To start out we decide to build something that could, in the loosest of terms, become a viable product. It was more important to launch something quickly then to sit around and not make any decision at all.
We threw around a lot of ideas and choose to do a Siri Humor site for our first project. The decision was made on a lot of factors, primarily being:
- The idea was simple and it could be launched relatively quickly.
- There is competition for this niche, but we felt that we could make a better product.
- The idea could, and eventually should, be turned into a mobile app.
- The site can make money with custom Siri quoted T-Shirts, ads, and any potential income from a mobile app.
- The three founders could all help develop it.
With that said, and with a lot of hard work http://siriously.co launched in public beta on Feb 1st. We are excited, but we also realize that there are a lot of features that still need developed and there are some bugs in the system; but overall the main functionality of the site should work. Getting it launched, since launching anything can be very difficult, was the primary goal.
Now, it might be ironic that we made a humor site, especially when outsiders throw Cleveland jokes around like its their job. But we don't take ourselves too siriously, so we'll just roll with the punches for now. And hopefully, one day, with a lot of hard work, our Cleveland incubator Blazooka, will be taken seriously as well. We're in it for the long haul.
The NE Ohio tech scene doesn't get enough credit, honestly. You've got companies like LeanDog doing some pretty nice stuff in the local Rails and Agile world -- with an awesome floating office, to boot. There's also definitely a startup scene around here, too -- though here in the Akron accelerator, it seems like the startups are biased a little more toward biomedical stuff. Though, that's a particular area that Akron's been trying to encourage, so it's not too surprising.
I moved over here from NW Ohio a couple of years ago and I don't get why so many people are negative about Cleveland and Akron -- I love it here. There's tons of stuff to do, indoors and out, there's a pretty good food scene if you like variety, and the cost of living is pretty affordable.
Can you confirm that this is the correct group on Meetup?
It's a very young incubator, but the 3 founding members are really passionate about forming relationships with other Cleveland devs and/or designers and launching profitable websites.
If people are looking for a solid idea to build out, I got some ideas in the financial realm. I'd be glad to talk with people about them. I simply don't have the time to implement things by myself.
