Nothing beats fast, objective feedback. When putting together a website, honest opinions and constructive criticism can save a lot of time and a lot of cash. Nonetheless, people tend to cause themselves needless anxiety over figuring out where to look for help.
UsersThink puts an end to such dilemmas with a very simple formula. Submit a landing page for review, pay $49, and receive actionable feedback from 12 people in under 24 hours. How well does it work? You don’t have to look further than the UsersThink site to see an early version of the landing page, comments, and they how the website improved after responding to users’ critiques.
“…you can make iterative changes all the time,” UsersThink founder John Turner tries to remind himself and others going through the pains of building. To prove it to himself, he turned solo founder and created UserThink as best he could, knowing feedback would help him make it better. KillerStartups had the chance to chat with him, and here’s what he had to tell us about receiving feedback without hassles:
What’s your company about? What do you do? Who are your customers?
We provide actionable feedback on landing pages from real users without any need for setup, code to install, or hassle. Our customers are mostly startups, people who need feedback on their main landing pages.
What’s the greatest thing about your company/website? Why is it better than the competition?
It takes 58 seconds to order feedback. You’ll get the final results within 24 hours via email (so you don’t need to setup a new account) – and it’ll take you 10 minutes or less to find amazing opportunities that were otherwise hidden on your landing pages.
What was your first computer? How old were you when you first got on the world-wide web?
PowerMac 7100, and I think I was 11 or 12 when I first got on the web. The first video I ever watched online was the Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie trailer!
UsersThink Founder John Turner
What time do you usually start work each day? How many hours a day do you usually work?
Start time varies a lot, but at least 12 hours of work a day. Sometimes more.
What’s the very first thing you do at work every day?
Spend 5 minutes prioritizing the day. Saves me hours of hassle later on.
A lot of people have big ideas. What gave you the confidence to actually go after yours?
I didn’t see anyone approaching this problem the way I was, and I was sick of waiting for someone else to do it.
Remember the early days of starting up? Describe the struggles you went through.
Biggest struggle is pre-launch, when it’s easy to speculate that everyone will hate what you’ve done. You have to barrel through that fear, find the courage to keep going, and remind yourself that you can make iterative changes all the time.
How do you handle frustration? What has been your biggest professional frustration?
Absorb the pain of it, figure out what you did wrong, figure out how to do better next time, and then move on. Biggest professional frustration is anytime I stray from the job at hand. Keeping focus can be very difficult.
How do you picture your company in 5 years?
Helping thousands of hardworking people do even more through their efforts.
Who or what inspires YOU? Role models? Quotes? Running? Video games? Snack food?
This quote sums up the difficulty of everyday, and also what I aspire to be: “Every time you make the hard, correct decision you become a bit more courageous and every time you make the easy, wrong decision you become a bit more cowardly.” – Ben Horowitz
What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs struggling to get started?
Listen to everything, but draw your own conclusions. You’re not looking for others to give you the answers, you’re looking for others to help you see the landscape. It’s your job to figure out what fits best in that world.
What would you do if you had a year off and $500,000 to spend (on something other than work)?
Plow it all into education, either my own directly or working on improving the education of others. Ideally it would be a mix of both.
Do you consider yourself a successful entrepreneur? If not, what’ll make you feel successful?
I don’t worry too much about whether or not I am a success, I focus more on becoming more successful.
Top 5 websites you couldn’t live without?
Three people (other than you) we should follow on Twitter and why?
- Wil Wheaton (@wilw) – ‘cause he invented Wheaton’s Law
- Ben Horowitz (@bhorowitz) – ‘cause he offers the best startup advice/perspective
- Zaven Gabriel (@zgabriel83) – ‘cause of his smart and challenging views on the world
Want quick, honest feedback on your landing page? Visit usersthink.com to get started.
