Now this is what I’d call a sign of trouble.
Have a Web 2.0 online business but can’t get your business model working? Maybe you can’t get any customers. Maybe your product really sucks. Maybe you quit your job to start this thing and are realizing you made a horrible, horrible mistake.
Never fear! Just sell your business online!
There are now two companies through which you can sell your online wares: VentureBoard and Web 2.0 For Sale. You can sell anything remotely Web 2.0ish, from domain names to mash-ups to your website. As I write this, Dodgy.com is on sale for $12,500.00 at Web 2.0 For Sale. Wow.
The hubbub started when Kiko.com, an DHTML calendar offering, sold themselves on eBay for $250,000. They weren’t the first to use eBay, but they generated the most press. Jux2, a metasearch engine, was the first – at least, according to TechCrunch.
I remember watching the Kiko.com auction on eBay. A friend told me about it and we mused: “Maybe we should build some kind of DHTML app and sell it on eBay too…”
Well, that idea could still work. And now we have more sales channels too!
What VentureBoard and Web 2.0 For Sale are doing is really smart. There’s certainly a demand for this kind of service right now. Why not capitalize on it?
For entrepreneurial web developers, this may start a new trend – quickly build a Web 2.0ish online app (be it a social network, mash-up, wiki, pick your favorite buzz word) and sell it. Even if you sell one for $5,000, that ain’t half bad. Do that once a month and you’re golden.
Only, who the heck is buying? These services don’t post any sales statistics. It’s easy to find this out on eBay, but not on VentureBoard and Web 2.0 For Sale. Hmmm.
The entrepreneur in me is saying: “Maybe we should build some kind of DHTML app and sell it on eBay, or VentureBoard, or Web 2.0 For Sale too…” If there’s a low-cost way in doing this, why not?
The trouble is in building a real business model. I’d just be building a site for the sake of selling it. Quite a post-Internet-bubble sentiment, eh? First, there was: Build a site and the venture capital will come. Now, there’s: Build a site and the sales will come. Nice.
The real business model here is in VentureBoard and Web 2.0 For Sale. At least, as long as there are actual buyers for these Web 2.0ish social networks/mash-ups/wikis/etc…
And hey, I have a few ideas. Anyone want to help me build a few DHTML apps? They probably suck as businesses, but maybe someone will buy them!
