How can a guy develop a simple web application in about 30 days and get it launched on TechCrunch? I think the formula is fairly simple, build something interesting (simple) and don’t try to make it seem bigger than it really is. Be real, be transparent.

In this blog post, I am publishing the steps that eventually lead to SalaryScout being posted on TechCrunch. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to launch. It has simply been amazing.

This “TechCrunch Methodology” was inspired by Guy Kawasaki’s post, “How to Get in TechCrunch“. It features a video of Michael Arrington answering many of the most frequently asked questions. The advice given works, SalaryScout is proof. The advice is gold. Read it, memorize it, and say it in your sleep. Thanks for making this available!

Step 1:

The first thing I did was fill out the TechCrunch company profile submission form. The form isn’t too long, but I really wanted the TC staff to read my about page. I feel like that really captures the sprit of what I was trying to achieve. Believe it or not, I was actually nervous when filling this out. It was my only shot.

Please note, I left out some details in this blog post out for privacy reasons.

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TechCrunch Profile Submission Form
(click to view form)

Benjamin D. Thomas
SalaryScout, LLC.
http://www.salaryscout.com

Louisville KY

Description:

We are an anonymous community of professionals seeking fairness in compensation.

* Browse Real Salaries
Find out if you’re getting paid what you’re worth by viewing other’s salary profiles.

* Ratings and Comments
Find out if your job is really as bad as you think it is by allowing others to rate and comment on your total package.

* Customized RSS Feeds
Create custom RSS feeds based on search term(s) and location to monitor salaries in your area.

Launch date:
11/21/2006

Funding range:
< $500,000

Additional Information:

I’m planning to launch SalaryScout on 11/21/2006 (next Tuesday) and would love to give TechCrunch the opportunity to have “the exclusive story.”

Please let me know if you do plan on posting something so that I can be prepared and coordinate it properly.

SalaryScout.com REQUIRES a password (HTTPAuth) until the launch date:

Username: hidden
Password: *******

URL:
http://www.salaryscout.com

If you would like to login to the site without filling out the registration form, feel free to use:

Username: bdthomas
Password: techcrunch

Read the story behind SalaryScout:
http://www.salaryscout.com/blog/about/

Read the FAQ:
http://www.salaryscout.com/blog/faq/

Read the launch notes:
http://www.salaryscout.com/blog/launch/

Please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions.

Kind Regards,
Ben

Step 2:

Realizing that I forgot to mention that the site had international support, I sent a follow-up email several minutes after submitting the company profile form.

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(Sent Wednesday Nov 15, 2006 11:17 PM about 5 minutes later)
SUBJECT: SalaryScout follow-up comments.

Michael,

I forgot to mention in the company profile that I filled out that I also lived in Surrey (Egham) for a period of time. I attended grad school at Royal Holloway. Although the site’s features are fairly limited, one thing that I’ve tried to build in from day 1 is international support. I recognize how important it is, and how few sites tend to address an international market.Let me know if you have any questions.http://www.salaryscout.com

HTTPAuth
Username: hidden
Password: ******

You can login to the site:

Username: bdthomas
Password: techcrunch

My estimated launch date is 11/21/2006. Please refer to the company profile that was filled out.

Regards,
Ben

Step 3:

By this point I was starting to get nervous. I had already submitted the form, sent the follow-up email and did not receive a reply. I thought it would be worthwhile to give it just one more shot before giving up. Read below.

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(Sent Sunday Nov 19, 2006 10:36 PM)
SUBJECT: SalaryScout Launch - 11/21

I just wanted to let you know that I am still planning to launch SalaryScout.com this Tuesday (21 Nov. 2006) You can take a look at the site here:http://www.salaryscout.com
(It is password protected until launch)

Username: hidden
Password: ******

I wanted to give TechCrunch the opportunity of have the exclusive story for the launch. Please let me know if you plan on writing about it, so that I can be sure and not tell anyone else about the launch before your story is live. If you don’t plan on writing about it, that’s fine too, just let me know. Thanks!
Please let me know if you have any questions.

Regards,
Ben

Step 4:

I remember waking up that Monday morning with an email in my box from Michael Arrington saying that he was going to post about it that night. Wow, that meant I would need to launch the site a day early! That really wasn’t a problem, because it was ready. As you can imagine, I promptly replied with a lot of excitement. It was going to happen!

Later that night around 6:00pm EST I got an email from Marshall Kirkpatrick asking for a little bit of information. We traded a few emails and my adrenaline began rising.

Shortly after replying to the first email, I sshed into the server and ran a quick:
tail -f access_logs

I wanted to see exactly what was going on. The TechCrunch staff did a very thorough review of the site. It seems as though they checked every function. Wow, this was deep.

I put a frozen pizza in the oven and then later had a sit down dinner with my wife Erica.

8:00pm EST, the access logs were still just sitting there. Meanwhile, I was vigorously continuing to test the site. Would it crash? Would it take the pressure?

8:45pm EST, the logs began FLYING across the screen!

I quickly opened Firefox, went to TechCrunch, SalaryScout was there! My heart was racing. Wow!
It made it on the front page of TechCrunch!

What happened next?
http://www.salaryscout.com/blog/1600-users-in-24-hours/

It was an amazing ride, and I’m so thankful for the opportunity. Thanks TechCrunch!

Honestly, I didn’t quite know what to expect. The response has been simply amazing. As with most user-generated-content sites, SalaryScout provides little to no value without users. (cliche chicken and egg problem) Well, the users have spoken!

My initial fear was that people would be quick to criticize SalaryScout before it is populated with enough users. It appears that most users have been pretty understanding and realize that SalaryScout has a lot of potential for growth.

I just wanted to send out a thank you to everyone who jumped on board early. I have a lot of ideas brewing, so expect enhancements in the near term. SalaryScout is a living and breathing beta.

If you haven’t already told your friends or blogged about SalaryScout, now’s the time. The success and value of this site is directly related to your participation.

I’m extremely happy and a bit nervous to announce the public beta release of SalaryScout.com. No worries, right? Actually, most web launches are dismally small. Usually a combination of excitement, adrenaline, caffeine, and large egos cause most founders to be over optimistic. “We have the next biggest, baddest, greatest product/service ever!” Don’t worry, you won’t be subject to that sort of unearned confidence here. I live and work by the philosophy, “under promise and over deliver.”

Expect bugs. Expect a limited feature set. SalaryScout was created during nights and weekends over roughly 30 days. I don’t consider myself a programmer or designer. Although I enjoy those activities, SalaryScout was started as a personal challenge just to see what could be accomplished.

Rather than continue to refine and build additional features, I felt it was time to invite the public (you) to participate. Please keep in mind and understand that the initial data set is limited. SalaryScout will only grow with your participation and support.

Initial Features:

• Ability to rate and comment on salary profiles
• Basic search by title, description, country, and region
• User customized RSS feeds based on search results
• Multiple country and region support
• Mulitple currency and currency formatting support
• Community-based quality control

Additional Information:

Read the story behind SalaryScout:
http://www.salaryscout.com/blog/about

Read the SalaryScout FAQ:
http://www.salaryscout.com/blog/faq

Submit comments and questions to:
info ]at[ salaryscout.com

Once again, thank you for your interest in SalaryScout. If you have comments, questions, or bug reports, don’t hesitate to send them my way. Good luck in your negotiations!