PowerUp

I've seen how powerful Masterminds can be watching my partner be part of one every Sunday with 5 other incredible business owners/aspiring business owners.

I decided - what the hell! Let me post one for Melbourne Indie Hackers and Bootstrappers and invite people to share one celebration, and one key challenge they would like a collective group's opinion on. Goal: use the collective power of people's experience to crack the one big hurdle you're facing this week.

The first registration for the event happened in less than 24 hours! Please join if you'd like. I am limiting it to 7 people so we get the most out of it but there's a few spots left! https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/free-indie-hacker-melbourne-mastermind-tickets-127242751495?aff=erelexpmlt

2nd A/B test is currently running and the winning creative is already garnering 10% conversion rate!

Same audience as the previous post and ad-set test.

Creative tested: Video format with a rotation of smiley faces representing Business, Body & Life content categories of PowerUp. You're welcome to see the creative example here: https://bit.ly/3mwZDeY

A/B test: headlines - short versus long + emoji usage

Final results: Shorter headline wins: "Conversations without the blah blah"

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Always happy to help!

powerup.chat

I decided (as mentioned in my previous post) to really focus on testing my product with real users and with data.

I've just completed my first test on the tagline for the product. I tested: A: "Chat with inspiring humans and power up your life business & body" and B: "Amp up your life, business & body".

In full disclosure, one of my former mentors told me that tagline A was too long and confusing, so I decided to test the theory. I came up with 3, asked 5 people for their favourite and tested the top 2.

The winner? Tagline A: Chat with inspiring humans and power up your life business & body

The methodology: 2 Facebook ad creatives tested as an A/B: identical, except for the tagline in the graphic.

Budget: $20 AUD

Length: 1 day

Disclaimer: It's a very short test with a small budget, sure.

Final results: A - 7 clicks & B: 2 clicks.

Getting ready for test 2: the ad creative.

powerup.chat

The pre-launch site of PowerUp is live today - it's so great to see this starting to take shape after pivoting from another name & site. The little inside secret: I ended up paying a friend to help me out - a) he's brilliant and b) I've been focusing on the MVP & testing it.

MVP Update: I'm ironing out the last few bugs whilst continuing to privately test the MVP with users. Which reminds me to also remind you all - listen to the feedback of actual users, not friends and family who are not your target market... So easy to fall into this trap. Here's an example - a colleague of mine offered to test PowerUp and told me up-front he would never use it and he's not interested in any personal development. Thank you anyway!

In the next little while, I will be A/B testing a series of ads to learn which is the best and clearest value proposition, which graphics work best and also shortly which tone of voice - do my users want serious, sleek, accessible messaging for a personal development product, or they ready for something impactful and FUN? e.g. "PowerUp is loaded with original, exclusive content and all of the good stuff you need. It’s why we named it after one of those things that Mario Kart eats. It sends you into over-drive. "

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

If you need anything from me - always available for my fellow Indie Hackers on [email protected].

powerup.chat

And... early users are saying "wow, this is impressive". I mean, COME ON...!

I normally brace myself to hear what people have to say back to me in each user-testing phase, as it's always a mix of "stuff". Usually, I am grateful for the feedback (feedback is the breakfast of champions), but admittedly, it comes with a lot of extras that = more work, more refining, further from the goal than I thought, and more confusion of which way to go.

I think it's going to be different this time ;)

One of the high-profile, Australian entrepreneurs I've turned into a PowerUp bot wrote back and said "Very cool", and I've just seen my prototype tangibly change someone's physiology when they chatted about Superhuman Tactics in 2 minutes.

So, PowerUp has clear, immediate value for my early users. Seeing that is mega-inspiring. Hope everyone who reads this sees my previous post and KEEPS GOING with their pursuits!!!

See More from Frances Chnaider

It's been 6 months working through Hey Titan P2. I thought I could get this done in weeks. So why did it take so long? WHY?!!

1. I decided to use a no-code software called Adalo. They're an incredible product & team, but being a startup themselves, there's been a growing user base for them to manage, more requests and bugs along the way. I would recommend them to anyone building web-apps, apps, as their interface is easy to use (for a non-coder like me), and they're building out a lot of options. But it's taken a while, and I've had to upgrade to their paid plan to create the product. And, there’s been more bugs...

2. I tried alternative, no-code products and found it difficult to build out anything myself. I had to rely on my developer, who got a big project which understandably became his priority... #smallfishwithplans

3. I tried back-up plan after back-up plan during each glitch. I’ve looked at user data, time-zones, I’ve tested backwards, front-wards, devices, browsers, rebuilt the same thing over and over again with a different change. I’ve used different products. Just name it – I’ve likely tried it.

Case in point: I’ve looked at user-data spreadsheets trying to decode an anomaly that was occurring. Can you imagine the moment I found it (as if I’m some data whiz, pattern decoder), to then test my hypothesis and see that it fixed nothing at all? This was 5 months in.

4. I tried to build a prototype that felt less "prototype-y". I know this is a cardinal sin (I can see your eye rolls), but in many user tests, people have commented on small UX issues (fair!), which have detracted from their feedback on content. Titan is a Tech x Content product - if you're busy telling me the button is too low, then you're not reading the story of the Titan. So, I've found a balance now I am comfortable with.

5. All of the hurdles have made it harder to continue. Every snag, delay, bug, challenge has impacted the next part.

Imagine this scenario: I'm telling one of the most inspirational people to be a Titan on my platform, deep-down knowing that I am delayed by half a year. I cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. I know it’s there, I just don’t see it. Yet.

6. Finally (well, at least for this post) to convert an original story into a GREAT, short story, and then into an interactive bot, is no small feat. So yeah... there’s that too – the back-end of it all.

Update: P2 is almost here and works well enough to show people again. It happened only days ago.

I am proud to say that multiple Titans have joined in the last few months. The line-up of humans, original stories and tips that will be available to you via a fun, interactive chat feature is so thrilling. Sign up at heytitan.com if you’re keen to be involved in the BETA. I’d love to have you. Also, reach out with any questions, I’m happy to help.

Frances

Wow! It's been a few very long weeks (feels like months, to be honest) but the Hey Titan (heytitan.com) Prototype is basically complete.

The bot represents a well-known Australian startup Titan (yes, I have their permission) and can answer 150 business and semi-personal questions!

Ask about a cofounder - no problem! Ask about their investment experience - great! Even ask about their morning routines and work/life balance - yep! It can answer all of those questions and more!

I've been consistently user testing along the way and there are great learnings! The bot can give great advice but there's more to do and improve upon. So I'm keeping it as a closed BETA for now.

The biggest goal I have is to make sure it provides value, value, value to the millions of entrepreneurs out there, who need good gems of advice (and a lot of support) fast. Plans for the tweaked approach are well underway! Feel free to get in touch if you have ideas/questions or anything else! I'd love to hear from you.

Very excited that pre-launch has already generated more sign-ups than my previous startup with almost no advertising!

It's great to see people's reactions when I am sharing Hey Titan with them - it's very encouraging to hear their feedback and enthusiasm and see this reflected in the early sign-ups.

I set myself the goal that I would like 20 sign-ups as a green-light to continue working on this idea, and I've hit it very quickly! I've been reviewing every email address ensuring it's real (so that I am not getting too excited), but they're real! :D

Now, I am back to building the prototype with early user testing planned in 2 weeks with my fellow YC Startup School friends.