How to move forward?

Friends-

iPhone app development has been going exceptionally well. It's hard to believe what bit is available now has been in the works since January. And they way it's built: all API first. The same Rest API I use to build the app is available for anyone who wants to build their own client. That is part of the reason why it has taken so long. All the details are available in API Developer Tools.

That aside, I want to talk about what are the next steps for b@. First and foremost, it is my intention to eventually be doing b@ full time. In order to get there, I've got to raise money somehow to make it a living. My original thinking has been: if I can get b@ to pay for itself (I think I could get it to cover the server cost), fundraising should be easy. I've been working on that plan and have focused development resource into getting us there. Currently in progress.

However, I had brunch with a respected colleague this morning who has recently had a lot of exposure with VCs and the fundraising process. He challenged this plan and suggested the best strategy to get a VC's ear is to expand it to more schools, to show its not just a niche product that makes a couple of bucks, but rather something everyone is going to want. I think it's great advice and has got me re-evaluating the plan. I tend to agree with him so I may have to shift gears.

First, if the focus is to expand it to, say, 20 schools before the end of the year, how best to do that? For one, shifting gears would involve spending development resources on more features to help it spread, rather than a premium service with a payment system. We have to focus on one plan.

Second, we'd have to find a launch strategy that we're sure works. Carleton.boredat.com in Northfield, Minnesota has become a recent phenomenon. It only took 1 or 2 students who wanted to get the site started for it to take off. From a high level, I think this school shares similar characteristics to Dartmouth. The schools are in relatively remote locations and have a relatively small "intimate" undergraduate/graduate population and (no offense) predominantly white. My gut tells me this is the winning combination.

So if my assumption above is correct, which schools do you think would be most likely to adopt? I believe if I could reach out to only one student at each school who really liked the idea, I feel confident we could get it off the ground. What do you think?

Jae