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22 Comments

My fake-it-till-you-make-it HARDWARE startup landing page. How trustworthy is it for you? Why?

  1. 4

    The site looks great. Lot of pictures look very similar or the exact same pic repeated. I'd want to see some with a human in the image as well, striking it, to gain a better sense of it

    1. 1

      Thank you, Jim,

      That's exactly what we have right now - a bunch of 3d renders and a veeeery sketchy prototype made mostly of tape and wires (too early for live photos yet).

      We'll see how to get more live humans using the product on the photos.

  2. 3

    The 25% off popup at the start is a big no no for me.

    Also, as someone mentioned before, it really needs a nice unobstructed video of people violently interacting with it.

    Also, the arm holding the phone is a little bit too close to something you're trying to hit with as much force as possible. And looks a bit too DIY.

    1. 1

      +1 to this; leading with a coupon doesn't inspire any trust in me. Maybe your target demographic is different, but I'd think twice about it if you're not sure.

    2. 1

      I think, on our actual devices we'll move to a more Peloton-ish look, like a huge iPad on top, not an old-school phone mount on the side, as you see now.

      The phone mount, btw, was the hardest thing to explain to our fellow 3d-visualisation guy. I think he just saved some time working on it. DIY look as a result. No idea how to fix quickly.

  3. 2

    Looks good - but I couldn't understand how one would actually interact with it - I'm left guessing that maybe you punch the circles but there's no clear explanation of how it actually works - A short video showing how a person uses it would go a long way, but since the product isn't ready yet then a step by step text explanation would also be good

    1. 1

      The bad thing is we have NO designer on board yet (If anyone reading this is open for a yet-non-profitable-venture, DM me).

      Anyway, your advice is accepted. The visitor must understand how it works, not only how it looks like. I'll manage something.

  4. 1

    Sorry, I don't get it. Let's assume there are 2 separate products:

    1. the thing you punch
    2. the electronics that register that punches

    Would I buy this square box that needs a concrete wall and sits at a fixed height on its own without any electronics?
    No.
    I have a speedball, a kickbag and a buddy with pads. There is just no use case for the "box".

    Now let's add the electronics to it. This kind of makes me think, oh, maybe I'll buy it. But I don't like the box, have no wall for it and my buddy is much taller than me. So I won't.

    Your value prop, the electronics, are offset by an inconvenient form factor.
    Until that dependency is removed your market is a fraction of what it can be.
    Basically, you can only sell to gyms and people training in rooms with a suitable concrete wall and like this form factor.

    Also, what about the power?
    I might stop using it the day the batteries run out.

    I now wonder if a wrist-mounted AX can do the same job.
    It should be able to tell what motion it was, but is unlikely to know if I hit the target.

    1. 1

      Hi, thank you. Nice to hear the opinion of a real home gym owner. My thoughts right now:

      1. The height adjustment feature can be really helpful for family use. Grabbed it to the backlog.
      2. Non-concrete walls seem to be a more common thing than I expected. In my country I can't even imagine a wall that wouldn't carry a 10-15 kg bag on it. But here on IH comments on this issue repeat.
      3. About the form-factor. It's improtant. "The thing" should be really simple, attractive and act as a trigger to start a short workout. What could we improve in it? The shape? The hanging principle? Or should we just make a standing heavy bag like FightCamp?

      And a bit of clarification:

      • In our current setup (think of it as a prototype) the device consumes almost nothing. The battery life is around a week now, as the harware is quite efficient. So, we like the idea of keeping it wireless. Do you think we should connect it to a power outlet instead?
      • FightCamp works with AX that you put into your wraps (and yes, you have to disassemble and charge them frequently). There are pros (like precision) and cons (not suitable for an instant workout) of wearable sensors. It's quite a viable concept, but remember that "Knockout" arcade machines in shopping malls? They have all you need inside, without external sensors, etc.
      1. 1

        Sorry, you don't get it. It's not how heavy it is. It's the force of a punch.
        A reasonably sized dude can easily deliver 2000N+ of force. It will loosen the screws in no time. Don't take my word for it. Go get a professional advice from an engineer.

