I don’t quite know what to do next
Hi everyone! Lorenzo here
I’m 21 and as a side quest in university I want to start a business that can profit me a little pocket money
So, about a month ago I came up with an idea for a physical product, it is something very simple that I’m sure does not exist yet, and should be very easy to produce.
I’m stuck at the market test phase though... My problem is that i don’t want to show it to too many people because I’m a little afraid my idea will be stolen.
Yeah, I know, “ideas are cheap”, but I guess everyone struggles with this ahahah
So my plan to overcome it was making a not-working prototype that just looks like the final product (altough it is noticeably hand crafted), launching a website with pictures in it and then asking:
a) subscribe to a mailing list for a 10% off when the product is done
b) preorder the product at a lower price to boost the making process.
All of this would be supported by Google ads and some spam in the right facebook groups or subeddits
What do you guys think? I don’t really know how to make an actual MVP (at least not without money) and i don’t want to trust too many people in the process of making it... But getting some funds maybe could let me patent it and then go to production
Google Whisk - Generate images using images as prompts, not text prompts
After 19,314 lines of code, i'm shutting down my project
Need feedback for my product.
We are live on Product Hunt
Don't be a Jerk. Use this Tip Calculator.
Physical products can be tough!
If you don't have money, and can't even prototype it without money, you're gonna have to talk about it to get any validation. And if you do bring it to market, there will be knock-offs if it gains any popularity.
Luckily, ideas are rarely stolen before they become popular, simply because a manufacturer whose sole purpose is to create cheaper versions of products can make more by using "market research" of already-validated, popular products.
So the question is: where will your idea go if you don't talk about it? It sounds like the answer is it will only ever occupy brain cells, so why not just be open? If it's stolen, at least you'll learn a lesson instead of just daydreaming.
If you overcome the fear of it being stolen, then you can move on to learning things like how to market well (social media, crowdfunding, selling the idea to potential customers, etc).
There will always be risks, unless your plan is to do nothing ;-)
This is really inspiring! I think i will progress to be less shy about it, so I can bring in the right people
Thank you! :)
And in case you didn't see this, here's an IH post from today! haha
https://www.indiehackers.com/post/how-do-you-react-when-your-site-is-scraped-or-cloned-2f9a84e921
There are some great comments here, especially @AndrewV's, so I'll just say this: Being copied is a valid concern for any business idea. It happens. Fear of being copied isn't something you should allow to paralyze you, but it's great to think about it and work through it logically while in the idea phase.
For example, some business ideas work well up to a certain size, after which mass copying leads to commoditization and stunts growth. The Squatty Potty comes to mind. You can tell how much of a nightmare copycats are for them, because they take every opportunity to explain that they're "the original" or their website is "the official" one. That said, if you'd be happy making $100k and don't care that competition will stop you from reaching $1M, then it's fine. (But my guess is you will care a lot if you get there, even if you don't now.)
Some business ideas have built-in moats and are very difficult to copy once they get going. For example it'd be very difficult to clone Indie Hackers, because you'd just end up with an empty community. Or if you create a SaaS, someone might clone your features, but it's going to take them lots of dev time (although not as much time as it took you, since copying is faster than innovating).
Some business ideas are not only extremely easy to copy, but have little recourse once copied. For example, if you're collecting and publishing raw data on something, it's trivial for someone to scrape your site and take all your data. You likely need to put that data behind a paywall or find some other means of protection. But if you're publishing articles, sure that's "data" technically, but people are less likely to copy it.
So there's a lot of variation, a lot to think about. I don't think it's terrible to scrap an idea if, in advance, it's predictable that there's no way to defend vs the competition.
Sorry it took me a long time to answer this! I missed the notification! i think you are absolutely right. I recently stumbled upon a product online: a simple small notepad that opens at a 90 degree angle, so you can use it next to your laptop/book. Genius. But really really easy to copy and sell for much less! That was selling for 25$, i bet anyone could make it and sell il for 5 dollars... so if they don’t care about the competition, why should I?
