software as user friendly as possible, and feel that I did a good job in that respect since most users have no difficulty using it with minimal to no input from me. Of course, I continuously improved on some pain points that I saw people asking about a lot. User feedback is very important for that reason also
Damn. Capterra. Yeah... Didn't even think about that one. Love this community. Great choice on learning BJJ and providing value to that community.
Eran, congratulations! As a young software developer/amateur entrepreneur myself, I find this kind of post just amazing.
Specially after Binpress, seeing you succeed warms my heart. I hope that someday I can be just like you :)
You said you track some technical parameters. Do you mind elaborating on that?
Cheers,
Bruno
I was to referring to common conversion metrics, such as clickthrough-rate, time on page, conversion rate to trial, conversion rate to paying customer, churn rate, segmentation by channel, etc
Those are useful to track but don't tell the whole story
You have a great business model on your hands, Eran! Just allow me to make few suggestions:
-your price page needs re-doing - colours, plan names, pricing, offer... I assume this is causing you some loss of revenue
-your website design does not seem to be gym oriented, but more SAAS oriented. Gym crowd likes explosive, energetic things, not corporate and neutral...
-if its hard to spell it, change it. Your domain might be cool for IT guys, not for gym folk, dont you think? If it would be "Man Rails" - ok'ish, but "Mano Rails" is harder to remember, pronounce and I bet it will get lost in minds of busy people.
Hi Bart! Thank you for the kind words :)
I agree about the pricing page not being ideal, When I get the chance I would definitely love to redesign it.
Regrading the overall design of the website - It's geared towards gym managers / owners, not gym goers. The goal was to convey a clean, professional feel, and I feel it's doing that while having some martial arts influences.
Regarding the name, you got it a bit wrong - it's MA on Rails. MA stands for Martial Arts - anyone who trains should not have a problem with that. It's actually a good conversation starter - a lot of people have heard of Ruby on Rails (yes, even gym managers) and ask if that's where it comes from.
Appreciate the feedback!
Right, I have misread the domain name. Sorry about that.
I still think gym owners/managers are more lenient to energetic designs rather than corporate. I understand that this is focused on top-tier people, but since they work there and probably use the facilities, they live in the world of Proteins and Gym Gear with all their hyped ads. This is why I think your website styling can be a bit too neutral and calm.
Martial arts gyms have a different vibe than what you are talking about :) For fitness gyms, I definitely agree though
Yep, I agree with you, and I think your approach is correct. A martial arts gym and a fitness gym are two very different places.