Cheddar Up

Here is a good example of someone following Thiel's advice of starting in a small niche and monopolizing without competitors. Cheddar Up can target their marketing on specific pains and solve the subtle issues their target audience deals with that other payment services typically ignore. @UXAndrew Agreed, taking the awkwardness out of nudging people to pay back would be a good void to fill. I'm also a design nerd, and I really do believe that good design = respecting your user by giving them a quality experience. BTW your comments are really insightful, Andrew. I dig your input.

@narekk @UXAndrew I agree. One thing to note is that Thiel also says that monopolies are best and this for sure isn't a monopoly...BUT!...I think it has monopoly potential simply because their target market is schools and if any institution is going to pick a specific product and use it exclusively it's a school! High schools are unlikely to begin using a product and then dabble with many others, for example. So I think theoretically they could monopolize the "field trip dues" market or the "after school soccer club" market! That's a really cool thing. I wonder what else we can theoretically check off the Thiel checklist :-) Another thing I want to add is that I'm a supporter of women in tech, and from what I read Cheddar Up was a finalist (or winner?) in a Women 2.0 event.

@UXAndrew @narekk Ha, totally agree with you there. I am also big supporter of women in tech, that is really cool to know. Thiel checklist -- now there's a good idea :)

@narekk @UXAndrew @narekk I'm willing to hack out the Thiel checklist with you if you want. I've been plotting my "maker" tag on ProductHunt ever since they launched yesterday... :-)

Ha, let's do it man :) I feel you.. the "0 Made" looks so sad but motivating.

@woutervanlent I noticed that too, but this isn't a product for paying a tab in a bar as far as I can tell. They're focused on schools and moms. This isn't a "split the tab" type of product, it's a pay-your-dues type of product and I think it's different. I wouldn't be surprised to see a mobile app down the line, but I'm not sure that's what moms and dads trying to pay their kid's part in a field trip are after.

@UXAndrew @woutervanlent We've done some work with schools and depending on the district, many of them aren't allowed to take money via credit card or paypal. Its check or cash only. No clue why, never dove into the actual reasoning. That's why a lot of school product sales are run by the PTA.