This is a fascinating idea to find non-tech founders (I suspect tech founders will want to bootstrap most of this work, for better or worse) and get the idea rolling...
The main question I have for @prestonattebery is simple: what's next? Is the outcome of the projects get it to a stage where the founder can seek funding? Is it additional investment to get into MVP? Is it to get to customer development with the prototypes? I left the site hungry for understanding the outcome of the $15k investment - which should be more than a product development plan - but an actual product outcome, which may be a MVP, or at least a customer development/market verification via prototypes.
Very exciting idea though, and good luck starting the 16th!
@cancom10 Good question! The answer and outcome is very nuanced. We don't do MVPs or full products. We don't code, we only do the thinking and design before a product is built. This is an extremely valuable step but often overlooked in startup culture. Tech authorities like Y Combinator preach building first and failing fast. But, for someone who doesn't code, rushing into dev can kill your startup. Once you engage a dev or dev team, you're out at least a few thousand dollars. A project like ours allows us to focus the founder's idea, validate it with years of experience, and produce the fundamental brand design to make their idea real. From here, they can move directly into development with a validated plan and a headstart on design. This will not only save you cost with the dev shop, but will prevent needless pivot after pivot. Why fail fast when you can get it right the first time and build from there?
Hey all! Several months ago we launched "DesignCue: a global network of app and web designers." Today, we're taking one step further in helping founders build a startup. With a network of talent product managers and designers, 0-to-startup provides a first-time founder with an actionable plan, branding, app prototyping, marketing material, and a plan for development all for $15k in 30 days. We've brought in some really talented folks who have helped fledgeling startups and big companies build business.
I would be interested to learn more about the success rate of outsourcing this kind of work. Additionally, I'm curious as to what you offer these companies-in-a-box after day 30. It's a terribly costly approach in the long run for your customers, since they are, for the most part, not going to be developers to begin with. In the wise words of Zappos CEO Tony Tsieh, "Don’t play games that you don’t understand, even if you see lots of other people making money from them."
@rueter We've seen great success in past projects with our outsourced model. More info here: www.designcue.io / Secondly, we understand its a considerable amount of money. However, we believe our approach can save founders thousands of dollars as they use our assets to validate their idea.
For a product plan, branding, marketing, wireframes, prototypes, and plan for development, we think $15k is reasonable!
Gigster is charging $30k for a basic product. If you brought them our assets after 30 days, you'd have huge savings as all they'll need to do is code it. The decisions and features have already been tested and decided.
You mentioned in a couple of answers here that the idea and design will be validated: I would like to know how the validation takes place? Will there be user testing covered with the plan? How are the ideas validated within the 30 days?
I appreciate the energy here, but many of these services aren't worth spending on until after an idea is proven out. Curious about how these services were curated, I am.
@kkdub Perhaps. No service can guarantee success but every business is the same in many ways. For instance, every company needs a logo. Every product needs time spent thinking through the problem and then the solution. If you don't code, yet you go straight to a dev shop and say "build me this," chances are, if you're a first-time founder, that your first product will be a flop. Through 0-to-startup, founders will be able to validate their idea (in part) with product managers who have 10 years of product experience. We believe this collaboration is extremely valuable.
On top of that, founders will get a complete branding package, marketing materials for launch, and working prototypes todo in-person user testing or pitching to investors. Its not everything, but its a jump start!
@mickwho1 Its $15k for everything included: product plan, branding, wireframing, prototyping, marketing materials, and plan for development. Important to note that things like Gigster are charging $2500 just for the plan portion. Our package pumps a lot of value in 30 days!
The relationship going further is fluid. DesignCue becomes your go-to design resource for pretty much anything you need. We do monthly subscription plans for on-demand design help as you grow your business. If you need a product developed, we have strategic partnerships with vetted dev shops to fulfill the programming. The hand-off is easy and affordable.
Can't open the website on my 2015 Macbook 12" with Safari Version 10.0.2 (12602.3.12.0.1) and MacOS 10.12.2 (16C67) - locks up safari before anything displays, uses 100% CPU usage, and requires me to force quit Safari.
@balupton Using the same OSX version and Safari version, I am unable to replicate this issue. It sounds like you're getting thrown into an infinite loop. Try opening the site in a private browsing window (File > New Private Window).
Do you have any browser plugins running? Could you try viewing the site from your phone or a different browser?
@iamgarey happens every time, with extensions disabled and without extensions disabled, in private mode and not in private mode. Works in firefox. Happy to have someone remote in to try and figure it out - https://balupton.com/meet
Congrats on the taking the next step @prestonattebery! Any criteria you guys use for selecting the companies you get involved with? And have you played around with the idea of equity compensation?
@masonlevy Not open to equity for this one, but the selection process is pretty subjective. It needs to be a product idea, but aside from that we need to be sure of adding real value by rallying behind the founder and their idea to make it a reality!
Getting a product right in 30 days? How do you ensure that? That's impossible. There is only 1 party which will benefit from this - which is you. definitely not the client!
Is this servicehunt.com? Sure, it's fixed fee -- but it's still a service, not a product. I vote that these landing pages be filtered out of Product Hunt.
Also, why should someone "apply" to pay $15,000. That's not how our industry works -- and is going to give it a bad rep. It's like applying to a startup incubator that gives you a shitty equity deal.
In general, this sounds like you're missing a few key things from a product design sprint --
1. The sprint - $15K and a month is a long time. 7 days for logo design? Is that really the most important piece of an MVP?
2. The validation - there's no user testing.
3. A development plan without a development team? Your best development toolkit is the one your developers use. Don't decide a technology without a person to use it. Like telling a cook what knife to use to cut butter.
I've seen a few of these services pop up over the past year -- selling dreams through a marketplace workforce. Sure, you're not tapping into development, but you're not helping move the discussion in the right direction either. This isn't a race to the bottom, it's a challenge of strategy and quality.
$75,000 for 3 people/month (even in Atlanta) sounds like decent profits. Probably looking at 30% profits at a minimum. Good luck!
/asaltycompetitor
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