Corkdork

You have a massive, multi-faceted network effects hurdle to overcome with this, so I'm interested to hear your strategy to get users.

Report

8yr ago

Alessandro Schiassi

Magnet

Maker

@rueter I copy/paste the answer since I noticed your question was getting more upvotes: That was definitely a concern, but we have a strategy to (hopefully) make it work: essentially we are going to limit the venues where someone can check-in, so people would have to go there to use the app. We are going to scale accordingly based on the active users. This is also our B2B plan to generate revenues without charging our users, charging promoters/venues instead. We are also aiming for an on-site marketing strategy where we are going to promote the app to specific events so people can try it on the spot. Exclusivity is going to be a big factor at early stages. One of the promotion tools are personalized condoms with Magnet brand on it. We already gave them away at TechDay in DTLA, and they were a huge success! You can find more on our Press Kit on the website: https://www.dropbox.com/s/cgo7fy... Last but not least, you can see on the map how many users are checked in at each specific venue, so you can simply decide to go there, improving the chance to meet someone and making the site even more attractive!

Report

8yr ago

James O'Sullivan

@alessandro_schiassi @rueter @gopietz Alessandro, I agree with everyone else. This is WAY too hyper local. Maybe you can do it in the future if you get big, but I certainly think you cannot be this restrictive to start. Idk if you have seen http://weepo.com/ but they are one of your competitors. They do things a little differently like letting you match at venues you plan on going to. I like the problem that they solve which is finding people to go to venues with and possibly finding a date for those venues. I really like your logo, it looks almost like a map pin, not sure if that was what you were going for. You plan on charging businesses? I think that will be a really tough sell. What value prop do you provide to them?

Report

8yr ago

Alessandro Schiassi

Magnet

Maker

@james_osullivan @rueter @gopietz I rather build the brand around specific venues and exclusive events, even if that could mean a slow start. The brand image is crucial, while the strategy can always be changed. I'm aware of Weepo and its feature to see where you are going (we call it "pre-check-in") is in our plans. I think people either already decided to go to a specific venue with friends or they need to make that decision based on the mood or hype. For the second option, you can simply take a look at the app to check a real-time "heat map" of the most popular venues. That would solve the "hyper local" problem ;) In both cases, Magnet can be used to find potential matches. The logo is definitely a map pin that doubles as a heart/yin-yang. That was the easiest part of the whole graphic since the idea came to me in a few seconds! To businesses we bring exclusivity and costumers (and their friends who perhaps don't even use Magnet): they'd pay per user check-in, so they got nothing to lose if nobody shows up. We are going directly for promoters since Magnet is essentially a tool for their job. We have other strategies in mind but I rather not discuss in the open at this point ;)

Report

8yr ago

Pietz Prove

@james_osullivan @alessandro_schiassi @rueter i just watched Weepo's promo video. seems like they're aiming for a younger, cheaper and dumber audience than Magnet. It's one of those videos where I question the future of humankind. It's almost offensive to me.

Report

8yr ago

James O'Sullivan

@gopietz @alessandro_schiassi @rueter Haha yeah

Report

8yr ago

Mark Thomas McEwan

@alessandro_schiassi Tinder and the Tinder-culture has no place in 2016, time for it to go away

Report

8yr ago

Alessandro Schiassi

Magnet

Maker

@marktmcewan Thanks and I agree! Dating is such a huge part of everyone's life, yet is often treated as something shameful. Online dating had its time, I really think now it's time for "on-site attraction" ;)

Report

8yr ago

Pietz Prove

good looking app and video! nice job. but i think you'll have a very hard time. your app is essentially useless until a huge amount of people are using it. you need millions of users for even a tiny chance of sitting at the same restaurant as another user. you're even more hyper local than happn! its going to be hard.

Report

8yr ago

Alessandro Schiassi

Magnet

Maker

@gopietz and @rueter That was definitely a concern, but we have a strategy to (hopefully) make it work: essentially we are going to limit the venues where someone can check-in, so people would have to go there to use the app. We are going to scale accordingly based on the active users. This is also our B2B plan to generate revenues without charging our users. We are also aiming for an on-site marketing strategy where we are going to promote the app to specific events so people can try it on the spot. One of the promotion tools are personalized condoms with Magnet brand on it. We already gave them away at TechDay in DTLA, and they were a huge success! Last but not least, you can see on the map how many users are checked in at each specific venue, so you can simply decide to go there, improving the chance to meet someone and making the site even more attractive!

Report

8yr ago

Yusuf Erdogan

@alessandro_schiassi @gopietz @rueter I liked the monetisation strategy. Interesting design choice though... Risky at the same time I think. Why did you go with that? Also photos are only in B&W? And by the way it's not available in UK yet, when do you plan to release here?

Report

8yr ago

Alessandro Schiassi

Magnet

Maker

@erdogany I figured if I have to design something why not make it beautiful and unique? Our focus target is 25-45 classy professionals, therefore cute animals and flashy colors wouldn't have cut, in my opinion. Also, the 15° angle is more ergonomic since your thumb arrives with an angle on the screen. B&W pictures are both classier and faster to load: win-win! At the moment we are focusing on the US market, particularly on LA. Once we prove the concept, we can scale up in other cities/countries according to the demand. We are still raising seed funds, so we need to think local ;)

Report

8yr ago

Yusuf Erdogan

@alessandro_schiassi Cool! Thanks for the information! You can count me into promoting your app in London when arrives. :) I am not sure if I would use it much but I will be mentioning it to friends. In fact I used to mention this exact idea to friends, and now you have done it. Good job. Wishing you success!

Report

8yr ago

Brendan Beirne

@alessandro_schiassi you've probably thought of this already but concerts and festivals would be good places to target. Also cruise ships, resorts and youth hostels... anywhere with a captive audience that's in one place for more than an hour or two.

Report

8yr ago

Magnet

It's not online dating, it's on-site attraction.

Do you use Magnet?

Review Magnet?