        1. 1

          Hmm, this makes sense, of course. But initially when the idea of this form-factor came up, I've watched a lot of videos like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-rhCUTEJCo

          Even killers like Tony never managed to tear it off the wall. But thank you for the advice, we'll pay attention to the engineering side, of course.

          1. 2

            What I learned from this conversation is that there are people who express strong opinions and even seem credible, but in fact they lack context and what they say is plain wrong. They should be ignored.
            That's how I feel about my own advice after watching the video :)))

            1. 1

              Every comment brings sooo much value, though! Hope to see you among our early users one day :-)

  5. 1

    Renders are a big no-no for me. Make something real. Even if it's 3D printed. I wouldn't seriously consider it unless there was a video someone smashing it to pulp.
    Refer to what @Primer said.

    That arm with the phone looks flimsy. Is it even needed? Can't I just leave my phone on the floor?

    Does the device say Ouch when I hit it right? :)

    I used to work with BLE accelerometers a few years ago. Wouldn't a bag with a few high sampling rate accelerometers do the trick?

    1. 1

      Need to share someting with you! Today we had our first real-world gym tests. As for me, the video production is quite sketchy right now, but it's real: https://www.tiktok.com/@kayo.club/video/7011932119073164546?is_copy_url=0&is_from_webapp=v1&sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6863698889972581893

      The device is silent now, but I wrote down this point - the bag should ber responsive. Thanks.

      Today we've learnt that accelerometers work good enough, btw. Check the video - we made the bag to identify all types of punches from jabs to uppercuts and body hooks.

  6. 1

    Looks really legit, I would recommend to shore more of your app (programs? Games? Stats? Consistency tournament ?)

    That is the weak point to me.

    Maybe you could target fitness clubs, I can’t imagine any individual (I mean enough for good business) putting almost 1k in this kind of equipment.

    Cheers and congrats !

    1. 1

      Thanks, Robin,

      As I wrote above, unfortunately, we have no UX/UI teammate yet. But I got your point - some screens would help the product to look more legit for you. Got it!

      About $1K price tag and fitness clubs:

      • I really want to try that Peloton trick - they spend huuuuge amounts on customer acquisition and marketing: test-drives in premium locations, blogger and celebrity integrations, BUT they put all the CAC into theit bike price. Therefore once they sell the bike, they are already break-even and have a loyal customer with as low as 4% yearly bounce rate (crazy!).
      • Fitness club model can also be viable. Though, to be more secure if the lockdown happens again, I would rather focus on end customers.
  7. 1

    Honestly looks pretty legit. Not necessarily a product for me but I can see certain people buying it.

    I do recommend getting on some more social platforms (other than IG) so that you build up that social proof and what not.

    Keep at it!

    1. 1

      Thank you.

      We have a TikTok username squatted, too, BUT as the landing page is built with Godaddy's no-code solution, it supports only IG and maybe Twitter. I'll check it.

  8. 2

    This comment was deleted a year ago.

    1. 1

      Actually, the uppercut target bags (without connectivity) are on the rise now. And almost all of them (exept the cheapest) have the same construction that is cinsidered quite solid:

      • A welded rectangular frame (3mm thick metal, corner-shaped).
      • 4 anchor bolts 5x90mm (rag-bolt, stay-bolt, you name it)

      So, I bet you won't hook it off a concrete wall like at home or at the gym.

      1. 2

        This comment was deleted a year ago.

        1. 1

          Oh, now I got your point.

          What I know now is that as the bag has many layers of different stiffness inside, each strike gets "absorbed" quite well, and not that much of "pivoting" momentum comes to the frame (therefore to the wall) - though the punch bag weight is around 15 kg.

          (man it's hard to discuss physics being a non-native speaker)

          1. 1

            This comment was deleted a year ago.

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