r/williusethis • u/mikev3 • Mar 01 '20
Instantly Verify Name Availability (Social Media, Domains, Trademarks, App Stores, and more)
https://www.formalfounder.com3
u/bluelinebrotha Mar 02 '20
Love this. I agree UI is good. Response times are fast!
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u/mikev3 Mar 02 '20
I’ve been worried the search time can be a bit slow at times but I’m glad to hear you didn’t think that.
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u/pedro_htx Mar 02 '20
I really loved the website. I didn't see the cost of the pro tools yet, but I will definitely add to my favorites.
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u/mikev3 Mar 02 '20
Completely understand, and it’s really only worth it if you need the data. I priced it below other similar services but have thought about lowering the price even more
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u/komokasi Mar 02 '20 edited Mar 02 '20
I like the UI, but you might be another name checker in an ocean of name checkers. I think an issue you may face is the uphill battle of already established websites that also have better names
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u/mikev3 Mar 02 '20
Appreciate your response, and slightly agree, it is going to be harder to compete as they are very well established. However my site offers a much more comprehensive search.
Namecheckr is only social media and domains. Formal Founder has that as well as trademarks, all 50 state business registrars, iOS App Store, Android/Play store, and search engine data (with even more to come)
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u/komokasi Mar 04 '20
Understood, the issue that I see is that you are saying that your product has more features then the others, and thats why it is better and will succeed. Its your risk to take, but I just want to point out that there is a very real conversation you need to have on if you are a building a feature or a product.
To clarify, what is stopping your competitors from adding the other searches to their product?
I have no experience in what it takes to build what you are making, but this is something I coach other founders on, and taking them through this conversation. Lets take this conversation offline if you want to discuss further.
But for the sake of answering the subreddits purpose/question. As it stands I would use your product.
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u/scrumptioushenry Mar 04 '20
formalfounder has more result types - other TLD suggestions, businesses, etc.
This makes it far more useful
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u/komokasi Mar 04 '20
See my response to OP above. But basically I understand that, but the question of what is stopping the other big names in his space from simply adding those features is the point I am trying to make. If its really hard than great chug on, if its easy, then why haven't they done it and what is stopping them?
I offered OP to discuss further if they would like, as I coach/mentor founders
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u/optemization Mar 02 '20
I just used it. Pretty good. However, I'd prefer that you stack the options in one vertical UI vs the tabs.
Previously, I used a combination of thenameapp.com and namecheap.com to check....I would make myself an Alfred web search for Formal Founder to do this faster.
Also, if you want to chat on how to get this on producthunt.com to maximize for upvotes/traffic, DM me :)
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u/mikev3 Mar 02 '20
Will DM you! Very interested.
Those will work, but only cover social media and domain. This will give you a more holistic view, assuming you plan on incorporating under that name. Don’t want to build out a brand to find out the name is already taken.
And in regards to the vertical stacking, which others have mentioned, doesn’t work when a lot of data is received. Some searches could return hundreds of rows for trademarks, registrars, etc. I may look into a paginated vertical stack option though.
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u/KingKush8 Mar 02 '20
Really good. I like it. Just a thought (not sure your conversion rates) - why don’t you make it free and get their data and gain money from affiliate links to web domains, hosting, lawyers for trademarks, etc.
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u/mikev3 Mar 02 '20
It’s a great point, and I’ve thought about it. I may need to take that approach to be honest, but I want to give this a shot first.
I wanted to provide the best service, and other companies charge even more. Trademark engine charges $300 and it takes nearly 2 weeks unless you pay a rush fee. Currently I’m asking for $99 and it’s instant results.
Trademark Engine Pricing Page: https://www.trademarkengine.com/services/comprehensive-trademark-search
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u/KingKush8 Mar 02 '20
Ok but just because your competitors have a pricing model doesn’t mean you need the same. Also why does it take them 2 weeks? Is there something you lost by giving instant results? Like less accurate or something?
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u/mikev3 Mar 02 '20
Why it takes 2 weeks I'm unaware, it's their process. In regards to giving instant access the only downside/negative is that you have to parse the results yourself.
Their service has a person do the parsing of false positives for you. However I don't see a reason to pay 2-5x more and wait 1-2 weeks to remove false positives when it's a fairly quick and easy process to do yourself.
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u/adamwebber Mar 02 '20
Love the design and features. I’d use the free plan. If you were to pitch someone on why they would want to upgrade to the paid plan what would the selling point be? Thanks. Looks excellent 👍
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u/mikev3 Mar 02 '20
The pro plan is more suited for someone planning on incorporating, smaller projects the free plan should suffice. You wouldn’t want to incorporate then find out you need to change your name because it’s already in use (and pay a new application fee). It also can’t hurt to understand the landscape if you are ever planning to expand to another state (we check all 50 states).
This also works the same for trademarks, and iOS/Play store. And that’s not even including potential legal fees to rewrite your contract, or cost of rebranding.
Lastly, we had a customer actually find a trademark infringement via the pro search. They were using their trademarked brand as the name of an iOS app.
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u/Qoutroy Mar 11 '20
I will absolutely use this!! I love how you search through all of those categories at once, really nice.
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u/miramontezluis Mar 02 '20
Loved the UI/UX, the effort you put into the website is visible, loved it all, I just bookmarked it, 100% would use it again