data pulse #71
First problem: They were guys. Second problem: They were all single. None of them had ever been married, and they were based in Raleigh, North Carolina, which was not a place that anyone had ever built a large consumer app company. Lastly they were entering a crowded market.
How did WedPics defy conventional wisdom?
Identify a small niche market and build a highly targeted product to fit that market’s need. After conquering that niche market, expand out to other niches until you get some real momentum.
Wedpics decided to target brides as their customer niche. Brides can’t get enough pictures and videos, not just from their wedding photographer but also from everyone else with a cell phone.
If this mantra sounds familiar, it should. Think Airbnb, Strava
When you look at WedPic’s success, there are two overriding lessons that stand out:
1.The product is simple. The UI is intuitive, and regardless of whether you are 12 or 62, if you have a phone you can snap pictures and videos and instantly share them with the rest of the wedding party. In fact, the founders claim that there are no features.
2.They understand their buyer (the bride). Out of the gates, they offered instant support regardless of the time of day. The boys each took turns on call and averaged 20 minutes to turn around any question or concern. I mean, we are talking brides here preparing for the biggest day of their life. It didn’t matter that Koren, Heymann, or Miller received calls in the middle of the night. Yes, I said calls. Not email. Not chat (though that would have been cheaper and easier). The brand said, The company is here for you; we know we only get one shot to do this right.
What I love about the success of WedPics is how Koren, Heymann, and Miller focused on finding customers. My favourite image is that of a six-foot-four tattooed guy (Miller) standing behind the company table at a wedding conference. Today, WedPics stands at 29 people and has raised more than $7.5 million from investors across the country.
Oh, all three founders are still single
Data Pulses storytelling 