The Startup Toolkit - for founders in search of a business model | Hacker News Reader

The Startup Toolkit - for founders in search of a business model

thestartuptoolkit.com

40 points_pius13 comments

I don't get it. Why would I need a "complex" tool like this, when I can simply note down the most important questions on a piece of paper or in a simple text file? Yeah, I can collaborate with people remotely, but a simple skratchpad does the same job. For me, it feels like another way of procrastinating instead of simply getting the job done, as I have to deal with an interface (even if it is relatively simple) instead of just letting my ideas flow.

It nicely lays out a number of questions/issues some people fail to consider at the outset and seems like a nice, lightweight tool for refining both your focus and your pitch.

That said, I'm not going to be a fan of anything that leads with "why you are different and worth buying." That's a very different question than the (un-asked) "why are you worth paying for?" Being bought should not be a startup's primary goal. Proof of value is in revenue.

I think it helps you focus and work through a business idea in a structured way. Have experienced it that I just fell in love with an idea. It helps you think about it in a more rational way. If you end up doing the process with this tool or with a sheet of paper doesn't matter. But I like it as it "forces" you to think of it from different angels.

I never understood why the boxes are shaped the way they are. Is the area proportional to importance? Why is market on the left and not the right? Why not just do a boring row of boxes?

Or is it just arranged in a way the visual cortex finds interesting? That would add weight to the idea that this is just a meme.

It looks more scientific that way

Put the crown jewels in the cloud? No thanks.

Maybe these forms can be turned into downloadable templates (with TheStartupToolkit branding) and you can continue to fill the toolbox with other useful tools?

It scares me that we have founders in search of business models, not business models seeking founders.

I wish I could see what it was before signing up.

There's an instant demo link in the top left corner.

Right, the registration thrown in your face has got to be a conversion killer. I know I left instantly.

It previously used randomized urls with no registration required and the #1 request by a huge margin was that people wanted to feel more secure before beginning to type in their biz model and that registering would achieve that.

We live in a world of trade-offs.

No tradeoff needed. Let me try it with fake data without registering. Which is exactly what I planned to do. Until faced with the registration page, whereupon I fled like the morning dew.

It's a great domain name.

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