shelpful.com

sharon·Apr 19, 2021

Posted in:Health & Wellness Productivity Show Elpha Startups

Hi Elphas, 1 month ago, I took the plunge and finally launched the startup that I've been thinking about for 8 years. 😬🤗gulp! And I've never been happier. The scoop:Shelpful is the accountability buddy you've always needed (shelpful.com). You get paired with a real human who cares just as much, if not more 😉, about your to do list and priorities as you do. We help hold you accountable to daily things ("drink water" "get some movement in") and long-term things ("search for new jobs/career opps" "hit ____ health goal"). Whatever is on _your_ plan is on _our_ plan, and you can tackle a little bit or a lot and change it up whenever you need with Shelpful. (right now: U.S. only)At launch, we almost immediately got paying customers and had to flip to waitlist! We think we are onto something, but are still on the hunt to hear from more people about how this product resonates with them, and how we could help them.***We'd LOVE help with***>>> Checking us out - shelpful.com -- Does this concept resonate with you? Is this something you feel could help you feel accomplished/productive? What types of things do you need more support in / if you could hand part of your mental load to someone, would this part help? Comment here, or DM me on Elpha.>>> If this resonates with you, give us a try (no pressure!) -- We have a free trial, which has a waitlist right now, but I've opened up 3 spots for Elphas to skip the list. Text ELPHA to 503-300-6362, to go straight into the free trial. We'd really value feedback. And also hope that we can truly help you :) I used to work in-house at Y Combinator and have worked at startups for most of my career. It all feels a bit dreamy to finally be able to build the thing that I've needed. My co-founders ( @lydiaSwift + Tom) and I are so so so grateful for any feedback.

sunnymoe·Apr 19, 2021

The idea is awesome! I have an accountability buddy I’ve met with weekly for years now and it’s the reason I meet so many of my little goals that lead to big goals. I love the branding. The colors are great and the website is super user friendly. I’d grab some more testimonials ASAP and add them to the site in places besides just the “about” page. Super excited for you! I also think this would be a great resource to offer to companies for their employees.

sharon·Apr 19, 2021

I love that you have the experience of a real-life accountability buddy supporting you. I feel a bit jealous, not gonna lie! :) That’s so great. Thank you also for taking a peek. Yes on the testimonials. Will get on that. We have one local biz offering to employees — which just happened without trying. Would love to find our way in to the Silicon Valley benefits world. I think you are right that this would feel like a great benefit and could help employees feel more accomplished / happy at work and home. I know that can be a tough nut to crack. Looking forward to trying!

Monisha·Apr 20, 2021

The idea is awesome! I have already sent a message @sharon

Monisha·Apr 20, 2021

@sharonSadly it isn't launched yet for India market :(

sharon·Apr 20, 2021

I should have mentioned that! Sorry :(. Just US right now. But we 100% see that this isn’t a US only thing and we want to expand when we can. I’ll get in touch when we do?

Monisha·Apr 20, 2021

That sounds great.!

sharon·Apr 20, 2021

I have a form buried in our FAQs to help us get in touch when we expand. Add your info here if you don’t mind!https://9m84o7cp7kv.typeform.com/to/fN60SKD4(Sorry that it wasn’t more clear on the site)

Monisha·Apr 20, 2021

I have filled it out. @sharon

Lia·Apr 20, 2021

The big question I'd like answered on the home page is "who are these people?" I respond best to real people I have a real connection with. I won't feel accountable if it's going to feel like a bot. Do you give profiles of your shelpers? Do you get introduced to the actual person once you're matched with one or do you just start chatting? Can you change if it's not a good fit?

sharon·Apr 20, 2021

Really good feedback! I will def add something to the homepage. Yes we would let you switch any time for any reason. (But that’s not there either! Will add 😇)

prettycold·Apr 20, 2021

This is definitely a great idea, no doubts. Beyond a point in life, we need some extra hands to do what we are required to do. I keep thinking many a time, how many small things I need to remember, right from taking almonds every day, reminding kids to do stuff, ha ha, leave alone all my career related list. It's just never-ending as well as overwhelming. And many a time I wish there was this virtual someone who'd nudge me on and off so that my mind gets some rest. I'm sure you guys'll rock with shelpful. Wishing you the very best!

