This series is about bootstrapping a saas from scratch. might fail. who knows 🤷‍♀️ . If you’re missing context, watch / read this:

• I’m starting something from scratch. It’s kind of a sales tool.

• Last week i sent 1k emails to users of a previous product and asked them to jump on a call to help form a product advisory committee. I booked a shocking 19 meetings.

• I’ve now taken 5 of those meetings and summarized results. I’m also starting to add requested features.

State Of The Union

If you prefer to watch … here ya go

you should sell your product before its built …

get people to pre-pay …

don’t write a single line of code until you have a paying customer …

These are all great in theory but very difficult in practice. Last “episode” I sent an email to 1k folks about forming an advisory committee and got 19 meetings (highly unusual. I’ve had other ideas where I cold dm 100 people on linkedin and get zero meetings. Warm intros or some affiliation definitely helps!).

The intent is to get some early adopters, get real use cases from people using it in the wild.

I’ve done 5 interviews so far and am starting to get some consensus around features and use cases. All of them have been valuable so far. And I’ve met some really cool people! 5 should be a good start. 10 is better. 15 you’ll start to see commonalities. 20 you’ll start to asymptote.

Caveats. I can code. So really build an MVP is just a time cost. Taking 2 weeks to sketch an initial product i think is much more helpful when testing an idea than slide ware or just talking through something.

Mechanics

• I asked to record the videos

• I asked all my questions before showing the product

• I then showed the product

Surprises

• 4/5 so far were service companies. 1 was a software product. I had conceived of the idea with software products in mind so it was surprising to hear use cases for service companies.

Results

• Ease of Use:

  • Clients need a simple and quick way to create and integrate video content into their workflows.

  • Tools that can generate demos rapidly and intuitively are highly valued.

• Cost-Effectiveness:

  • Many existing solutions are expensive, prompting a need for a more affordable alternative.

  • Cost concerns are particularly relevant for smaller businesses or those transitioning to digital marketing.

• Interactivity:

  • There is a strong demand for interactive and engaging content that can better capture audience attention compared to static videos.

  • Features like annotations, clickable elements, and immersive experiences are sought after.

• Integration:

  • Clients appreciate tools that fit naturally into their current systems without requiring significant adjustments.

• Personalization:

  • Personalized video content for client outreach, onboarding, and education is highly valued.

  • The ability to tailor content to individual clients or segments can significantly enhance engagement and conversion rates.

• Analytics:

  • Tracking and analyzing video engagement and effectiveness is important for many clients.

  • Analytics help clients understand how their content is performing and make data-driven decisions to improve their strategies.

Specific Use Cases

1. Sales and Outreach:

   • Quick and clear demo creation for personalized outreach, especially in complex industries.

   • Effective use of high-conversion channels such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Telegram over traditional email.

2. Digital Marketing:

   • Need for cost-effective, impactful video solutions to replace or supplement expensive ad campaigns.

   • Transitioning from traditional methods like door-to-door sales to digital marketing.

3. Client Education and Onboarding:

   • Simplification of complex concepts and roles through video tutorials and demos.

   • Embedding videos at key user touchpoints to guide and educate users.

4. Proposals and Presentations:

   • Combining video content with traditional proposals for comprehensive, easy-to-understand documents.

   • Enhancing sales pitches and client communications with visual and interactive elements.

What’s next?

• I have 14 more interviews scheduled for next week.

• Formation of the advisory committee. How exactly to get the most from this group of people willing to help.

• Ship out more hats 🙂 

I also just did a quick google search for demo monster… it’s not looking good. much work to do here!