Ask HN: Please help, can't expand fast enough
Hi

I have actually been on HN for over a year but wanted to create a new account so that these more private details of my company can't be tied to my actual business.

I am essentially a sole founder. My wife is excellent and runs a business as well yet we have kids so when 1 is working the other is not. While we both work into the night I say we would only accomplish the work load of a single person working full time on a startup with no kids.

After 3 months of development I finally launched my paid service, launched my free part of the product 3 months ago. (using a freemium model) and instantly started getting sales.

I have done no marketing other than to get at the top of a low searched keyword on Google (which I didnt actually try hard to get anyway) and this brings in around 20-30 users per day of which about 10% convert to premium within 7 days.

But with that I am only getting $20-$30 per day. ($9.95 once off payment) Yes this model only works for once off payments as they use the product for a set amount of time, then they may use it again later but it isn't a continuous payment model.

I also listed more advanced monthly options that aren't actually available yet, as I am still coding them, yet I have already received 3 requests on when will they be ready. So who knows how many more actually want it yet didnt bother to ask.

On top of that I need to work on upgrading to the cloud as I am currently getting anywhere from 3k - 8k page views a day with a steady increase and outputting about 2.5Gb per day in bandwidth.

The problem I am facing is as you can see the potential is great, its gaining traction, I have testimonials on how great the customer service and the product is compared to others out there.

I have ideas and stats that show I could push to the head of the industry if implemented. Yet I just need the time to code and market it.

I just don't have the resources to push out things fast enough, let alone even start marketing it. I have consulted with a lot of retail stores and other companies with their online advertising, conversions etc and I know exactly how to push this forward, again if I had the time to market. Yet if I brought on more users could I keep up with support questions and feature requests?

Just to let you in on my experience:
I am also coding this myself having worked 7 years from developer to lead architect previously. Then have been running various business / startups for the last 3 years.

I have done other startups in the past, obviously they didnt work out as hoped, unlike this one :)

How can I progress forward? So far the options I have thought of are below. Hoping for some new ideas.

1. Investors. Certainly open to the idea although wasn't originally but now I actually have a reason for investment (to fund growth) and not just keep me working to see if an idea pans out.

Initial problems with that are: I have never pitched before, do not know any investors specifically in tech and am based in Perth, Australia (so about as far away from the tech industry as I could get :) ) And while Perth is booming due to our mining sector in the state I do not know of any investors or if there are how to get in contact with them and if they are knowledgable enough to look at tech.

I don't just want the money, I would love experience and mentoring as well. I know they could give great general business advice but tech experience would certainly be an advantage.

2. Co-Founder. Again another idea that is worth looking at, but I am unsure how you would find the right person. They are tech conferences around but mainly for employees of the large mining sector. Not anything entreprenuerial (as I am aware of). I could look online overseas but again wouldnt know where (except on HN)

On top of that, any recommendations on how you would know they are a right fit? Or even how I would split considering I already have a business generating revenue.

3. I can easily get 1 week dev contracts to bring in about $5k and that could be used to hire a dev for a month.

The problem with this and why I am VERY hesistant towards it, is it seperates my focus from the product and I need to keep doing it until the startup generates enough revenue to hire them. I believe startups need 100% focus and this is just a distraction.

4. Just keep going. Looking like the option I am taking at the moment, is just to keep pushing forward and see how far I can get. I already work until 2-3am in the morning (which actually works out well as that is when the US is awake) and I don't watch tv. The reason I probably have kids I suppose :)

Over the last month I have been exercising more and eating better and it is giving me a boost in energy. Not enough to boost my productive by the amount needed though.

5. Bank loan - unlikely in my situation, I no longer have my cushy $150k yr job. Like I said, have been building startups for the last few years and I don't have the cash or income to justify it, especially in these times.

Any advice, other options appreciated. It is certainly on the brink and just need to push through the last stretch to profitability.