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Bryan Janeczko

Gro - A free & simple online tool to validate your business idea

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A free online platform that helps early-stage entrepreneurs crystalize and validate their business concept. Gro was created by successful entrepreneurs to help guide you through the 1st step of your entrepreneurial journey.

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Peter Jaap Blaakmeer
Cool idea but what (as a first time visitor on the site) I am missing is an example of such a 1-Page Business Summary for a fictitious company.
Bryan Janeczko
Maker
@peter_jaap_blaakmeer glad to hear you like the idea! We actually have examples of completed 1-Page Business Summaries specific to each industry available for our users to reference. You can find them in the top right corner of the assignment portion of each lesson by clicking on the "example" button. Hope that helps!
Peter Jaap Blaakmeer
@bryanjaneczko ah ok! Although (funnel-wise) that's two clicks too far, and no clear route to it. I would add at least one to your homepage, dead smack in the middle. Output is what people care about.
Bryan Janeczko
Maker
@peter_jaap_blaakmeer that’s a good suggestion, we can certainly leave a mock-up at the free tool landing page for people who are interested in getting a taste/idea of what the tool is. Thanks for the feedback!
Jansen Walsh
@peter_jaap_blaakmeer @bryanjaneczko Thanks Bryan, I was looking for this as well.
Peter Jaap Blaakmeer
@bryanjaneczko @jansenwalsh @antonio_dmya it's not about the (un)willingness to click, its about that you don't even know it exists before you actually do those clicks. If it said "You're 2 clicks away from examples! Start here!" right on the homepage, that's perfectly fine. Bytheway, I can totally imagine two clicks stopping anyone. Selling stuff online, no matter your target market, is all about reducing friction.
Bryan Janeczko
Maker
👋Hello Product Hunters! My name is Bryan and I’m super excited to finally launch on Product Hunt as the founder of Gro! 🚴‍♂️The Journey As an entrepreneur and mentor, I’ve seen hundreds of businesses start with an idea. After exiting my meal kit delivery business to Nutrisystem, and consequently advising startups as Director of the Founder Institute, I’ve had many businesses approach me for advice on how to startup smart. Many of the questions my team and I received were similar, and from working with these startups, we realized that many of those that failed during the ideation phase failed as a result of avoidable pitfalls. So we created the Startup Idea Assessment Tool as a simple yet effective way to help entrepreneurs validate their ideas. 💡Idea Assessment Tool Using our tool, entrepreneurs can browse curated content and resources, and complete step by step assignments that help crystallize their business idea. 📚The Lessons: ✅ 1.1 Your Big Idea ✅ 1.2 Problem + Solution = Foundation ✅ 1.3 USP (Unique Selling Proposition) ✅ 1.4 Identify Your Target Market ✅ 1.5 Choose Your Business Model 🎉Upon Completion🎉 Users can export a 1-page summary of their business idea, and validate their idea further by answering questions based on their background and founding team. 👀 Coming Soon Gro Academy is an on-demand learning platform designed to help millions of aspiring entrepreneurs take their idea to launch. 🚀 With it you’ll be empowered to: +Follow an Industry Specific Roadmap +Browse Curated Resources +Receive Feedback & Guidance +Join a Community of Likeminded Entrepreneurs +Customized Investor Pitch Deck +Financial Models P.S. This tool will remain free and accessible for any and all entrepreneurs who need it.
Ariel Paniry
I have been waiting for a product like this to hit the market. I can’t wait to use this platform and apply it to my own startup. Great work! 👏
Chris Mueller
Maker
@ariel_paniry1 Thank you Ariel, we love to hear it!
Gabe Zichermann
I’ve mentored hundreds of idea stage startups over the years and I think this is a super valuable tool for startup founders of all experience levels. Plus, the makers are legit and deeply concerned about improving the odds of startup success. Bravo!
Bryan Janeczko
Maker
@gzicherm That is very humbling coming from you Gabe, thank you for the support!
Rubin
Looks like a great resource for start-ups. Always valuable in the time and landscape we live in today
Chris Mueller
Maker
@teamrubinfeld Thanks! It’s more important than ever to get the information you need, when you need it.
Michael Norell
This is great, very intuitive and user friendly!
Chris Mueller
Maker
@michael_norell Thanks Michael, very glad it was useful!
Ben Grosse
Overcomplicating your 1 pager and business plan by way of information overload is a common mistake for many new entrepreneurs. I am a huge fan of the prompts you give, as they touch on the important aspects of the business, but ensures no unnecessary or repetitive information is present! Keep up the good work, I am excited to use the tool and see the Gro community expand. One question I do have is, as your user base grows how do you expect the user experience to change? Will their be a community based networking aspect or other tools to help potential founders continue with their ideas?
Chris Mueller
Maker
