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It’s been on the cards for a while now but eBay’s recent announcement regarding Buy It Now charges definitely shows where they are headed. I was sent a very funny video of a crazy German kid several years ago and kept it because I knew it would come in useful.
I’ve used bits of it to make a little montage about shopping at the hands of an auction. It’s a blatant push for Raffle.it but that’s what I’m here for, plus I had fun using iMovie.
Enjoy …
This is having your fingers on the pulse and showing that you’re listening.
A fan posted about the game Tiger Woods 08, and how you can manipulate Tiger to walk on water – dubbed the Jesus Shot. EA responded with this. Fantastic.
We raised investment when Raffle.it was nothing more than an idea from three three fantastic forward looking individuals. It was relatively straight forward and stress free, all three investors being very supportive and flexible.
We didn’t know we were born.
We’re looking to raise more now to really get the ball rolling, build the team, improve the site, spread the word, that sort of thing. We need more this time, more than an individual investor (often referred to as an Angel) would be comfortable putting up but not enough to prick VCs’ ears.
I read Paul Graham’s article a couple of days ago and it had an incredible effect – I didn’t feel alone, that we were approaching this in the wrong way, or that Raffle.it was a silly idea. Paul Graham is a partner a Y Combinator now and has a great deal of experience with new start ups.
I urge you to read it irrespective of whether you are trying to raise money yourself (if you are and haven’t read this, you absolutely must – it will keep you sane). It will give you a greater understanding of the journey most new entrepreneurs have to travel before you ever see the fruits of their labour.
even though they are unlikely to convert into new sign ups. I’m talking online here for clarification, obviously if done right you should be able to get reasonable conversions if you have a shop close by. Check out Jim Hopkinson’s thoughts if you do have a shop. Definitely worth a read.
It’s a test of faith. In your business, your offer, you.
You can’t passively offer leaflets to passer-bys, you have to thrust them into very wary people who have so much else on their minds (just like you and me). You make eye contact, try and talk to them and push a leaflet you’ve just created into their hands. You get to witness first hand, appalling delivery rates and later on equally disappointing conversion rates.
Which one would you like?
You’ll experience the Void that mysteriously opens up around you. No one deliberately avoids you but they will subconsciously create a large space around you within minutes.
So why put yourself through it?
As demoralising as it is, it’s a great test.
It’ll test your presentation skills. You don’t have time for an elevator pitch. This is the 10 sec ‘Why should I care’ pitch. After a few of these your subsequent business pitches should be very crisp.
It’ll test your idea and offer. We wanted to avoid spamming people as much as possible so created several leaflets, each targeting a different segment of shoppers. Women, men, families. We ended up with eight different designs. It all seemed fine in the comfort of the office but out on the streets is the acid test. Apart from the logistical nightmare of not having eight arms it quickly became apparent that some of the raffles were just not good enough.
But we got to speak to people, people that may not have registered yet, but may just be reminded that we are real people next time they see a mention of Raffle.it somewhere (they call this branding right?) We got compliments on our targeting and got to talk to lots of people.
Once over the initial mental hurdle of getting in people’s ways it’s great fun. It’s easy to make excuses for not getting out there (that’s why it’s taken us so long), but I urge you to knock up an offer, run a competition (we can host it for you) and just hit the streets.
And next time you see someone handing out leaflets, take one with a smile – it will mean the world to them.
Two guys, Dennis Crowley and Christian Bovine attempt 5 Olympic events during one day to compare their efforts with athletes. Check out the video, it should make you laugh and perhaps even give you greater admiration for our own Olympians.
Once you’ve watched it to the end you’ll appreciate this little extra.
