Ask HN: Selling Software, How?
I am developing and working on a side project I would like to monetize, RediSQL (RediSQL.com)
The point is that sales are extremely slow.
The software is an SQL database that works on top of Redis (it just use Redis for the connection layer, the data set are completely distinguished) and the SQL engine is implemented by SQLite.
I really believe that there is a market for this, I needed it years ago when developing my own app and people are using it in production (or at least are keeping instance up).
But still I cannot sell it.
I don't understand what I am doing wrong.
I get in touch with users and they are happy and don't ask for features.
I rank extremely high for keyword terms on Google (like "in-memory sql", or "fast SQL engine") and indeed I get an healthy stream of people on the website.
There are things that could be improved in the product, but I don't know what to prioritize.
Moreover I want to avoid to just work in the tech without any marketing... But I don't know what kind of marketing I should do.
I am definitely doing something wrong, but I don't know what.
Please help!
* "Fast": up to 130.000 TPS (inserts apparently) sounds a lot, but I'm not sure it is, see for example http://akorotkov.github.io/blog/2016/05/09/scalability-towar.... Maybe I'm comparing apples with oranges, but since your statement is not backed up by anything I can verify myself this does not stand out as a feature to me. It also sits in a spot where it is too high for startups to be relevant and too low for potential global players since it seems to be the limit, and as you can see in the link, even PostgreSQL provides a way to scale way beyond that number. Maybe your solution can be clustered, but I see no mention of this.
* If I need an in-memory DB, I usually need it for caching or for tests. The first use case is mostly covered by Redis (but I admit being able to use SQL for cache retrieval has some appeal), the second use case (tests) is questionable, since I either use your DB all the way or I'd have a separate DB for tests, which is a not very inviting thing to have to me.
* You state that your DB is not only in-memory only but also can?(is always?) be persisted via Redis. How is that working, what are consequences for conflicts, transactionality etc.? I don't find much about this topic, just a reference that it is "[on] par with incumbent databases such as Postgres or MySQL".
* Lastly, you should mention that the SQL dialect is SQlite. I'd hate having to learn another SQL dialect and I guess many of my peers would do the same.
I'd suggest you switch the focus from "fast in-memory DB" to "Run SQL queries on cached data to allow more leeway to your real SQL database". This sounds appealing to me, provided there are some real-life examples how this can work (e.g. a demo project).
If you go this way, I'd also probably also drop (or not focus) "being able to persist cached data" to automating cache-refreshes consistently, since this would probably be needed.
How would you market RediSQL? Who you would talk to? In what kind of venues?
It sounds to me like you need to find a partner who is into doing that sort of thing. That's what I did. As a bonus, someone who is into this sort of thing likely will be able to give you solid information about how to change your product in order to appeal to a broader audience.
Don't forget the first law of business: be totally honest with yourself about what you can't (or don't want to) do well, and fix that gap by finding people who are good at and enjoy those things.
The point is that I am an "heavy engineer" myself, the kind that go and build databases or filesystems.
With this project I wanted to expand my horizons and learn the business as well.
I could work for FAANG if I just wanted to do engineering, but I want something different. I force myself to don't refactor the code base or add features. I don't want to build stuff (even if I really enjoy it) I want to sell it.
Maybe I should look for a mentor on this space, but I have no idea how to find one...
Any volunteers?
I don't know where you are, but in the US it's worth looking into the SCORE program (Service Corps of Retired Entrepreneurs). This program is specifically intended to provide experienced business mentorship to entrepreneurs. Here's their website: https://www.score.org
In my earlier days, I found SCORE to be incredibly valuable.
But thanks for the link, maybe I can find something similar :)
A lot of the resources SCORE provides on the website may be helpful regardless of your location. You might not be able to get a real-life mentor through them, but they do provide a lot of online instructions and advice.
It might also be worth contacting them to ask if they know of similar services in Europe. They might!
Also, disregard any opinion that gives feedback on your site or product. Talk to real customers (after reading the book).
That's good advice if you already have customers. OP seems to have the problem of not having customers.
Sales is the solution to the problem of not having customers.
I definitely will!
"Get in your car" and go see your users instead of sitting at your desk. Seeing is the best way to really understand context and understanding the context in which your customers operate is important for B2B sales. If you can't afford to visit potential customers then it is likely that either the project is under-capitalized or that the project is not economically viable. Under-capitalization and economic viability don't matter for a hobby project. But they matter greatly for a business venture.
I definitely understand the idea of knowing how my clients work and operate in real life, so I keep asking them via email. Unfortunately, every time, they are all quite reticent to share more about their business.
I might be asking wrong...
Asking people how they work in real life is not usually that productive. People often don't really know how they work -- they just work -- and will tell you what they think that they do rather than what they really do.
If you have identified a target market (and if you haven't, then that's what you should do first), then the best thing to do is find a way to watch your target market work in their native environment. This is ideal, but can be hard to swing.
For instance, if your target is narrow enough, you could land a short-term contract gig with a company that fits it, then you'll learn first-hand how things really work and what the pain points are. A bonus to doing that is that it adheres to another principle I believe in -- to the greatest degree possible, each of your activities should generate income in at least two different ways. In this case, you'd get a paycheck as well as free market research.
There are other methods, too. For instance, take members of your target market out to lunch and talk shop. Don't try to sell them on anything at all -- in fact, don't talk about your product. Instead, get them talking about their daily work routine. They may not open up at first, but they'll probably start telling you valuable things on the second or third lunch, or after a cocktail.
That asymmetry -- valuing your own time more than clients -- is intuited by most people. You're sending emails and expecting people to go out of their way at your request. It's convenient for you and inconvenient for them. It doesn't express an appreciation for their business at both levels. Their business with you and their business as a set of operations with a set of problems.
I'm not suggesting visiting every user all over the world. I am suggesting that a good way to understand what your users are doing is to see what they are doing. Visiting makes it easy for your users to show (not tell) you what they are doing.
How big is the problem? Is it in your potential customers' top 3 pains? Or is this just a nice to have feature for Redis?
> I really believe that there is a market for this, I needed it years ago when developing my own app and people are using it in production (or at least are keeping instance up).
What evidence do you have that a market exists? Do you know how much your users are using the product?
Why would someone buy support from you rather than someone with a track record with a popular database? Do you know what people that make those purchase decisions look for? I'm not going to speculate, since I don't make those decisions, but your post makes it sound like you haven't figured out what you're selling or why someone should buy it from you.
I still need to figure out the best way to monetize the project, PRO version plus support seemed the most straightforward way, but maybe it is not the only one.
I was hoping to lure the engineers with a good technology and finally sell to whoever has budget with the hope that the engineers would sell the product inside the organization.
But somehow this is not working.
Maybe they don't need it?
Maybe I have to find a specific niche...
Any idea is welcome...
Edit: There are more exact repost than usual. Can it be a software glitch?
I deleted the others!