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Re:Positioning Your Startup Is Vital by riantogo on Monday December 21, 2020 @06:37PM (#25501094)
I'm struggling with this for my side gig. So let me try:

For community builders, Who enjoy cultivating engaging forums, https://DiscoFlip.com is a free platform, That provides instant 2 click forum creation. Unlike other places like reddit or fb-groups, DiscoFlip focuses on enabling forum owners to monetize the community for themselves.

How did I do?

Re:Positioning Your Startup Is Vital by bruceb on Monday December 21, 2020 @09:19PM (#25502161)
Build the community you want & make the cash you deserve. It only takes 2 clicks with DiscoFlip.com
Re:Positioning Your Startup Is Vital by sebmellen on Monday December 21, 2020 @09:28PM (#25502210)
@riantogo, bruceb has done you a great service here. This description is great and made me understand what your product is. Use it!
Re:Positioning Your Startup Is Vital by riantogo on Monday December 21, 2020 @09:53PM (#25502352)
+1 Brilliant. Turns out HN crew is good at this. Better than the template in the article.
Re:Positioning Your Startup Is Vital by SkyPuncher on Tuesday December 22, 2020 @12:09AM (#25503097)
> How did I do?

Not great, honestly.

----

I read a mis-aligned value prop

* For community builders

* That provides instant 2 click forum creation

For me, community building is something that takes time and effort, but your value prop suggests "quick and easy". I think, community building is something that takes a lot of time, is 2-clicks vs an hour of setup a big deal? Probably not.

I think an alternative angle is making is as easy as possible for people to setup a community for their product. "Get a community for your product in just 2-clicks".

Or, you need to focus on how your product makes community building easier: "A batteries-included community building platform".

Re:Positioning Your Startup Is Vital by riantogo on Tuesday December 22, 2020 @12:54AM (#25503350)
You nailed it. This is exactly the struggle in my head. Currently it is "something for everyone" (product forum, community building, revenue channel etc.). I need to narrow it down before expanding. Love the "batteries-included" line.
Re:Positioning Your Startup Is Vital by nondeveloper on Monday December 21, 2020 @07:15PM (#25501399)
I had to read this a few times to understand what your product is, maybe because I wanted to stop reading halfway through the first sentence. Most people scan and if the first scan is too hard they move on.

I think the first sentence should have shorter, simpler words.

Maybe: “Build an online community in two clicks with DiscoFlip. Easier to configure and monetize than Reddit or Facebook Groups.”

Re:Positioning Your Startup Is Vital by riantogo on Monday December 21, 2020 @07:25PM (#25501481)
I was using the template as-is from the article. Personally I like the brevity of your version much better. If you don't mind, I would love to use it.
Re:Positioning Your Startup Is Vital by nondeveloper on Monday December 21, 2020 @10:07PM (#25502412)
Please do. It would be my honor.
Re:Positioning Your Startup Is Vital by restya on Tuesday December 22, 2020 @12:44AM (#25503301)
We're also struggling. If anyone can check our open-source[1] and share similar thoughts, it will be of great help.

[1] https://restya.com/board

Re:Positioning Your Startup Is Vital by ccmcarey on Tuesday December 22, 2020 @05:00AM (#25504659)
> Open source. Trello like kanban board. Tasks, to-dos, chat, etc.

Minor, but don't include "etc"

Re:Positioning Your Startup Is Vital by sanedigital on Tuesday December 22, 2020 @07:32AM (#25505622)
An alternative format that reads a bit better is the “Laser Focused Positioning Statement”:

I’m a Category that helps Market with Expensive Problem. Unlike my competitors I offer Unique Difference.

For you that could be:

DiscoFlip is a platform for Online Communities struggling to self-monetize. Unlike our competitors, we offer a 2-click solution for starting a new community.

It reads better.

I do agree with other commenters though: your problem doesn’t seem to align with what makes you unique. The more you can orient your marketing around the pain your customer is feeling, the better!

Re:Positioning Your Startup Is Vital by dvnguyen on Monday December 21, 2020 @06:40PM (#25501116)
Sample size of one: if I create a new sub Reddit or a FB community, it’s unlikely that making money from that community is my goal.
Re:Positioning Your Startup Is Vital by riantogo on Monday December 21, 2020 @07:14PM (#25501393)
That is a good point. I run couple of subreddits/fb-groups and it always felt a bit off that I couldn't monetize my community the same way I could when forums were distributed. However, these platforms monetize my communities for themselves.