Comparison website designing?

[johnnycashflow]

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Ive had my eye on a product comparison website idea for a few years now,

I was looking at something similar to a phone plan, or credit card or insurnace comparison website, I know there are already heaps out there,

Im thinking about designing my own website, paying a programmer, and entering all the data myself and updating it all myself
so for example it if it was a phone plan comparison website, whenver the plans changed I would have to edit it myself manually, which im happy to do , and hopefully I can get some traction

since im tech not savy, is this the way to get a website like this started?

thanks in advance everyone

[Greg_M]

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johnnycashflow, post: 262715, member: 79207 wrote:

Ive had my eye on a product comparison website idea for a few years now,

I was looking at something similar to a phone plan, or credit card or insurnace comparison website, I know there are already heaps out there,

Im thinking about designing my own website, paying a programmer, and entering all the data myself and updating it all myself
so for example it if it was a phone plan comparison website, whenver the plans changed I would have to edit it myself manually, which im happy to do , and hopefully I can get some traction

since im tech not savy, is this the way to get a website like this started?

thanks in advance everyone

In a word…No

[bb1]

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Great idea

[RoseC]

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Do you mean something similar to ‘Which?’

[SydneyWordPress]

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I like your spirit Johnny.

I was looking at something similar to a phone plan, or credit card or insurnace comparison website, I know there are already heaps out there,

#1 issue is market share, you’ve got to own the market to pull it off.

My advice is find something on WordPress it will cut out the development costs by maybe 70% that’s already tailored for you. #2 bonus is the development work won’t be as ridiculous as some other systems.

Im thinking about designing my own website, paying a programmer, and entering all the data myself and updating it all myself
so for example it if it was a phone plan comparison website, whenver the plans changed I would have to edit it myself manually, which im happy to do , and hopefully I can get some traction

Ideally mate you will want it automated.

#1 you will be stuck in the business not working on it
#2 the prices change all the time, you will have to check X5 providers and they update at different times
#3 Other comparison sites that have automated via API will be providing better value in “FRESH” best rates

Final word is find some one that understands your situation and won’t charge you like a Fintech company bankrolling them. Usually I get this work from design agencies and they are backed by big groups with a few sister teams joining up to bring the idea to market.

Maybe find a niche your markets too competitive and the money they have is $$ stupid crazy, I really liked: https://www.garagesaletrail.com.au/. Find something of value and not so diluted that the big boys fight over.

I had a similar idea for Homegrown plants, fruit, animals but some guy bought the domain and I never followed through as its not guaranteed for me $$$ even with all the resources at hand.

Good luck on your journey

[Zava Design]

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Greg_M, post: 262717, member: 38207 wrote:

In a word…No
Aww, give him a little more…

This type of website needs to be automated, accessing data from various API services that are available from various sources. Or worse case scenario if one doesn’t exist creating one from sourcing data from other channels.

Doing it manually would require hours of work a day in many cases to make sure it’s up to date, not something I’d advise.

[businesstrade]

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Your method of entering in information will be painstaking and inefficient. Other websites utilize APIs, XML feeds to automatically do it. If you intend to build a tech company, it is best to have some form of understanding of tech prior to doing so as most non technical founders are still somewhat technical.

businesstrade.com.au - buy or sell a business

[LukeHally]

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You mentioned there is plenty of competition out there. What will you bring that they don’t have? You’ve got Compare the Market, Finder and Choosi of the top of my head. I admire your drive, but I think you’d need a significant unique value prop to be competitive or even noticed. And I imagine you’d need referral agreements with suppliers to make money.

Which makes me ask: why? Are the competition lacking in something? Or is this something you’ve just always wanted to do?

[johnnycashflow]

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LukeHally, post: 264546, member: 68089 wrote:

You mentioned there is plenty of competition out there. What will you bring that they don’t have? You’ve got Compare the Market, Finder and Choosi of the top of my head. I admire your drive, but I think you’d need a significant unique value prop to be competitive or even noticed. And I imagine you’d need referral agreements with suppliers to make money.

Which makes me ask: why? Are the competition lacking in something? Or is this something you’ve just always wanted to do?
a bit of both to be honest,
thankyou for the feedback,

I will admit, I am flying a bit blind to be honest, especially with my lack of IT knowledge, I dont think my idea is super great either

I do however keep on reading news articles of people who started some particular hobby or idea, and its boomed into a great app or website, and would like to know hey they take the step from idea to App

[LukeHally]

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johnnycashflow, post: 264548, member: 79207 wrote:

a bit of both to be honest,
thankyou for the feedback,

I will admit, I am flying a bit blind to be honest, especially with my lack of IT knowledge, I dont think my idea is super great either

I do however keep on reading news articles of people who started some particular hobby or idea, and its boomed into a great app or website, and would like to know hey they take the step from idea to App
I’ve spent a lot of time in the startup community as a founder, community leader as advisor, here and in the UK. First off, think about the stories you’ve read.

