3Qs with DeaLoco.com Co-Founder Steve Cospolich
August 29, 2008
- DeaLoco is in a pretty big, competitive space. At the end of the day, what brings people to DeaLoco and keeps them coming back?
We have put a lot of effort into making the site as user-friendly as possible. The site features a nice, clean layout; and all data necessary for our users to make a buying decision is presented in one place. We are the first - and only - deal site that we know of to provide product reviews and price comparisons for every deal on the site. Another feature of our site that gets great feedback from our users is the “Grief Factor” we assign to each deal. From our FAQ - “Grief Factor is a quick and easy way to determine the difficulty of pulling off a deal. The scale ranges from 1 to 5 (1 is the easiest, 5 the most complicated). If you’re not in the mood to fill out lengthy mail-in-rebate forms or to drive into town for a price match, stick to the “1″s and “2″s and you’ll be stress free.”
We also pride ourselves on keeping our eyes and ears open for user feedback. We’ve done extensive user testing with our friends and family and are currently running an iPerceptions online survey to help us gather even more user feedback. The response so far has been great. We’re posting more and more deals each day and our users love the idea that we’re taking the legwork out of online bargain hunting.
- What’s your take on the entrepreneurial and startup community in DFW and how do you think it can be improved?
We are a relatively young startup and haven’t had much opportunity to seek out many resources in the area. I know there are several entrepreneurial meetup groups out there, and Dallas seems to be a hotbed for SEO consultants/firms. I did attend SXSWi down in Austin this year - and would highly recommend it for any other startups out there. The energy in the convention center that week was amazing. I’d love to see a major Web conference come to DFW.
- What’s the hardest lesson you’ve learned so far from your entrepreneurial endeavors?
Accepting the fact that just creating a great tool/resource does not ensure you will be an overnight success. Marketing has played a much larger role than we first envisioned. We were recently featured on a few news stations, and a station in Louisiana may be airing a spot on our site this Sunday (depending on what happens with Hurricane Gustav)…so we seem to be gaining more and more momentum. We’re always looking for new ways to spread the word about the site.
