I wonder how many HN folk's first inclination would have been to create a website to do this instead of rent a van and deal directly with people? How much do we hold ourselves back by trying to go directly to a scaleable solution?
Given that the initial pain point was needing a printer, I hope most people here would have enough sense to realize that an online-only solution wouldn't work.
IANA Marketer but this looks like a white-hat SEO opportunity for somebody -- say travel agent, tour package provider, guide book publisher. Write up a web page linking to the China consulate site, explain the frequent confusion over forms, maybe provide info to contact someone knowledgeable to help sort it out. Get AdWords for "china visa form" or some such, headline "Get The Right Form!". Bingo, traffic by people traveling to China. As their first experience with you is avoiding a common bureaucratic obstacle, they'll disposed to goodwill and belief that you grok something of travel in China.
Or you could create a site where people would always get the latest forms and proper guidance? It wouldn't help the applicants who get rejected at the consulate though.
Your problem at that point is getting the customers to you. I'd be willing to bet that not many people would be willing to pay for it before they have tried and failed at the consulate. And at that point, they are going to stumble on that van before they see your website.
That's an interesting take - there's always the danger that filling in the gaps in someone else's product will cause that someone else to wake up and fill it in for you.
Seeing as this is a government failing, however, makes me think that it'll be a long time before they decide to improve enough to make these guys unnecessary.
There are tons of businesses providing this service (search for "Chinese visa"), including picking up and dropping off relevant documents, so clearly there's a market for it before trying and failing. However it is also a lot more competitive market, so there'd still be a problem getting the customers to you.
A very wise man once said to me: "Marketing is showing up after an avalanche selling shovels." Ta-dum-tss! This is a concise way of saying:
* Solve a problem that people have
* Be there at the time they need the solution
The latter is more difficult than the former. By setting up a van in the street outside the consulate, you have solved the timing problem. Advertising outside the consulate would probably be effective, but the immediacy of the van solution is a huge plus. A frustrated consumer is far more likely to act than one who has had time to cool down on the drive home.
The article doesn't really explain this very well, but the Chinese consulate is in the middle of BFE in NYC -- it's out on the West Side Hwy in no man's land. This is as much about location as complexity/UX. To get to the business idea part, you'd stumble so hard over the importance of physical location, I'd like to think most HN readers would find it hard to miss.
It's a cute business, but there's no economic moat here. The principals acknowledge as much in the article. What would be more interesting is a business that challenged the status quo in the expediter side of the passport/visa business.
Are you thinking of a site for this instance alone? If I were to try something to serve this market I would create a site aiding with forms of all sorts.
Reminds me. Years back, I remember seeing an older guy hanging around the Trevi Fountain in Rome with a full inkjet printer hanging around his neck. He was taking photos and printing on the spot.
You're right, a typical programmer would write the website before understanding the business like these guys have. However, they are now vulnerable to price wars with copy cats, and need tools to reduce their costs below their competitors'. This is when scalability means the difference between decreasing margins and a growing business.
At least mine would have been to create a site. When told about this option, my first thought would've probably been "What a waste of talent and time!" though I mean absolutely no offense. If anything I'm inspired to look for those small things that make a difference.
There used to be flyers all around San Francisco advertising "Dan: Man with Van" with tearoff phone number tabs. I don't think I've seen one in a looong time, though.