Maybe you should try something like a Kickstarter event? Allow people to pre-order your product and when you have enough pre-orders you can actually build it.
Yeah! I was thinking about it! I’m a little afraid they won’t really like my ugly and not working prototype ahahah
Yes, having a good prototype would be a plus. But that might not be necessary (to have a prototype)? I'm not super familiar with Kickstarter but maybe you can ask for pre-orders without a prototype?
What are you studying in college?
I’m studying agricoltural sciences in Pisa, Italy. I’m about to graduate for the first degree
What i’m building tho has nothing to do with my field of study ahahah
Since it is a physical product, unless you know how to create prototypes yourself, it will require money to get it designed and manufactured, by factories in China or locally.
Yes! You are right! That is the reason i'm having some problems: chinese manufacturers won't realize it unless i place an order for thousands of pieces
That is true. Most factories need a big enough order to bother. It is just business.
This is my thought.
You should validate the market needs and market size first. Talk to "mentors" you trust if needed. If you are just dreaming, then there is no need to worry about the manufacturing:-)
Assuming there is a market, since it is a physical product, prototype , manufacturing, and marketing are 3 things that are needed. If you just have an idea without the skill/money/connection to do one or more of the 3 items, the chance to make it happen is very, very small.
Just my 2 cents.
I'm eager to put in a lot of effort! I want learn everything I need and talk to everyone i have to!
Hi Jaeger798, robmerki is correct, saying you are 'in production' when you are not is not a good idea. However, from your post it doesn't sound like that is what you are trying to do. I have been through multiple accelerator programs and done thousands of hours of startup research, and your approach to validating your idea is an excellent one. It is a great way to validate your idea as quickly as possible, with minimal time, money, and effort. Entrepreneurs need to learn quickly and figure out which ideas work. If your website doesn't get any signups it is a hint you haven't quite got the right idea yet, or it needs tweaking. What would be very valuable, is asking potential customers to go to your website and then give you feedback about the idea. Learn from your customers so that you create the things they really want... but also make sure they are happy to pay for it.
Hope that helps,
You mean trying to show the world the not working prototype and ask them if they like the idea?
I wouldn't recommend showing the world, even though your website is open to the world, but yes, show them what it could do, what it looks like, how a user would benefit, why it is useful, why it is better than competitors.
I have not fully finished my product, but have a look at my website www.bigideas.guru which follows the same principles. I plan to use it to get feedback from friends, family, users, and advisors. This way i can spend more time creating something people want, instead of trying to build something i think people will want.
Yes... Problem is i don't really see a way of talking about it without explaining what it does and how it's made
Who are your customers? Do they have the technical knowledge or time to create your product? I made the mistake of keeping a previous startup idea secret for too long and it killed the startup. I am happy to jump on a skype call if you would like some more advice.
Well actually no, i guess the vast majority of the customers wouldn't bother trying to copy it, unless they happen to be engineers or enterpreneurs
Maybe you are right, i might just talk about it
My advice would be to skip all of that and build a working prototype, and see if anyone wants to buy it. If at least one person tells you they want to buy it, then you can expand to a website and see if others want it as well.
Also, I found that pretending to be "into production" tends to dishearten any copycats since they'll think you're way too far ahead.
I agree with the “into production” that scares some crows! And i would really like to make a working one but I’m afraid it will require some engineering... it’s an electric product, it’s small, and waterproofing is key
And.. well, i don’t have money to hire an engineer ahahah
You might find that the engineering work you need to do is more doable than you realize. It really depends on your product of course, but you can go a very far way with tutorials / YouTube
You are right! I just need to find the right resources
It's the same with the websites.
Once you released a product, the market will find or make cheaper alternatives to it.
It's not about the idea rather than the execution of it.
Once you have a physical product on the market, there will always be cheaper alternatives.
Maybe my concern is that someone else might make it even better.. at that point i guess I will either have to improve it even more, or give it up and focus on something else
You know that your product will be executed better than anyone else with your vision.
Your only concern is to take it to the market, pivot based on feedback, and released it. There will always be imitations and cheap alternatives to your product.