Should we try to grow our free B2C site for eventual ad revenue or pivot?
Hey IH Community!
My partner and I spent the last couple days in a bit of an existential spin that began basically as soon as we finished our MVP.
We built it as part learning project, part trying to replace freelance work and now that we're deep into IH, we're wondering whether we should listen to what we've read here and focus on something more immediately profitable.
The Product:
- https://learnlistt.com lets experts and enthusiasts create lists of recommended resources on a topic.
The Status:
- In 30 days we've had ~6K views
- Our first list maker tweeted his list and it became his most popular tweet (47 likes 9 retweets)
- We got 300+ views on a list just by posting a few answers to Reddit questions
- We want to hit Ramen profitability ($5K/mo), but our only thought about monetization is arbitrary: some sort of ads at 100K page views/month.
The Problem:
- It doesn't feel like we should pivot before we really try to grow it...all we've done is posted to our personal LinkedIn/FB and answered 3 reddit questions.
- It's hard to aim for "100K page views" because it won't pay our rent. But this really seems like the kind of thing that needs volume before it'll make money and so we can't focus on growth + monetization simultaneously.
- We've redesigned 3 times, added a bunch of features, and still feel like we should fix a bunch of stuff...this is hard to stop even if it isn't generating $.
The Questions:
- Does this kind of business just not work as an indie hack?
- Before we've proven that this can grow (and therefore make us $), do we split time between marketing and product or focus 100% on marketing?
- How do we estimate # views before can expect to cover $5k/mo with this kind of business?
Thanks for any input and just for reading!
I don't know about the "convention wisdom" about IH or startups. Here is just my opinion from my experience.
There are 3 very basic things that are involved in starting a business.
Usually this is how it goes when people start a business. They think there may be a market for some products/services that they can provide. They get some funding or they self fund. They create the products or services and start the business.
But after the service/products are available, most business face the problem of sales & marketing. They can't get enough customers to generate enough income to continue. I have started a few business this way:-)
So right now, when I decide to start a business, I do the other ways. If I or my team does n't know how to do sales & marketing for the service or products to get a lot of customers, I won't consider the business. It is easy to sell to 10 customers. But how about 100 customers, 1000 customers or more, if the unit price is low? I need to know how I or my team would be able to do that before I start the business.
There is an opportunity cost to start a business. So I need to choose wisely. My criteria includes the decent ability to do sale & marketing of the service/products. "Build it and they will come" is just playing lottery. The odd is against me.
If you have already validated that there is a huge market demand for your particular products/services and they will be sold like hot cakes once available, then just go ahead and start the business:-)
Just my 2 cents.
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So to answer your questions, my suggestion is to drastically reduce the time working on your product. Instead, spend the time on sales & marketing. Get outside help if possible or needed. If there is no traction, it is time to pivot wisely this time.