First-Time Entrepreneur: Seeking Advice/Critique for Business Launch

[baconschteam]

Help me avoid newbie mistakes! I'm trying to start a business around a device that I'm inventing. It's a simple, tiny, interval timer for people with ADHD or anybody else that would like to time short intervals of time and not be glued to their phone. I'm making this thing because I need one, and that leads me to believe others might find it useful as well. I've never started a business before, and I'm interested in hearing advice or feedback that anybody might have for me. I launched the website earlier this week:

https://www.cliqtimer.com/

The primary goal at first is to gauge interest/assess viability. The goal of the website is to explain in simple terms why the thing would be useful to somebody and to collect email subscriptions (which then would hopefully lead to people filling out the survey that they'll be sent via email to collect feedback on the design). I also plan to start posting on social media soon - videos of myself talking about the thing, prototyping the thing, meme-like ADHD content - but this will be a little slow going since this is a project that I'm working on outside of my stressful, energy-sucking day job.

If I confirm that there's enough interest I plan to do a Kickstarter sometime this Spring and launch the product in summer 2025.

If anybody has the knowledge/time, I would really appreciate any honest feedback. I am an artist, and I've never wanted to learn anything about marketing before, but now I've got to! And fast! I've read The 1-Page Marketing Plan and I'm now reading Lean Startup. I have a target audience, a rough business plan. What else do you need to know about my plan to give advice?

I've submitted an application for a provisional patent on the device.

[Smokystache]

This is interesting. I like how you spelled out various use cases. I was thinking of a couple as I read and then you would mention them in the next section.

Here's one person's feedback:
- I believe there is already the beginning of an anti-smartphone movement (or at least, get away from my phone for a while each day movement) and this could really tap into that energy. Leave your phone at home or in the car, but still have a way to track your time on task -- whether that be exercising, meditating, writing, working, etc.

I like the minimalistic look of it. I like that it could fit in a pocket or could be clipped onto a belt loop, etc.

Eventually, in addition to your own story, I'd recommend having short profiles of people (with pictures) showing how they use it for a wide vareity of different tasks.

I hope you've received some good feedback through your website. I signed up for more notifications.

[baconschteam]

Thanks so much for responding! And for signing up (:

It definitely stems from an anti-smart position, and you're correct that I could highlight/anchor that a bit more. I actually tried to go back to a dumb phone at one point because the smart phone was making me feel crazy, but they just suck now because there is no longer a competitive market (for flip phones). Tried like 3 and they didn't work for various reasons.

Really my main problem is learning about marketing from scratch, while trying to do said marketing, in my free time outside my demanding day job. I've gotten a lot of confirmation from people that the product is a good idea, and hardly any real criticism. Campaign needs a little more momentum. I suppose the Kickstarter will be the real test.

[Shinplaster]

I like the concept and look of it.   I wish you success with your launch.

Do you have a manufacturing strategy in place?    Will you be 3D printing it yourself?   What about the electronics inside?    You have set yourself a very short timeline between starting the campaign and actual product delivery.   It can take quite a while to just get schematics done for the manufacturing process if your product is successful.

Also, be aware that Kickstarter/Indiegogo etc. will tell you that you need tens of thousands of email signups to ensure a successful campaign.   Sometimes you can do it without that, but they are speaking from experience and are usually pretty accurate.  Expect 10% clickthrough for actual sales.   It also depends on how much funding you need.   Whatever timeline you envision, add months to it.

Disclaimer - speaking as the Mom of someone with a (successful) campaign on Indiegogo that closed just before Christmas.   DS has a working prototype, but translating that to something that can be mass manufactured has been challenging.     Delays are unavoidable if you have to rely on other people to do what you have paid them to do, because they will promise short timelines to get the business, and then take their time actually delivering on the promises.

[flyingsnakes]

Cool idea! My initial thoughts/ criticisms-
It seems weird to lead with the ADHD angle. I'd reverse the order of the "who is this for" section of the website.
Price point is going to be a huge determination in the success. I might buy one for $5, but couldn't see myself spending any more than that. Maybe do some A/B testing for the website to see how many email signups you get at different planned prices.

[Cannot Wait!]

Have you heard of the Holderness Family?
They are long time fb influencers and the husband talks a lot about his ADHD.
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1EYia6s5A1/
Contact them :)

[NorCal]

Here's some thoughts.

-While a website is necessary, it's not a marketing strategy on its own.  The entire internet is a pile of steaming garbage that no one can sift through.  Approximately zero people will find your website organically.
-Pay-per-click advertising is also a waste of money for what you're trying to do.  While I don't know the ad rates for your search terms, I wouldn't be surprised if PPC advertising cost you hundreds of dollars per sale.  I'd be surprised if it penciled out.

You need to find your customers where they are.  What niche reading material, events, or other venues can you find your target customers at?  It doesn't have to be online.  Maybe Podcasts?

