Since the last roadmap post, the following has happened:

  • Added a couple more tax jurisdictions
  • Released a MVP / version 1.0.0
  • Published a web edition
  • Changed name from GigoBooks to Gig’o’Books
  • Re-done the website

It could be said that the first development cycle has finished and we are now in ‘iterate rapidly’ mode.

I got some feedback but the feedback is not as good as it could be. It’s weakly positive … in the sense that some people have said that it’s a good idea and they like where it’s going, but no one has said ‘Wow, it’s amazing’ or anything strong like that. Overall, the feedback has been sort-of-okay and it’s good enough that things should keep going … albeit there is still a little subcurrent of uncertainty regarding idea validation.

Probably I haven’t quite nailed the idea/concept and value proposition yet.

One specific feedback thing is that … some people have expressed that the app is not-easy-to-use and/or it’s not smartphone-friendly. I’m a bit surprised by the first but not by the second (since I’ve been developing for the desktop so far). I think the two are related … In which case, I don’t have to freak out about the first (phew!) since it can be explained by the second.

It looks like I’m going to have to address the mobile-friendly weakness that Gig’o’Books has.

So, here are the next major things in the roadmap:

  • App re-design (to be mobile friendly but also to improve things) (1 month?)
  • Polish and fix bugs
  • Re-think value proposition and product positioning
  • Marketing and distribution (content marketing?)

This roadmap is going to be longer time-wise (6 months?) and a bit more vague. Aside from the re-design, there aren’t any other big ticket items since functionality is mostly complete for a MVP. After the re-design, most of the work and focus will be on ‘marketing stuff’ (which is yet-to-be-determined).

(‘Launch premium/desktop edition’ (as mentioned from the previous roadmap) is postponed until further notice. It’s too early to be thinking about that. Product/market fit has to be achieved first.)