It’s important that I take the time to figure out what already exist in order to determine what pathway Startup Christ should take. Does Startup Christ need to differentiate itself or is it truly alone? I will not overload this post with all my findings so I’ve broken this down into multiple parts. It’s also beneficial for helping boost content and getting the site discovered. In the first installment of this series, I discovered that business directories already existed. Though, Startup Christ could differentiate itself, it may not be the best path. More notably, Startup Christ revealed its findings on a venture capital firm. Read about these findings here. So here goes the second installment of my research on Startup Christ’s competition.
christian-preneur
This themed website did exactly as I set out to do: create a platform for resources for Christians called into entrepreneurship. Only, the website has been abandoned for over two years. The inactivity is a worrying sign. It’s possible that the website got little traction. This would show a lack of market validation. It’s also possible, they did not set out with a clear strategy and that was what stunted audience growth from the beginning. The website seemed like an online magazine with issues, which only made the website seem more outdated. I don’t deny the entrepreneurial prowess of the sites founders, but I doubt that this website was executed perfectly. It seems as though there was too much going on. They had a magazine, a directory, and a radio show. That shows a lack of strategy.
My main takeaways from viewing this website are that I should be more willing to pivot this venture. They had a lot going on and still the site was abandoned. Successful sites don’t get abandoned. The most optimistic takeaway is that this site had multiple authors. I think multiple authors would be of great benefit to Startup Christ.
Marketplace Christianity
This is an old site that is likewise abandoned. However, this website looks like a treasure trove of superb content. The site has a focus on using biblical principles for finances claiming that most churches talk only about finances when it comes to tithes and offerings (not true in my experience). However a unique acknowledgement of MP Christianity is that it shows that majority of Christians aren’t called into pastoral ministry, so many work in the secular world, 97% according to them. The target audience of this website is broad.
The purpose is also commendable. The website makes it clear that biblical principles on finance are not to be confused with the prosperity gospel. We cannot emphasize this enough here at Startup Christ. I believe I will use this website to inspire columns for Startup Christ. The content looks excellent and I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface. I also want to tackle ideas and arguments presented by site founder Brad Harmon.
These two abandoned sites will conclude the second installment of the search. Sorry about the theme, but there were some good takeaways to be had from this search.
