My MVP business plan -- your thoughts on the best tech stack?
I developed a botanical body butter that is extremely helpful for my dad, who has skin issues related to an autoimmune disorder. I would like to sell this butter online.
My plan is to offer free, generous samples for people who are interested in the product. Once they have tried the sample, they can buy a big jar. By giving people free samples, I'm hoping to maximize sales while eliminating returns.
I have coded before, but not for a while, so I think that no-code tools would be my preference.
For a basic but functional MVP, I think that I will need:
- A landing page showing off the product, with a form for people to fill out to request a sample. All I really need from them is name, address, email, and why they want a sample/what skin condition they are dealing with. I want to track what people are using it for so that I can, over time, figure out what the best use cases for the butter are.
- A pay portal, hooked up to my landing page, that allows people to order a big jar once they've tried the sample and liked it.
I think this is all that I need to start with. Right now, I'm thinking about using Popsy for the landing page and Gumroad for the pay portal.
What do you all think? Do you have recommendations on what no-code tools to use for building the landing page with the form and the pay portal?
Why not use Shopify?
It's really easy, customisable, affordable, and makes for a great looking website that can grow as your venture grows.
Using gumroad + popsy + DIY may make for a fun builder experience but the end result may look a bit naff in comparison imo.
Have you considered focusing solely on the condition your dad has?
If it's a common condition then presumably the market would be big enough for you & the product has then at least been proven for one sufferer.
Opening it up to more conditions too early may be a mistake.
My guess is the tech stack will be the least of your challenges as there's a whole set of questions around safety, production, distribution, marketing, etc, that you will have to face en route.
But don't be put off. You have potentially a great product that could help a lot of people.
If you're not aware of the "jam boy story" then you may like to try the book below. It's a long time since I read it, but if I remember correctly he talks about moving from his
jam making from a kitchen table to selecting a factory etc.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SuperBusiness-Started-SuperJam-Grans-Kitchen/dp/085708142X
Best of luck!
@rab, thanks so much for the thoughtful response!
Shopify sounds like a great way to streamline the "getting online" part of the business. Thanks for the tip.
My plan was to target skin issues related to autoimmune disorders, but perhaps you're right, and it's a good idea to niche down even further to my father's disorder. I agree that trying to target too broad a niche would be a mistake. I will say, though, that enough of my friends and family have tried it that I am already aware of other use cases that are extremely common (eczema, for example). But for getting early traction, the most specific niche possible is probably the way to go.
I love book recommendations. I'll check it out! Thank you!
There's no real formulae to this that will guarantee success; you just need to try & do and reflect and adapt. Listen to people. Digest. And respectfully disregard when you think necessary. Decent advice for a startup is to find a specific niche that loves your product; if it's eczema then you're certainly on to a winner, I just think a "any autoimmune condition" positioning will be difficult to gain traction without a big budget. Get some users that love your product & get quotable feedback from them; simply people will buy stuff that other people like. I suspect really you're pre-website and can do this by word of mouth through family & friends until you know your target audience, but hey go for it. Look forward to hearing progress.
"try & do and reflect and adapt." I like how you've phrased this.
"Get some users that love your product & get quotable feedback from them". Totally, I'd like to have some great quotes and even before and after photographs.
I'm definitely pre-website. My next step actually is not to make a website but to make a larger batch to distribute to a much broader network of friends! 😂 But I really appreciate all of the feedback. Very helpful as I continue to think through strategy and next steps. 🙏🏻
I agree with @rab 100%.
Rather than get distracted with cobbling together a solution yourself, grab an off the shelf, polished user experience and then put your efforts into the real aspect of running a business instead of building something needlessly because it’s more fun.
I’m not sure about the free sample though tbh.
It might not work how you intend 🤷♂️.
I’d try selling to begin with and re-evaluate if you get a lot of people bouncing without a purchase.
Whichever way you go, best of luck! 🍻
@Shaunau, great to hear your opinion. Makes perfect sense.
You know, if I could sell the product without sending out free samples, I would save an extraordinary amount of time and money. It certainly seems that testing my sales funnel before including a free sample is a good idea!! Thanks for that.
Also agreed. Shopify is the standard for a basic ecommerce site, with everything you need to get started.
You could use Wefblow Ecommerce if you want more control over UI, robust CMS for SEO purposes and a strong integration into the broader no-code ecosystem.
Not really worth the time to go outside these two options, though.
@tomas_riegos, good to hear this reaffirmed. Thanks for taking the time to shared your thoughts!
Sounds like a neat product, Brandon!
What's your marketing plan? How are you going to get people to your landing page?
My current thought is to try Google ads targeting people searching for natural skin products for people with autoimmune disorders.
tapflow.app
Are you some kind of chemist? How did you come up with your recipe?
I'm not a chemist. The original recipe was a shot in the dark, really, but I've iterated a number of times and made tweaks based on feedback and reading I've done.