I have been building a device for another vertical, really old people, with a lot of similarities ( subscription base, come with a stand, used to be a samsung Galaxy tab A,webrtc video calls, etc.), its called LiNote https://linote.fr (website on french only)
Happy to talk if that might help, email me at anthony at linote dot fr.
Do you really need cofounders ? Can you start already and find someone later on ?
I am a single founder and I spent a lots of time, money and energy because I had to find a cofounder because It s what successful startups do.
I might not be successful yet :) but I have a profitable startup and I am still a single founder
As far as I understand, reaching PMF is the exception.
But the PMF definition is so weak and inconsistant than people think they have when they dont or the other way around ( I tried to answer this question for my own company for weeks and I am still not sure )
Then scaling with PMF is okish. Scaling without is complicated as things doesnt stack up
You talk to people. Friends or friends of friends. No formal research. Then you try to reach similar people and learn more on the go.
It takes time but if you succeed you both know your customers and a way to reach them
Hi Ben, kudos for building something you believe in.
My first impression is you have to talk to customers more and use face to face interviews.
There is already a market for this kind of product so the issue might be:
- bad targeting. Are you sure you talk to the right people? Who buy this kind of product ? Is the same people buying the product than the one using it ?
- low reach. Conversions can be rare. Have you reached enough people ?
- messaging. Do people really value your differenciation ? Do they understand your message?
- price. Is it too expansive ? Not expansive enough to be credible
- bad channel. How does the other company sell their product ? B2B sales ?
It seems to be you rely extensively on digital marketing to "talk" with prospects. Most of the time, one face to face can bring 10 times more info quickly.
I would also suggest to read the "Test Mom". You may have done customers interview the wrong way
My company just got break even so I live with the minimum wage possible but it's growing at a good pace.
Work life balance is both great and terrible. I work with my girlfriend. Our life is really flexible but we have customers calls every day. No days without a single call for the last 2 years. But I love what I do.