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How To Go from Tweet to Beta in Two Hours With Only £20 and NO CODE (My friend @waller_ariana & @MortgageJust challenged me)
and a few additional notes on some ideas on why your Black-owned businesses/ apps/ directories are not popular, well-known, and mainstream.
and a few additional notes on some ideas on why your Black-owned businesses/ apps/ directories are not popular, well-known, and mainstream.
@MortgageJust just had an idea/request about something that suggests black-owned alternatives.
My assumption: People want to buy black but don't know how to substitute their everyday products. Similar: People want to live environmentally clean but don't know lifestyle substitute
My assumption: People want to buy black but don't know how to substitute their everyday products. Similar: People want to live environmentally clean but don't know lifestyle substitute
Problem: It is inconvenient and slow to discover black-owned substitutes for products.
Want to make money? Make something faster, cheaper, or better. REF:
IMPORTANT. Learn more about the problem with the Mom Test. REF: https://www.slideshare.net/xamde/summary-of-the-mom-test
Want to make money? Make something faster, cheaper, or better. REF:
IMPORTANT. Learn more about the problem with the Mom Test. REF: https://www.slideshare.net/xamde/summary-of-the-mom-test
I researched what Black-owned businesses and directories are out there. There is a lot of believe it or not (more on this later). I needed to research potential "competition" but also databases of Black alternatives.
So I did some research. I already knew a similar site but for software. It seemed pretty straight forward. You search something like Google and it shows other search engines to use. This is the core idea of the solution.
I slowed down a little and thought it would be best to collect emails and see if people are interested. I used a template on @squarespace and hardly changed anything. I have my landing page. Customer acq done right can have you at 1M b4 launch. REF: https://www.businessinsider.com/free-viral-marketing-how-robinhood-got-1-million-users-before-launch-2017-7?op=1&r=US&IR=T
Stock photos that are "diverse" are not easy to come by but the site I used was https://www.nappy.co/ ... made on Wordpress likely using a template 
It's beautiful and just what I needed!!! Major 
It's beautiful and just what I needed!!! Major
Next, I thought about a domain. I didn't take long thinking about a name. If you can provide value customers won't care. errmm...Apple, Nike, Addidas nobody remembers where the name came from. I bought the domain with @GoDaddy (my personal preference).
I needed the easiest way to make something like AlternativeTo without coding. My first bet was trying to find a "clone theme" for a Wordpress site. You can make a site like anything from AirBnB to Tinder using a very similar template. Just Google "[Site] Wordpress Theme"
![I needed the easiest way to make something like AlternativeTo without coding. My first bet was trying to find a "clone theme" for a Wordpress site. You can make a site like anything from AirBnB to Tinder using a very similar template. Just Google "[Site] Wordpress Theme"](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eay-itwX0AMd-4-.jpg "I needed the easiest way to make something like AlternativeTo without coding. My first bet was trying to find a \"clone theme\" for a Wordpress site. You can make a site like anything from AirBnB to Tinder using a very similar template. Just Google \"[Site] Wordpress Theme\"")
Wordpress can cost some money for the theme and hosting. So I tried @bubble, they had great themes but not quite what I needed and more than I was willing to pay.
Then I had a creative idea. If I create a blog that users can query. The title can contain the brand e.g. Gucci and the posts can contain the alternatives. Rather than looking for an exact match to AlternativeTo for time and £ sake I had to get creative.
Wix is an easy go-to for me to build a super cheap blog that can easily be queried.
I used a template for business & news and spun up a simple blog (Although it doesn't look like it). Used Nappy for stock images. Used the @Wix site search to query brands users want alternatives to. I hardly changed the template. Here's a preview:
Solutions like this can be hard to generate the content. AirBnB used a double listing feature with craigslist. FB stole photos of Harvard students of the Harvard website and I let @ShoppeBlack do the work for me.
Here's a preview @waller_ariana @MortgageJust
So about why our community's platform isn't well known (even in our community). IT'S ALL ABOUT MARKETING CAPITAL. Most ideas are not that different. Having the capital to push your idea cannot be understated. 11.2% of the startup's money goes on marketing.
On average THE FIRST chunk of money a startup may get is $5.2 mill.
11% of that is 572K
That will have to last possibly 18 months before the next raise.
So an estimate of a monthly budget could be $31,700 A MONTH. That's a lot of purchasing of users via Google Ads, Discounts, Facebook Ads, Influencer Payouts etc
OK Yes, you have to have product-market fit but at this point, most companies still do not.
OK Yes, you have to have product-market fit but at this point, most companies still do not.
and as the saying goes "success begets success" or more accurately today perceived success begets real success.
Let me not downplay PM fit. This method is unsustainable. Your brand and unique selling proposition is what creates security and actually solving the problem.
Let me not downplay PM fit. This method is unsustainable. Your brand and unique selling proposition is what creates security and actually solving the problem.
Black community has a "Black AlternativeTo" Amazon, Facebook, LinkedIn, Uber, etc and you'll never know. Black VC's trying to change the narrative and I guess others with diversity initiatives too. Take the money => lose your control => potentially hurt the culture. e.g. BET
Ya'll I have a podcast about collaboration, developing products, and innovation. Check me out and sub if there was ANYTHING that I said that helped you. I speak to amazing people who do this EVERY. SINGLE. DAY
https://anchor.fm/thehackathonpodcast
@hackathonent
https://anchor.fm/thehackathonpodcast
@hackathonent
Ya'll follow my friend @waller_ariana too and listen to her podcast she speaks to the greatest minds in tech and business and shares their insights. https://anchor.fm/womenintech
If you made it this far, I salute you and get building today!! #BlackTechTwitter #100DaysOfCode #softwaredeveloper #developer #business #webdevelopment #technology #WomenWhoCode #blackgirlscode
