dochustle
Regular Contributor
Hi Fastlaners!
As I promised, I'm back with an update on the progress of ToothbrushSubscriptions.com. I launched this startup right here on the Fastlane Fourm as OneLessThought.com on October 23rd of 2012 and have been through quite a journey since then.
Just last night we launched our new homepage video. Some companies, not just Dollar Shave Club, have seen success with these types of videos. One of the obstacles with a business like this is getting the idea to spread and educating people on what our service does. A video (if it connects) is a great way to do that. Companies like PooPourri and HelloFlo have been successful with this marketing route.
The video itself was quite the process and took us about 6 months from start to finish. We iterated the hell out of it and came up with the final version you see live on the site now. Its funny, reviewing the thread I started on this forum to launch the site, Fastlaners' like JackEdwards and Likwid24 were some of the first to comment and they both recommended we do a video. Took a while (as things do I've come to learn) but it's live!
This next month or two is going to be really exciting as we are doing some fun growth strategies to help get the video out there.
A few things Iv'e learned over the past 1.5 years:
1. Patience - I'd love to be able to grow 10x every month but without going through the customer development process, really getting to know your customer and having some core, fundamental building blocks in place, you'll have a hard time succeeding. Just recently are we really starting to achieve these things. My finger has always been on the 'growth' button, but there have been many times where I've had to step back and get some basics right before moving forward.
2. Team is everything - without the people who are on board with TBS, we wouldn't be shit right now. From the development team, our amazing designer and everyone else, we wouldn't be anywhere near where we are today. Yes, you have to start somewhere, that's the only way to start testing and learning if what you have is actually something people want. I started with a Wordpress site and an absolutely brutal design. It started the learning process for me. But I think it's very hard to do something really great, in this space anyway, doing it yourself.
3. Seth Godin nailed it - you have to stand out from the crowd. You can preach features and benefits all day long but if there isn't an emotional connection, you'll have a hard time selling. One of those 'take a step back and get things right' phases I went through (and still am iterating constantly) was the entire experience a customer has from the time they learn about about us (hopefully through word of mouth), to placing an order and receiving each subsequent package in the mail.
In the early days it was all about how old toothbrushes are gross and why you need to change them frequently. Yes, that is still a part of it, but we do a lot of fun things now that you would never expect from a toothbrush. Every package comes with some oral hygiene education and tips on how you can build a successful, healthy smile. Our customer is a "busy professional" and we've had education cards like "The Coffee Drinkers Guide to Oral Health", for example.
We are also launching a very cool feature in June that will really engage our subscribers. These are just some of things we are doing, but it's these extras that are really making people love what we do
Honestly, this whole process has been an amazing experience and the biggest take away is it's all about learning. Hands on learning that you're not going to get 'working for a pay check.' I've had to sacrifice some things along the way, but that's part of the game.
Unfortunately since a few competitors have popped up we haven't been revealing subscriber numbers publicly for a little while now. But if you stay tuned we'll be revealing some 'hints' on the site in the near future.
The Fastlane got me off the ground, believe that!
Dave
As I promised, I'm back with an update on the progress of ToothbrushSubscriptions.com. I launched this startup right here on the Fastlane Fourm as OneLessThought.com on October 23rd of 2012 and have been through quite a journey since then.
Just last night we launched our new homepage video. Some companies, not just Dollar Shave Club, have seen success with these types of videos. One of the obstacles with a business like this is getting the idea to spread and educating people on what our service does. A video (if it connects) is a great way to do that. Companies like PooPourri and HelloFlo have been successful with this marketing route.
The video itself was quite the process and took us about 6 months from start to finish. We iterated the hell out of it and came up with the final version you see live on the site now. Its funny, reviewing the thread I started on this forum to launch the site, Fastlaners' like JackEdwards and Likwid24 were some of the first to comment and they both recommended we do a video. Took a while (as things do I've come to learn) but it's live!
This next month or two is going to be really exciting as we are doing some fun growth strategies to help get the video out there.
A few things Iv'e learned over the past 1.5 years:
1. Patience - I'd love to be able to grow 10x every month but without going through the customer development process, really getting to know your customer and having some core, fundamental building blocks in place, you'll have a hard time succeeding. Just recently are we really starting to achieve these things. My finger has always been on the 'growth' button, but there have been many times where I've had to step back and get some basics right before moving forward.
2. Team is everything - without the people who are on board with TBS, we wouldn't be shit right now. From the development team, our amazing designer and everyone else, we wouldn't be anywhere near where we are today. Yes, you have to start somewhere, that's the only way to start testing and learning if what you have is actually something people want. I started with a Wordpress site and an absolutely brutal design. It started the learning process for me. But I think it's very hard to do something really great, in this space anyway, doing it yourself.
3. Seth Godin nailed it - you have to stand out from the crowd. You can preach features and benefits all day long but if there isn't an emotional connection, you'll have a hard time selling. One of those 'take a step back and get things right' phases I went through (and still am iterating constantly) was the entire experience a customer has from the time they learn about about us (hopefully through word of mouth), to placing an order and receiving each subsequent package in the mail.
In the early days it was all about how old toothbrushes are gross and why you need to change them frequently. Yes, that is still a part of it, but we do a lot of fun things now that you would never expect from a toothbrush. Every package comes with some oral hygiene education and tips on how you can build a successful, healthy smile. Our customer is a "busy professional" and we've had education cards like "The Coffee Drinkers Guide to Oral Health", for example.
We are also launching a very cool feature in June that will really engage our subscribers. These are just some of things we are doing, but it's these extras that are really making people love what we do
Honestly, this whole process has been an amazing experience and the biggest take away is it's all about learning. Hands on learning that you're not going to get 'working for a pay check.' I've had to sacrifice some things along the way, but that's part of the game.
Unfortunately since a few competitors have popped up we haven't been revealing subscriber numbers publicly for a little while now. But if you stay tuned we'll be revealing some 'hints' on the site in the near future.
The Fastlane got me off the ground, believe that!
Dave
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