sharon·Apr 20, 2021

That’s so kind of you to say and I of course couldn’t agree more. Yes to reminders for almonds 😋. Ha that’s a great example. I have a 5 year old and a 5 month old and sometimes feels like I just need an extra brain to hold all the tiny bits of info, instructions, to do’s.

aparna·Apr 20, 2021

Love this idea! My main method for accountability are external due dates, but I really need a buddy for my self-imposed due dates. Your site is easy to understand and quick to show the value, but not sure who is doing the supporting/accountability checks? Is it fellow members, your team, a bot? I see it's in the FAQs but maybe make that clearer. Congrats on a great idea - I'll try it and happy to share more feedback.

sharon·Apr 20, 2021

Thanks for taking a look @aparna -- good questions and the answer is (importantly) NOT bots :) -- we have found empathetic people. Ones who are "that" friend who listens intently, asks questions, problem solves, always remembers birthdays and work deadlines, etc. Those are the humans of Shelpful. It's a small crew now, but growing. There are 3 founders, who do take on members still (and probably always will)... But we are "that" friend too. My cofounder, Tom, is building tech that helps Shelpers efficiently manage their members, so that's where tech comes in. Never bots tho! :)

KristineWagner·Apr 20, 2021

Thanks for posting Sharon, I would love to try this! I signed up for the trial with the code. I feel like I'm hitting a wall with my career coach who's not holding me accountable (and who is 3x more expensive) so I think this is a great idea. I'm a very organized person with a million to-do lists for my job search, but with no external accountability, I find it very difficult to get through my tasks. Thanks for sharing, and best of luck!

sharon·Apr 20, 2021

Thanks for taking a look Kristine! And thanks for signing up, I hope we can help you with this for a fraction of the price. We have a lot of people using us for career stuff right now. It's a very task oriented process that can just feel like it's swallowing you up...... so works really well with Shelpful. We also of course love to celebrate milestones along the way, YAY interview, YAY updated resume, all of that :). Please give me any feedback you have as you do your trial. DM on elpha or I'm at sharon [at] shelpful.com

Violet39·Apr 20, 2021

Love this idea! It did take a moment to understand how it’s different from coaching, therapy, etc. The sample texts were most helpful, so more of those would be super-useful.As others have mentioned, more information about who the humans texting them are will also help, and how they're qualified to be "that friend" for you. It's partly to make members feel good about who they'll hear from (and that they're not bots), but also to help set expectations that they are professional supportive naggers (a good thing!) but not a replacement for a therapist or a full-on coach (a different thing!). Also keep in mind that some people are going to want to dictate exactly who they get paired with. If you can accommodate this, awesome; if you can't realistically, just be thinking ahead to how you will navigate answering this in a way that gives people confidence they can trust you to make the match for them better than they can do it themselves (because you're the experts). Another thing that stood out is that the Shelper will be available 24/7. This sounds great from the customer perspective, but it makes me wonder how realistic or scalable that is for the humans you will have doing this work. I'm guessing (hoping!) you will be supportive of the Shelpers' work-life balance as you grow, so you probably wouldn't have a Shelper truly being on call all the time. So you may want to think about how you will make that work as your customer base grows. Or if you have already figured that out, make it a little more transparent in the FAQs. (As I was looking at it from a customer perspective, I was actually getting a little anxious thinking that my Shelper was somehow required to be available to me 24/7. It sounds nice, but when does my Shelper get a break?!)Good luck - it will be fun to see how this evolves!

sharon·Apr 20, 2021

Extremely helpful feedback, thank you. I've been thinking about doing a grid of how Shelpful differs from some of the things you mentioned. Coaching is one of those that's so squishy and broad that overexplaining that piece feels like we lose a lot of the people who hadn't ever considered such a thing. So I've struggled with whether to even bring that up as a comparison point. We are personally BIG believers in therapy and are not trying to replace it at all, and your comments are helpful in forming some thoughts on how we can make that clear that Shelpful is a helpful complement to such a thing. We like to help with "homework" given by professionals like trainers, nutritionists, therapists. If our members say that they want to do XYZ because one of these pros said to, then that's one of the most high-impact opportunities for us and them to get the most out of the service.