One thing I think can be improved: The company's logo doesn't have any high-tech items in it (except maybe a CD, which is a bit dated), so it might not appear relevant to somebody who's interested in selling software or computers or e-books rather than makeup and lingerie.
At the risk of stating the obvious, no HNer will ever buy ShopLocket, for somewhat hyperbolic values of "no". Optimizing for the trialing preferences of HNers, who consume many free trials but pay for fairly little in general (and near nothing in terms of hosted shopping carts for non-technical sell-atoms businesses), is directly against your interests for optimizing the first use experience of people who trial very little software but have a hair-on-fire problem in their non-technical sell-atoms business.
There's a related sell-the-sizzle-not-the-steak issue where someone is not buying the particular CSS/JS of the shopping cart but rather the ability to improve their life by selling things online. You do not necessarily need to show them a shopping cart to tell that story.
Again, further comments later this week at length.
Point #2 on the list: "Don’t make it hard for me to try your software. If I can’t play with a trial version or sandbox immediately, I’m moving on."
Another piece of constructive criticism: promotional codes. I can't find the article now, but it argued lucidly that promotional codes are an obstacle to user sign-up: they prompt people away from the page to search for a discount/benefit instead of engaging a user immediately in the service. If the Shoplocket author is lurking about - might be worth setting up A/B testing to figure out whether the Beta Promo code is worth placing so prominently on the front page.
Other than that, looks great. Embedding seems like a smarter way to get connected with your audience than a stand-alone store. Best of luck!
Otherwise, it's a pretty interface. Gluck!
I think this would work really well with your product. I'm glad you got your funding, your product looks fantastic.
FWIW I am thinking about applying for YC funding for 2013 but not 100% sure yet. I am still in the process of selecting co-founders, transitioning from self-employment-mode to startup-mode, etc. and may have some investors closer to home. I will probably still do it for the experience that will come with it and the possibility that it may make us more successful.
Articles like this helps make the decision easier. Even if I plop down a significant chunk of change for an intercontinental plane ticket, I want to make sure that it will be worth it.
The two objections seem fairly easy to overcome with time and money. Is it possible to be amenable to change in the interview process or is that considered a cop out to PG and the people involved?
Are you going to apply to YC again this cycle, or are you too far down the chain now?
"Thanks! Thanks for your interest in ShopLocket! We're opening up beta access on a rolling basis. Stay tuned for your invite"
Needless to say, that's not what I was expecting to see, I'll suggest to fix it.
I applied for YC W12 with a sure-bet idea of RFS 5 (development on handhelds). I didn't get an interview (granted, the software wasn't finished yet). It was kinda heart-broken, but it _drove_ me. I did crazy hours to get http://worqshop.com released. Now, I'm going to apply for S12.
On a tangential note about shoplocket, I feel it is focused entirely on the seller. You can allay some of my fears as a buyer about the guarantees and security I have buying through this. It says risk free, but again for the seller. How can customers trust the seller?
I do want to point out that while the website is very pretty, the viewer needs to scroll down a lot on the home page to see some important content. I don't have any specific suggestions for how to improve that, but that's something you might want to think about.
One question, what happens if there comes a time when I want to roll out to two, or three, or four products? Can I host them all on the same ShopLocket page?
Keep up the good work and hope to see you this summer.
And remember: Good solidars are never left behind.