How many actually boomed and how many got press time because they raised funds? There is a whole ecosystem making money from startups progressing through like a commodity. In the end most crash as they run out of investors’ cash. But the investors take the risk because:

• The founders proved a market existed that will probably pay for their product/service.
• The idea is innovative/disruptive
• The founders back themselves 100% and have probably had past success

If you don’t believe that your idea is rock solid, forget about it. I think it’s a good idea, but it’s not innovative or disruptive. If you want to know how they take the next step, this is a rough guide:

• Have an awesome idea that will make a difference
• Determine if there is theoretically a big enough market
• Build a team that can execute the idea
• Get customers
• Either be revenue positive early on or raise funds to cover costs until you are.

It’s an incredibly difficult, frustrating and lonely path.

If you’re just having a crack because you read about some ‘overnight’ successes, it’s your life, do what you want. But I’d suggest focussing your efforts on a more achievable business, you’ll be more likely to get somewhere and to lead a happy and fulfilling life.

[johnnycashflow]

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LukeHally, post: 264549, member: 68089 wrote:

I’ve spent a lot of time in the startup community as a founder, community leader as advisor, here and in the UK. First off, think about the stories you’ve read.

How many actually boomed and how many got press time because they raised funds? There is a whole ecosystem making money from startups progressing through like a commodity. In the end most crash as they run out of investors’ cash. But the investors take the risk because:

• The founders proved a market existed that will probably pay for their product/service.
• The idea is innovative/disruptive
• The founders back themselves 100% and have probably had past success

If you don’t believe that your idea is rock solid, forget about it. I think it’s a good idea, but it’s not innovative or disruptive. If you want to know how they take the next step, this is a rough guide:

• Have an awesome idea that will make a difference
• Determine if there is theoretically a big enough market
• Build a team that can execute the idea
• Get customers
• Either be revenue positive early on or raise funds to cover costs until you are.

It’s an incredibly difficult, frustrating and lonely path.

If you’re just having a crack because you read about some ‘overnight’ successes, it’s your life, do what you want. But I’d suggest focussing your efforts on a more achievable business, you’ll be more likely to get somewhere and to lead a happy and fulfilling life.
thanks for that insight, its very interesting
When I read of those overnight success stories, I think, ok, they must just have gotten lucky, and how many non successes are there vs successes

I get that feeling particularly alot when I read of some health blogger/poster or diet person who posted a few diet tips and now they have an app that sells for $10 per month, and I assume that the got very lucky, as their idea isnt revolutionary or unique

when tinder first started It was quite revolutionary, and it got zillions of funding and it became an overnight success which is underestandable,
since then there have been a few others that have popped up that seem to be almost the same product or the same product with a few minor differences,
its products like these that I try and analyse what made them successful

[LukeHally]

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Remember overnight successes have usually been at work for years before the press heard of them.

Oh yes, I left out luck, there’s a lot of luck. The people I know who have been ‘successful’ – their business is still running and have raised in the 10s of millions grab their luck when they get it and make the most of it.

I wouldn’t make luck the basis of a plan though. A mentor gave me some great advice: eliminate all hope from your plan. It basically means: hope is the fruit of ignorance and ignorance means you aren’t in control. I wrote a blog on it which should explain it: https://medium.com/ion-systems/eliminating-hope-intro-5a010e749366

[businesstrade]

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There is no such thing as overnight success. This is a myth and the truth is there is a lot of time invested in becoming knowledgeable in a space and much more time, sweat and tears invested in growing a business into something worthwhile. [USER=68089]@LukeHally[/USER] explained it but you need to understand that to be successful in this space you need a few ingredients:
1. understanding of underlying technology/scope of project and industry
2. deep pockets to pay a competent team or be able to program yourself
3. much more.

businesstrade.com.au - buy or sell a business

[johnnycashflow]

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LukeHally, post: 264586, member: 68089 wrote:

Remember overnight successes have usually been at work for years before the press heard of them.

Oh yes, I left out luck, there’s a lot of luck. The people I know who have been ‘successful’ – their business is still running and have raised in the 10s of millions grab their luck when they get it and make the most of it.

I wouldn’t make luck the basis of a plan though. A mentor gave me some great advice: eliminate all hope from your plan. It basically means: hope is the fruit of ignorance and ignorance means you aren’t in control. I wrote a blog on it which should explain it: https://medium.com/ion-systems/eliminating-hope-intro-5a010e749366
thanks for post and blog, very interesting

so in your experience, how do those people with an idea , a fesable plan or even the team, get to the next stage?
is it crowd funding? is it shark tank type of approach, angel investors?

[LukeHally]

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That part I’m not experienced in first hand, trying to raise funds for the first time myself. It seems to pretty much be: approach investors/get referrals and sell them the idea. Feedback so far is we need more customer buy in.

I’ll update as I have more to share.

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