Launched on HN and PH and the results are surprising
Hi everyone!
We are making IoT devices for car owners which provide tracking, diagnostics, maintenance and enhanced security features.
Ultimately, the goal is to save money, time and trouble for our customers.
This is our website: www.cargenta.com
We launched about a month ago on Hacker News and Product Hunt and it didn’t go at all as expected. We did not ask for any upvotes in advance, just wanted to see the spontaneous people reaction. Here are the results:
- Hacker News: 6 upvotes and 0 comments
- Product Hunt: 1 upvote and 0 comments
- Website hits: 40 direct and 4 from Product Hunt
When we present the product to friends, occasional acquaintances and even to other founders on the group sessions in SUS, most are excited about it. Some people already asked to buy one.
But…on the internet the things look quite different. So, need your advice, what are we doing wrong?
Are people uncomfortable to tell us in person the product is useless or we cannot clearly transmit the value to the users on the internet? Are the posts headlines not catchy enough or maybe people just don’t care that much about the problem we are trying to solve? Are the upvotes for other products on HN and PH real or people just reach out to their entire network asking for upvotes (some do admit doing so). Do people on PH and HN even have their own cars?
What do you think from your standpoint? Constructive feedback is most welcome!
HN Post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24656165
PH Post: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/cargenta-brain
Thank you! Not an expert in the matter, but from what I have seen here on HN news the visibility is usually due to three things: 1) timing, if you post it at certain times of the day on certain days it might be more visible[1] 2) exact title of the submission (the HN algorithm is somehow influenced by the title) 3) sheer luck [1] there are - search for them - related threads, I seem to remember working days tuesday-thursday are better and time should be something around mid-day in the US (but I may well remember incorrectly) I will add (hopefully constructive) my personal comments on the thingy and its site. The site is very well done (simple, relatively responsive) but it is exactly the same as any other site attempting to sell "vague" IOT devices to consumers, lots of pictures of people (all beautiful, young and IMHO senselessly happy) and (as well "vague") promises to save money, be more in control, whatever. The copywrite is so "standard" that makes me want to cry, with this notable exception: >Your car is now connected to your phone all the time! Can your friends say the same? Seriously? The thingy is - from what I can understand - an ODB or ODB2 key with (possibly) a GPS and cellular/SIM connection, and accompanying app+portal. We don't know anything about the firm, who produces it, where it is produced, how exactly the (seemingly) worldwide coverage is achieved, heck we don't even know if you are US or EU (UK) based (or somewhere else), from the privacy policy you seem like US based: https://www.cargenta.com/privacy-policy/ but who knows? Little pet-peeve of mine: in my car the ODB connector is under the ashtray, so that thingy cannot be installed, more generally you will need a (flat) cable extension to allow mounting on a number of cars. So what you are basically saying: The posts might have not reached the audience at all. I'd say this is worse than people disliking the product. If it's the latter it can be improved! Thank you for the time taken to provide your view about the website and the product, really appreciate it! Based on your comments, we will try to better convey the value of the device describing more specific use cases. I was afraid the sim card and the internet connectivity wasn't well explained so we will improve that too and will add more information about he company. We didn't focus too much on the privacy policy as we are just starting but will definitely get it fixed.
Finally, about the weird places of the OBD2 port in some vehicles, we are aware of that fact, this is the reason why we will be shipping the devices with an extension cable included in the set. Thanks again for your honest review! Yep, it is very likely that the post "slipped by" and very few people actually saw/noticed it. Added some of my personal "at first sight" impressions to previous post. Gut reaction after looking at your website. The product looks like a pack of cigarettes. There are huge negative connotations to such branding. Contrast this with something like the digital camera company Red [1]. They are able to push a tech ascetic.