How to build a StartUp forum? Where should I start?

Hello everyone,

I have an idea of building a StartUp online forum for the youth studying/working in IT, Technology in my country - Vietnam. It is expected to be a friendly and interactive just like this one which people join in, raise and share startup ideas. They would be advised by experts from many fields relevant with startup: economy, law, personal training... The forum also would be a bridge between entrepreneurs and investors. There are not only chances for investors selecting the best idea but also entrepreneurs can decide whom they would coporate.

I still have nothing but those pop up ideas. Where should i start? And how could i make it become real with small capital?

Please help and feel free to leave comments below. It would be thankful to receive all of your advises.

Thanks in advance.

 

In the beginning you will have to create a lot of fake profiles and populate the forum with content yourself for the first few months at least. It will take a lot of time and effort. People won't join an empty forum.

You will have to get a good quality forum software. Invision Power Board is highly recommended by people in the know.

Also how are you going to encourage high quality conversation instead of just a bunch of kids wondering how they can sell ebooks about whatever they are interested in?

 

I've seen forums like that, and it's painfully obvious when all the accounts come off as being written by the same person. People won't join a fake forum.

 

Depends on the skill of the founder.

It is a catch 22 when the forum is not associated with an established business and there is not much of a marketing budget.

 

Lol.. DO NOT create fake profiles and fake posts. It doesn't accomplish jack shit. All it's going to do is either make it look like you have a handful of people who occasionally post or that you have a dead forum. Great way to kill an idea you are serious about.

The best way to start a forum is to NOT! You should build your web site first with content. Once you have content focus on building traffic. Once you have traffic focus on retaining those visitors. Once you are established with consistent returning traffic you then launch a forum. It will populate its self without you ruining your brand.

A long time ago I ran a social networking web site. It didn't have a forum. Once I had members using the site I launched a forum and with in one day I had activity.

 

Thanks for presenting your ideas. Specially if you search about famous and high quality forums then you will see that maximum forums are technology based such as technological discussion, about computer or phone, vehicles, apps etc. In these sense you have taken a great step. From my experience I wanted to argue that if you wanted to run technology/ IT based forum then first you needed few experienced persons. Who will start first conversation it means someone will post thread and someone will replay about that topic. All contents must be qualitful. Then you have to start collecting traffics from the topic related sites. Thus you can start first. Are you ready fir starting??