WPenner's Blog

Stagetimer¹ is a bootstrap product from Lukas (@_lhermann) and Liz Hermann (@lizmhermann). The product is a terrific showcase for the distributed ubiquity of web and using a light protocol to solve problems.

The value proposition is simple, there are a lot of times and places where someone is presenting to a deadline: technology events, concerts, religious services, conferences, and even webinars. The problem is that the larger and more complex the event, the harder it is to coordinate all of those deadlines and communicate clearly about them. Without such clarity, the event feels chaotic and the user experience significantly declines.

Customer Segments and Relationship

Through targeted use-cases, the product has selected an excellent niche with a very specific set of functionality. The main target audiences are casual users, one-time users, event organizers that stage regular productions. Technical users, organizers, or staff can all use products like this, so the user and the decision-maker and payor could be different.

Between them, Lukas and Liz have a reach of 2,600+ Twitter followers. This is the result of significant online work consistently applied over long swaths of time, which created a reputation that impresses. Leveraging their reach and reputation to launch the product on Product Hunt turned into a lot of positive relationships. They effectively used the relationships on Twitter (and no doubt elsewhere) to act as affiliates for their message. This is an impressive example of understanding and applying all of their digital income to a new project.

To help different buyer types, the home page caters to Action Takers with simple graphics showing how the product works and a clear CTA (Create a timer) to inspire experimentation. Bargainers are attracted with an offer of free (great cost/value ratio) and multiple price points. Researchers are accommodated with an FAQ, use cases, a feature list, a pricing list and full documentation.

Group Buyers are least accounted for on the front page. While there is a "Trusted by hundreds of professionals" with logos of companies already using the product, there is no social proof nor any way to engage others in the decision making process. One way to help this type of buyer is to add social media links with pre-populated mentions of the product that Group Buyers can use to solicit feedback.

Cost and Revenue Streams

Stagetimer currently uses a freemium model with three phases: free for a limited functionality set, a per event for 10-day, one-time access, and a monthly subscription for the same functionality as the 10-day license, with ongoing access.

Once the main development is finished, costs for software like this comprise mostly server and maintenance expenses. While that implies zero marginal cost, the framework might not apply in this case. With low barriers to entry, the product could face competition from copy cats, and prioritizing user requests is a likely response. Being responsive to user wants and needs, however, can represent a significant cost and balancing income with expenses will be an ongoing challenge.

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