I did start with the same as everyone else - then I remembered the HN oath - critique the startup not the entrepreneur.
Summary: it looks pretty good, but you are not explaining yourself front and center - pitch to landlords, get the money quote from down the bottom of the page, and please, this is a long haul business - get someone with deeper pockets behind you - you have traction, you have clients, you have committed your last penny - you hit tick every box. Go to SV, find angels. Get a longer runway. Put this on ANgelList now.
So, in the spirit of HN, a critique :
1. Explain the pitch better on the front page - "Landlords - get tenants to fill in applications online. Quicker, easier, can see status of all applicants instantly, and we conduct bank checks and update you in real time"
I had to dig around to understand that (and I may be wrong of course)
(Whats the competition like - I would guess this is something realtors offer routinely)
2. Front page again - no one rents the Golden Gate bridge. Try something that says rental please - give me subconcious cues to what you are selling. look at http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-illustration-13635470-your-... - ten second search brought up hundreds of possibilites.
3. The learn more page - the images on the right look like misaligned iframes - put think borders around them to indicate they are screenshots - try putting them at 45o angles to make it clearer
4. the online application - break it into manageable chunks - bootstrap does tabs - it was daunting on PC - in my iphone its pretty bad.
4. If there ever was a case for having people sign in with facebook or linkedin - this is it. Half of the info wanted from a tenant is in their profile.
5. and back to the front page <<<
"More applications per vacancy, faster inventory turnover and rapid closings. Rocket Lease has saved me $6,000 this year!">>> - its three scrolls down ! Put in in place of the iphone image. or carousel it. sell yourself on your front page. Please.
Its pretty good - I have no idea of the market in the US, but you seem like you are on a long grind to market acceptance, rather than a viral explosion. So I thin your 40K may be a short runway but good luck - and please explain yourself in the front page. As a landlord I would have walked long before understanding or seeing the money testimonial.
lifeisstillgood -- I really appreciate this. hard to get great feedback, and your list shows that you really clicked through the site. spending your time for someone is a fantastic compliment.
This should be a profitable long haul play - build a brand around your story and the value to landlords, sure, but the bread and butter should come from white labelling to every realtor from here to Nebraska. Really, ask for some advice here on pitching to AngelList. You really do hit all the boxes, but sales to realtors is notorious (at least in UK - highly fragmented and demanding market, but they all want nice regular monthly paychecks from rentals - and you are a value add they could sell)
Summary: it looks pretty good, but you are not explaining yourself front and center - pitch to landlords, get the money quote from down the bottom of the page, and please, this is a long haul business - get someone with deeper pockets behind you - you have traction, you have clients, you have committed your last penny - you hit tick every box. Go to SV, find angels. Get a longer runway. Put this on ANgelList now.
So, in the spirit of HN, a critique :
1. Explain the pitch better on the front page - "Landlords - get tenants to fill in applications online. Quicker, easier, can see status of all applicants instantly, and we conduct bank checks and update you in real time"
I had to dig around to understand that (and I may be wrong of course)
(Whats the competition like - I would guess this is something realtors offer routinely)
2. Front page again - no one rents the Golden Gate bridge. Try something that says rental please - give me subconcious cues to what you are selling. look at http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-illustration-13635470-your-... - ten second search brought up hundreds of possibilites.
3. The learn more page - the images on the right look like misaligned iframes - put think borders around them to indicate they are screenshots - try putting them at 45o angles to make it clearer
4. the online application - break it into manageable chunks - bootstrap does tabs - it was daunting on PC - in my iphone its pretty bad.
4. If there ever was a case for having people sign in with facebook or linkedin - this is it. Half of the info wanted from a tenant is in their profile.
5. and back to the front page <<< "More applications per vacancy, faster inventory turnover and rapid closings. Rocket Lease has saved me $6,000 this year!">>> - its three scrolls down ! Put in in place of the iphone image. or carousel it. sell yourself on your front page. Please.
Its pretty good - I have no idea of the market in the US, but you seem like you are on a long grind to market acceptance, rather than a viral explosion. So I thin your 40K may be a short runway but good luck - and please explain yourself in the front page. As a landlord I would have walked long before understanding or seeing the money testimonial.