What business model should I test?
I am looking for feedback on the current product version of Geeks and Experts. We already went through one pivot before.
Currently, we want to make 1:1 video calls with domain experts seamless.
We want people to get valuable insights over a call without having to spend hours on watching videos or reading blogs.
People have been making bookings on the platform with many experts for idea validation, MVP feedback, product hunt launch strategies and so on.
While a lot of users have got value in these sessions, when the sessions are free people don't show up and the expert is left with time gone to waste.
What would be a payment method that serves both sides of users?
We have thought of rolling out a bundle option where you can buy certain number of credit for a specific amount and use that to make bookings.
It is clear that both sides should have some skin in the game so that they respect people's time. Even if it means taking a $5 refundable deposit.
Would you pay for that? How can I build trust to make it look worthwhile?
Aimfox launched on Product Hunt today! 🤩
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After 19,314 lines of code, i'm shutting down my project
Need feedback for my product.
Your working on a good idea
Thank you so much for the kind words!
offering a money-back guarantee or a trial period could also help build trust and make users feel more comfortable with the payment system. cheers!
Good one, yes we are exploring a bundle option as well as a free trial to paid conversion option.
@SnehaSaigal Congrats on building a platform!
Let me share my own experience with you.
I am a mentor at https://growthmentor.com. All of my mentoring sessions are free but still mentees join at the scheduled time and we talk for at least 30 minutes. Out of 20 sessions, I only had one session where the mentee did not show up.
If mentees are not showing up is an issue on your platform, you may try to understand what the real problem is. The sessions being free does not seem like your real problem, here.
Fully agree. @SnehaSaigal great job releasing your product! Fellow PM here, so some thoughts:
1. Diagnosing
I think we need to take step back before discussing the business model, to ensure we understand the problem clearly:
Have you spoken to the users who haven't shown up? What do they say? You have a hypothesis that it's being used this way because it's free. Could you perhaps consider a few more?
=> Consider listing out your hypothesis and see which parts need to be proven for them to be right. It's after this step that you can proceed with updating the business model.
2. Some Concerns
On my side, here are some hypotheses I have at the first go:
Sure, end of the day, it could just be that money has to be charged. That's completely fine, but exploring all avenues could be very beneficial for you.
What do you think? @SnehaSaigal
Hi Rohini and thank you so much for such a thoughtful response. I agree that there is a mismatch in value perceived and derived.
I did do some interviews to find out where the communication went wrong or if it was a tech glitch that caused the calls from not happening.
I like the idea of showcasing more "value" of the experts. It might help to make their profiles more robust and share more about their background. Great idea.
Thanks so much again!
Excellent, all the best :) I hope it works out super fine for you :)
Thank you so much for the honest feedback, Ilke! I really appreciate it and admire how much you give back from your mentoring sessions. Thank you for doing that :)
Yes, it seems I need to address the "intent" of booking more thoroughly.
pt 2: How can I build trust to make it look worthwhile?
If the focus is to 'make it look', worthwhile, then the lense/mindset is wrong. Something is valuable or not, any 'making it look' = lack of genuine. B2B value proposition is typically matchmaking. If yours is not that, best to be transparent. From my glance thru, I cannot see any evidence of the value proposition, so immediately the claims move from interesting to unlikely.
Trust is once broken, takes min 3:1 often 9:1 ratio to rebuild. A very old book, speed of trust maps out the true dynamics of what goes on. I like it as have worked in many cultures and it is applicable in all so far.
I am a bit brutal - so pleased don't take offence. The entire LP reeks of stock, another push it out there, quickly, with little care. Free-focused participants rarely are stopped at LP. They need free. Participants who are genuinely seeking, and more than happy to pay are greater rigour before signing. My recent pulse-check is many are hitting sign-up fatigure (empty promises). This makes sense as many more citizens are building in public, with no-code and still missing the basics. What is the real problem your solving? Validate it with so much evidence, that providing a proof-of-concept is no brainer.
Plus: your up against a major player. Linkedin advocates they are the B2B for all types. Why do professional an experts prefer a dedicated B2B as yours for matchmaking?
The copy "Know that you don't Know'. does not call me to action. From a content perspective, DKDK (Dont know what you dont know), that is the realm of curiousity. KDK (know that you dont know), is the easy part of the pie chart -- sort that out by asking chatgpt or few google searches. DKDK is where insight is generated from. The assumptions we are currently making, without realising we are making the. The lense of curious cat. The key point, you may wish to go with more lay call to action lingo, like 'what levers did they use' 'what made their no-code solution better than other '..
Very great points there.
The value proposition is missing and I think the CTA needs to highlight that better.
Please don't apologize for the honest feedback - that is what I am seeking. So thank you for taking the time to explore the whole site and offer recommendations.
I love that your asking for help.
Is there a reason why you have not used IH product page to timeline your product? It gives all indies a snapshot very quickly of what has been going on in your world
Offering coaching services by seasoned professionals is different to match-making with experts. Still great.. but different.
Fair enough, the play on words geeks and experts was to highlight any subject matter experts. I think it has to be understood as experienced professionals instead.
great. Matchmaking is flooded with noise (hard selling). I will keep watching your product as would love to see you succeed. A solid solution is overdue.
Making the geek + seasoned professional like an apprenticship is something that is missing. Sign up for x. You can see evidence of that here on IH. Partnering Up. We dont see what partnering up has worked or not. That could also be taken further.
For me personally I have tracking this gap for over 10 years and for me, it still exists. The solution I found that works fm, Is in my region I go to the council arm that is helping incubate SMEs, and / or moving to circular economy. Most regions if not cities has something. Then I offer all my time 100% voluntteer from as simple going digital, to as complex, going waste-free or transforming. Buddy up with SMEs. I learnt their is so much noise in this space, the SMEs dont ask for help. Too overwhelming. Too high risk of hallow promises. My approach is not scalable, but allows me to deepen my pragmatic toolbox, while I try and twig what are the real levers for the desired solid solution.
My prediction is 80% EXISTINg business be online within 3 years. If they are not, someone will take their business (not their IP), launch, and start to take their slice of the cake. This prediction is definitely country specific.
Thank you so much for these detailed inputs, I will keep sharing updates as we go.
Offering a bundle option where users can buy a certain number of credits to use for bookings is one possible solution. However, you also mentioned the idea of taking a $5 refundable deposit, which could be another option to consider.
To build trust and make the payment method look worthwhile, you could consider offering some kind of guarantee or benefit to users who pay for sessions. For example, you could offer a satisfaction guarantee or a discount on future bookings for users who pay for sessions. You could also highlight the expertise and experience of your domain experts and emphasize the value that users can gain from their insights.