Followed the guide last year and pretty much every event was great in terms of connections and content.
If you are in the industry, don’t overlook this.
Thanks John for putting it together again!
The main question: Can I answer text messages that were forwarded to me / initiate a call back from that number?
What about advance routing? Based on time or external sources? Numbers blocking, etc.?
Feedback on setup:
- It was super confusing to connect Twilio account that I already had.
- Signing up with Gmail only made me think for a second.
- Twilio connector only worked on a third try.
- I doubt that I would pay $6/mo for it when the time comes :-( Maybe a couple of bux, but not 6. (I don't want to discourage you here, just trying to be honest and give unfiltered feedback as a user, who is very interested.)
As a developer I REALLY like the fact that I can connect it to my Twilio account and have full control over my numbers. This way I don't have to deal with overcharges and can keep/port the number through Twilio.
As a consumer, it will probably be hard to scale this. But you can always add an option.
Smart move for the product introduction to a niche audience!
WTF, from 1400mhz to 600?! This is a one hundred percent push of new product onto people with a good preemptive coverup!
If a person uses their iPhone regularly, they will go through the battery cycles that Apple defined and he or she is a loyal customer, hence the usage. No one knows that you "suppose to" update the battery and it's not easy. So, people just buy new phones.
I am amazed that everyone is just cool with this. It is an extremely clever strategy and results in billions in extra sales for Apple.
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How about receiving acceptance emails? Am I the only one to think that positive reinforcement is a way better tool? How would it possibly help you to tune yourself to a negative outcome on daily basis?!
I participated in the Startup Alley 3 times and in Battlefield once. Here is my take:
- Battlefield gives you great exposure to investors and gives you some "validation" in their eyes. It is mostly true for noname VCs. If you network well, you will get some good connections out of it. That being said, it will not make your company. Even if it might seem so for a bit.
- Startup Alley is a complete waste of time, unless you sell to other startups. If you are starting something like Twilio, you will get plenty of early adopters in a few days.
Otherwise, there is no real exposure, no traffic, no VCs, and almost no business partners. TechCrunch loves to hype it up because they are making $1.7K on each booth.
If you are not sure why you want to participate, don't. Stay at the office and double down on your product and customers. YOu are better off spending your money on youtube influencers or what have you.
You can always give your free user's a discount or an extended free period. It's a pretty standard practice.
Some will leave, some will pay. And that's ok.