Nice Write up from Cataylst

We were just written up in an online magazine called Cataylst. Here is the link and the article. Check it out it is a very nice one.

Short Re-Cap

So I figure i would write a post about how much fun we had. So I am going to start off with the booth itself. Myself and Josh worked that booth like nobodies business. Our position in the show was less than desirable, but we we made it work. We were running into the isles and grabbing people and dragging them in. We had our pitches down to a science and could get just about anyone to sign up. We had a pitch for Insurance companies, auto body companies, auto repair companies, jobber, and even other exhibitors.

Yes, we got schmoozed and with some good stories here too.  It’s vegas so why don’t you see some of the world, and have a company take you out for some drinks. It’s fun. We had our account exec take us out for a round or two, and here some of the quotes from that.

“Hey Pancho! You a football fan?” which was part of a bitter half hour debate between two Texas fans and Two UGA fans. Which culminated in one Texas fan admitting she was only a Texas fan “Because she like the way they looked in those football pants”. We quickly discounted her inputs.

All in all, it was fun but tons of work. Glad to be back.

Check out what Josh said about the trip here

After the Storm

So the CARS/NACE show was a great event for us. We were able to gain valuable insight into our customers and get a solid feel for what they are thinking and feeling right now. We also got to meet lots of possible partners with whom we can combine our software’s for a more robust solution to the industry.
Now we are following up with lots of people and business trying to make sure we dont lose the momentum we gained over those three days. I should say three exhausting days.

Catalyst in the future

We spoke with a reporter from Catalyst magazine today, and we are going to be featured in a section titled, “The Next Big Thing”. We thought the interview went well, and will have to see when it comes out. It’s just good to know that there is a publication who really wants to spread the word about companies like ours, and really show off what some entrepreneurs are doing. I really enjoying the publication and what they are doing for the community so it is great to see that they are behind us. We really appreciate the support from the media, and are very excited to see what the article is going to say. Look for it in the coming week or two over at their site.

The world isn’t full of fluffy coulds, and rainbows

“Hey, at least you put some spin on it”, was one of the funny quotes we used to throw around on the tennis court when I was younger. It usualy ment you hit a really bad shot but there was something good about it. I am all for the Press, and talking with the Press and their openness and soverignty. I believe they should be free to write what they feel, and be honest and objective. We recieved a blog post about us today which was not to apealing. I had some disagreements with the article, but respect his view point and his position as a journalist. All I am saying here is I would have like to see him give us a big, hey “but they put some really good spin on it”.

Instead the majority of the second two paragraphs were aimed at our “measly” advanced search feature. Which works very well, however only if you use it correctly. If you are a BMW driver or a VW guy, or you have to take your car to a Dealer, you can find that place in our advanced search very easily. However you can not use it to find a speciality shop who specializes in both Ford, Honda, and Infiniti becuase there is not one. Any decent auto repair center can fix any car ever made however there are very few who specialize in a combination of more than one brand if they specialize at all. There is no need to say “We specialize in Honda and Ford cars”. Becuase that is just not a good idea. So in return if you are looking for a repair center who works on only those two brands of cars you are going to have a hard time finding a place because most likely, one doesn’t exist.

I will say we were not super clear on how to use the POWERfull ability of the advanced search feature, however we thought it was common sense. We were wrong, we have to make a change on it because people were not fully up on what it was to be used for. Yes I can see this scenario now, your wife drives a honda, you drive a ford so you want to find a place who can service both cars. Well that is pretty much any repair shop, and most people are not clear on that. So we are changing the way our advanced search works to make that more clear.

In his defence he did give us this quote “MechanixLoop is an interesting concept — one that provides businesses with more bang for their marketing buck, and makes it easier for motorists in search for an honest mechanic.” So there was his little cream in the middle of the “you guys need to step it up” oreo.

So partially  bad review, turns out to help us out becuase it opened up some customer concerns and problems we had not antisipated. GOOD for everyone. However I am still not very excited that once this was explained to the writer, he chose not to make a comment about this in his article. Which is not cool.

All in all, it is good for us. We are learning good lessons and how to deal with issues we have not seen before. Do I dislike the writer of the blog post? No. Do I feel it is just as much his right as it is mine to say what he wants? Yes. Do I wish he had written a glowing review? Of course, but not everything goes your way all the time and we have to learn to live with criticism.

Please check out the article and if you have any comments please leave them as well.

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