2 builders who never spoke to each other

Own the transaction, not just the research

Being where people plan and compare is worth nothing if they complete the purchase somewhere else, and against an entrenched default the habit of going straight to the incumbent is the thing you have to break, not the product quality. Where the value is timeliness, arriving after the feeds and the morning newsletters means you are reporting what the reader has already filed as old.

The method

1. 01

   Being the place people research is worthless if they complete the purchase somewhere else. Own the transaction or you own nothing.

2. 02

   In a category with entrenched default brands, a better product is not a reason to switch. The habit of going straight to the incumbent is what you have to break.

3. 03

   If your product is news, the delivery time decides whether it is news. Arriving after the feeds and the morning newsletters means you are reporting what the reader has already filed as old.

What it returned

• 2014

  Desti's users liked the app and valued its recommendations, then went and booked through platforms and brands they already trusted. With no revenue the Series A did not come together and the company was sold to Nokia in 2014 after raising $2M.

• Desti entered travel planning against TripAdvisor and Lonely Planet, which users turned to automatically.

• Sip sent silent daily notifications at 5pm, competing with early morning email newsletters and continuously updating Twitter and Facebook feeds.

Sources

• What Happened to Desti, the Travel Guide App for iPad?Failory · failory.com · Why did Desti fail and shut down? · undated
• What Happened to Sip, the Product Hunt Tech News Project?Brandon Handoko · failory.com · Why did Sip fail and shut down? · undated