Marketing and finding your audience is hard.  I've failed at it a few times (so take my advice with a grain of salt). 

[Metalcat]

Here's some thoughts.

-While a website is necessary, it's not a marketing strategy on its own.  The entire internet is a pile of steaming garbage that no one can sift through.  Approximately zero people will find your website organically.
-Pay-per-click advertising is also a waste of money for what you're trying to do.  While I don't know the ad rates for your search terms, I wouldn't be surprised if PPC advertising cost you hundreds of dollars per sale.  I'd be surprised if it penciled out.

You need to find your customers where they are.  What niche reading material, events, or other venues can you find your target customers at?  It doesn't have to be online.  Maybe Podcasts?

Marketing and finding your audience is hard.  I've failed at it a few times (so take my advice with a grain of salt).

As someone who works specifically with neurodivergent folks, I 100% agree.

No one finds my website.because of my website. They'll find me because I'm listed in relevant directories and active in relevant communities. But my single page, self-made wix.com website with no SEO will never be found organically in anyone's search for anything.

A website for a single product that no one knows exists will need to be pretty heavily marketed to gain traction.

A lot of my colleagues do FB ads, but we only need 1-2 new clients per month, OP will need to attract many, many thousands, consistently, so that means reaching, what, millions??

Figuring out the marketing strategy is key.

[erp]

Neat idea, and especially good in this less screentime market.

One comment is that the photo attached to "who is it for" is a doctor/nurse with a really prominent watch on their wrist. It seems like a watch might actually be competitive with your product (I wear a watch for this reason) - it could be valuable to consider a photo which doesn't highlight one?

I'm also curious about the pricing - even just an order of magnitude for whether this is cheap enough to lose at school without being annoyed would be helpful.

[baconschteam]

I like the concept and look of it.   I wish you success with your launch.

Do you have a manufacturing strategy in place?    Will you be 3D printing it yourself?   What about the electronics inside?    You have set yourself a very short timeline between starting the campaign and actual product delivery.   It can take quite a while to just get schematics done for the manufacturing process if your product is successful.

Thanks! My plan is, after getting a few few functional prototypes made in USA, to get a short production run of maybe 1000 made in China for betatesters or for the Kickstarter. I've honestly not gone down very far down the rabbit hole with this yet because it seems like the easier part to me (versus marketing). I am skilled at 3D printing, writing code, etc, so I could probably get a functioning protype in my hands with mostly my own work. Not sure that this is the right strategy, but with the limited time I have outside of work this is what I've mostly been focused on.

Also, be aware that Kickstarter/Indiegogo etc. will tell you that you need tens of thousands of email signups to ensure a successful campaign.   Sometimes you can do it without that, but they are speaking from experience and are usually pretty accurate.  Expect 10% clickthrough for actual sales.   It also depends on how much funding you need.   Whatever timeline you envision, add months to it.

Disclaimer - speaking as the Mom of someone with a (successful) campaign on Indiegogo that closed just before Christmas.   DS has a working prototype, but translating that to something that can be mass manufactured has been challenging.     Delays are unavoidable if you have to rely on other people to do what you have paid them to do, because they will promise short timelines to get the business, and then take their time actually delivering on the promises.

Tens of thousands does sound intimidating. I'm still under 100 lol. But I'm just starting out. My completely out-of-my-ass goal for the Kickstarter was to sell 1000. Which should net between $30-40k. The true purpose to this would be to prove that there's a market.

[baconschteam]

Cool idea! My initial thoughts/ criticisms-
It seems weird to lead with the ADHD angle. I'd reverse the order of the "who is this for" section of the website.
Price point is going to be a huge determination in the success. I might buy one for $5, but couldn't see myself spending any more than that. Maybe do some A/B testing for the website to see how many email signups you get at different planned prices.

My own ADHD was the genesis of the product. While I see your point that this may be coloring my perspective on the marketing angle, I do feel that it's helpful put my own honest story into the marketing of the product. On top of this, awareness of ADHD and neurodivergence in general does seem to be a trending topic.

It's possible (though doubtful) somebody could make this to sell on Amazon for $5, but as far as I've calculated, it will cost me at least $20 to make each one of these. This is before accounting for marketing, my own labor, risk of investment. This again, to me, is why my story is an important part of it. You can always find some cheap crap to buy, but it won't have a good story behind it, it's design won't be based in research, and I doubt it'll have style. I want these to be very well made, waterproof, stylish enough that people will proudly flaunt it attached to their bag or something. I'm developing the product with guidance from a behavioral therapy group to ensure that the design will actually be able to help people I hope it will help, to make sure there's nothing I'm missing.

