A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

article thumbnail

If you build it, they won't come, unless.

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

Ask a technical founder about his startup, and he'll proudly describe his stunning software — simple, compelling, useful, fun. Great," I always exclaim, sharing the thrill of modern software development, "so how will people find out about this brilliant website?". Maybe you'll even get a wobbly demo. Frightening honesty.

article thumbnail

No, that IS NOT a competitive advantage

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

That's what you sound like when you claim that getting a software patent will protect you from competition. Software patents are especially useless for small, bootstrapped startups. We're better at SEO and social media. Social media and SEO is ever-changing quicksand. Silly, right? Except in certain industries (e.g.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Not disruptive, and proud of it

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

When they hear about a new social media craze they cringe in agony, desperately hoping it's a passing fad and not another new goddamn thing they'll be aimlessly paddling around in for the next decade. Had I tried to fundamentally change how everyone writes software, I'm sure I would have failed. But most people are creatures of habit.

article thumbnail

Do I dare call bullshit aloud? Do you?

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

I mean, as much as Social Media is supposed to be about “honesty&# and “being human&# and “genuineness,&# of course most isn’t. Do I dare make fun of Joel Spolsky lest I not get invited back to Business of Software? Do I dare to disagree with Jason Fried lest he lay into me like he did Mint ?

Affiliate 250
article thumbnail

Smart Bear Live 7: More from AZ Disruptors

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

Welcome back to Smart Bear Live, the call-in show with Jason Cohen, sponsored by Software Promotions. And please tweet your thanks to Software Promotions for sponsoring Smart Bear Live! Dan: Member Desk is a hosted membership site software. In this episode, we share three more interviews from our AZ Disruptors meeting last fall.

Cofounder 199
article thumbnail

Startup Therapy: Ten questions to ask yourself every month

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

For those hundreds of people who downloaded your software and never bought — is the reason "not enough features?". More than that, knowing your "padding" as I used to call it is helpful in making decisions like "Can I afford to try this Risky Expensive Thing," such as making your first hire or trying a $20,000 media blitz.

Startup 315
article thumbnail

Reputation isn't as powerful as you imagine

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

In a nutshell, they argued that because I am already "famous" for my writings about the business of software, I have an advantage that is not available to my readers. You know, the kind of "fail" that characterizes a lot of software startups. Tags: Essays blogging fame marketing sales social media.