MyTime raises $9.3M to build mobile-first local business scheduling(techcrunch.com)
techcrunch.com
MyTime raises $9.3M to build mobile-first local business scheduling
http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/21/mytime-scheduler/
5 comments
Hi all, I am the engineering lead at MyTime. We built a scheduling software, even though 100s of such products already exist because we want to provide small businesses with the tools they need to enable online booking and communication with their clients 24/7 - that is mobile first! Scheduling is not an easy problem (http://algeri-wong.com/yishan/great-unsolved-problems-in-com...) but I think we have built a really intuitive product that is easy to use, and feature rich. Ask me any questions you might have. Oh, and we are hiring for all sorts of roles. Send me your resume's at [email protected]
I wish you all the best of luck, but there are a few serious problems you're going to run into.
The biggest problem is consumer mindshare. Google and Yelp are where consumers go to find small businesses and they've got integrated scheduling capabilities that's either launched or launching. Getting consumers to come directly to you costs a ton of money in marketing and advertising. Just look at how much Angie's List has advertised and how little mindshare they've gained.
The second problem is on the business side. In most of the verticals that it looks like you're addressing, it's typical to use a practice management system which will hold the authoritative calendar. Without integrations to those management systems, you're never going to be accurate in determining availability. Building integrations is a long-tail problem that often involves integrating with archaic software vendors who have no interest in helping.
Sorry for being so negative, but I've seen plenty of scheduling companies jump into the game because they believe that poor UX is the reason no existing player has become dominant when the reality is that it's just a horribly complex problem where every vertical market has different scheduling needs and there's often very little consistency between providers. And even if you nail the technical problems, you've still got the two biggest problems I described above, which will require some serious BizDev and Marketing, which will often be at odds with each other (i.e. no one wants to partner with a company trying to build a consumer destination).
The biggest problem is consumer mindshare. Google and Yelp are where consumers go to find small businesses and they've got integrated scheduling capabilities that's either launched or launching. Getting consumers to come directly to you costs a ton of money in marketing and advertising. Just look at how much Angie's List has advertised and how little mindshare they've gained.
The second problem is on the business side. In most of the verticals that it looks like you're addressing, it's typical to use a practice management system which will hold the authoritative calendar. Without integrations to those management systems, you're never going to be accurate in determining availability. Building integrations is a long-tail problem that often involves integrating with archaic software vendors who have no interest in helping.
Sorry for being so negative, but I've seen plenty of scheduling companies jump into the game because they believe that poor UX is the reason no existing player has become dominant when the reality is that it's just a horribly complex problem where every vertical market has different scheduling needs and there's often very little consistency between providers. And even if you nail the technical problems, you've still got the two biggest problems I described above, which will require some serious BizDev and Marketing, which will often be at odds with each other (i.e. no one wants to partner with a company trying to build a consumer destination).
are you hiring for junior engineers? can you talk a little about your engineering culture, size of team, etc.?
I just tried your service - got a text saying you're trying to find a slot and 3 minutes later confirmation. Nice! Good UI too. Signed up from the browser then downloaded App - the app didn't know I'd already signed in - you may want to add that feature in. Liked it overall - good work.
Congratulations guys! Having tried my luck at this years ago the bigger challenge in getting past the front desk folks who see it as a threat. The funding will definitely help. Best of luck!
What are your thoughts on WeChat? They seem to incorporate a lot of businesses into their app as well.
Congrats guys! Really nice people + great engineering team.