My frugal brain does feel what your saying regarding the price, but it's really based on what it will cost to make for me, as an individual. I have to just put it out there and see if it's worth it to some. This is the most similar product that I've found to what I'm trying to make: https://habitchange.com/index.php. It's not stylish at all, it cost $65, and apparently they went out of business.

[baconschteam]

Have you heard of the Holderness Family?
They are long time fb influencers and the husband talks a lot about his ADHD.
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1EYia6s5A1/
Contact them :)

Thanks, I will definitely check them out!

[baconschteam]

Neat idea, and especially good in this less screentime market.

One comment is that the photo attached to "who is it for" is a doctor/nurse with a really prominent watch on their wrist. It seems like a watch might actually be competitive with your product (I wear a watch for this reason) - it could be valuable to consider a photo which doesn't highlight one?

Good catch! Personally, I use a timer and a watch for different reasons, but what you're saying totally makes sense.

I'm also curious about the pricing - even just an order of magnitude for whether this is cheap enough to lose at school without being annoyed would be helpful.

My rough early estimates are that the product will have to be between $30-40 to be viable. Costs for an individual starting out on my own are much higher than an established business with supply chains and infrastructure. I'll have to make sure the "Clip" part of "Cliq" is super effective so that it's hard to lose!

[Metalcat]

At $30-40 I would expect an uphill battle to get the volume of sales you would need.

As for watches, I would definitely recommend examining the timer utility on smart watches. Some are much better than others. A simple, easy to use user interface for timers is actually a main feature I look for in finding DH (AuDHD) a new smart watch. He basically doesn't care about any other utility.

Your product will have to be $30-40 more convenient as a timer than the average smart watch.

[baconschteam]

Here's some thoughts.

-While a website is necessary, it's not a marketing strategy on its own.  The entire internet is a pile of steaming garbage that no one can sift through.  Approximately zero people will find your website organically.
-Pay-per-click advertising is also a waste of money for what you're trying to do.  While I don't know the ad rates for your search terms, I wouldn't be surprised if PPC advertising cost you hundreds of dollars per sale.  I'd be surprised if it penciled out.

You need to find your customers where they are.  What niche reading material, events, or other venues can you find your target customers at?  It doesn't have to be online.  Maybe Podcasts?

Marketing and finding your audience is hard.  I've failed at it a few times (so take my advice with a grain of salt).

As someone who works specifically with neurodivergent folks, I 100% agree.

No one finds my website.because of my website. They'll find me because I'm listed in relevant directories and active in relevant communities. But my single page, self-made wix.com website with no SEO will never be found organically in anyone's search for anything.

A website for a single product that no one knows exists will need to be pretty heavily marketed to gain traction.

A lot of my colleagues do FB ads, but we only need 1-2 new clients per month, OP will need to attract many, many thousands, consistently, so that means reaching, what, millions??

Figuring out the marketing strategy is key.

Targeted IG and TikTok ads are one strategy that I will employ. The largest group of customers that I anticipate are college students and that's where one can find them throughout much of the day.

I also plan on getting in touch with groups for blind and deaf people. The few that I know said that they think this could be very helpful for them.

I've been working with a behavioral therapy group that is excited to try it out and recommend it to patients. Once they have the thing in their hands and verified that it is indeed a helpful tool I will spread it around to other groups.

Parents of children with ADHD are another group that this could be helpful to but I'm not a parent so I will ask some parent friends where do parents hang out.

My sister is a social justice/fitness influencer and would probably slip it into some of her reels (timing workouts, holding positions, not for social justice lol). There are many ADHD influencers whom I plan to send a Cliq timer to.

I do understand that the right marketing strategy is key.

[baconschteam]

At $30-40 I would expect an uphill battle to get the volume of sales you would need.

As for watches, I would definitely recommend examining the timer utility on smart watches. Some are much better than others. A simple, easy to use user interface for timers is actually a main feature I look for in finding DH (AuDHD) a new smart watch. He basically doesn't care about any other utility.

Your product will have to be $30-40 more convenient as a timer than the average smart watch.

Yes, I do worry about the price, it's a little high, but from my rough early numbers that seems to be the only way it'll profit. Once I get real prices for things I'll try to cut it down to the "minimum viable product" to see how much I can squeeze.

The concept behind this thing is to reduce cognitive friction as much as possible for timing things. I want it to be so intuitive and at-hand that it can become a natural part of daily routine. I want it to be waterproof so I can even take it with me into the shower! I know that might sound weird but sometimes I completely zone out in the shower and before I know it I've taken a 20 minute shower. I want to be able to click it inside my pocket and then for the vibration to announce to me (and nobody else) that the time is up. I want to be able to use it without thinking about it at all. I feel like if I achieve that, it could bring a lot of value to people.

You're right that I should probably look into the timer utility on smart watches. I've never had one because I've felt it would be distracting to me and no more helpful than my cheap Casio. Maybe I'll pick up a used older model for "research purposes".