@ben_grosse Hi Ben, thank you for your thoughtful comment, and I’d be happy to answer your questions. As we expand into our Gro Academy, our full online accelerator which will be releasing in the months to come, we will develop the user experience in a few major ways. We intend to create much more content ourselves, while still keeping it concise enough for people to navigate the lessons effectively. Entrepreneurs will be directed through a comprehensive process of building out their business model. This will include guidance on customer discovery, financial modeling, incorporation and legal advice, best practices to find and secure funding and much more. We will also be incorporating a network of both founders and mentors, so that our community can begin to build upon one another. Users will be able to give each other feedback, collaborate, and seek out mentorship that fits their needs.
郭鹏程
maybe it can help validate our startup's idea,wanna get it
Bryan Janeczko
Maker
@rick111 Try it out! Let us know what you think of it :)
Evan Gentile
This is a pretty compelling tool. What I like most are the actual questions you ask in each section they are very on topic but I don't have to write an essay about my idea just to make it to the next step. Looking forward to seeing how you grO in the future!
Chris Mueller
Maker
@evan_gentile Thanks for the comment Evan. The goal of the tool is to give entrepreneurs the information that they need right when they need it, and not to overwhelm them with every bit of startup advice all at once. I'm glad it was helpful!
Daztar
Love the idea! Excited to see the future opportunities this creates!
Chris Mueller
Maker
@thatguydaz As are we Daztar! Thanks for the support.
Chi Nwengoo Ozor
Congratulations Bryan . I hope this is absolutely gonna help in ensuring a great business promotion. Thanks a lot for this
Bryan Janeczko
Maker
@chi_nwengoo_ozor We're excited to see how this helps entrepreneurs!
Annalie Killian
The earlier you can test your product in the real world with real people, the fewer tears!
Bryan Janeczko
Maker
@annaliekillian2 We couldn't agree more!
Patrick Mulvihill
Awesome tool to jumpstart your business idea! Thank you for creating this opportunity for entrepreneurs! I look forward to digging deeper into the technology.
Bryan Janeczko
Maker
@patrick_mulvihill Thank you Patrick, hope you enjoy what you find!
Alex Camilar
Thanks! I tried it out, does the job. I had some trouble with the "email" field at the last step, it wouldn't recognize it as valid, and I couldn't download the form. I was able to email it, though. I did expect a bit more, I must admit, like getting in touch with potential investors interested in my idea, or maybe with a group of professionals who are able to validate my idea.
Bryan Janeczko
Maker
@alex_camilar1 Thanks for the feedback. We are currently in the process of fixing the email issue, thanks for pointing that out. The Idea Assessment tool is meant to be the very first step in defining your business idea. However, our Gro Academy curriculum, which will be launching soon, is a step by step program meant to guide you on how to take your idea to launch. This also includes connecting you to potential investors. You can find more about Gro Academy here: https://www.gro.academy/gro/ As for having a professional validate your idea, we will be selecting the first 50 business summaries to be reviewed by myself and other seasoned entrepreneurs.
Ivan Burban
Nice idea!
Bryan Janeczko
Maker
@ivan_burban Glad you like it!
brett martinez
The fact that users are able to receive feedback on their business plans after it’s generated for them is an asset that can help a lot of early entrepreneurs discover weaknesses in their value propositions, which is a problem I struggled with myself. Really shows that Gro is dedicated to building your vision- I’m a fan!
Chris Mueller
Maker
@brett_martinez Brett, we totally agree, and we hope that the feedback that Gro provides is a helpful start to generating much more feedback from your customers. Good luck out there!
Sam Micinilio
I think this product is an amazing idea for young entrepreneurs. It helps get their feet wet and allows them to get exposure when launching their ideas.
Chris Mueller
Maker
@sam_micinilio Thank you Sam!
Kyle Markell
Love this idea! It's always great as an entrepreneur to receive as much feedback as possible when it comes to your business idea. With Gro it will not only encourage entrepreneurship, but it will help them nail down their product/service before they begin building it. Nice work! @bryanjaneczko
Bryan Janeczko
Maker
@kyle_markell Couldn't have said it better myself Kyle. It's all about the process, and the process involves ALOT of due diligence in getting feedback on your product or service. We've found it to be very helpful to use the Idea Assessment as a pre-check to get you started (:
Gabi schwartzman
This is an amazing idea. Innovative, and well thought through. Looking forward to learning more!
Samuel Dirksz
Is there a NDA in place? Sharing and getting validation is great! However, what are the rules and regulations you have set up for it to protect the user's idea(s)?
Dan Dan
@samuel_dirksz I was thinking the same thing. I was reading the privacy policy but didn't see anything specific to the user ideas only to the user data that is shared to third-parties.
Bryan Janeczko
Maker
@samuel_dirksz @tostartafire Thanks for the question Samuel and Dan, allow me to clarify. Gro was built by a team of entrepreneurs, so we are very aware of how crucial it is to protect your idea and the data associated with it. All ideas that are submitted to Gro are safe, and will not be shared with any third parties. We have a strict privacy agreement in place that reinforces this as well.