Tank, Helping you build really simple websites

Tank, a web 2.0 startup out of South Africa is online web site creator and host which makes it really easy (and i mean really easy, like Grand Ma easy) to build simple websites. This is the second startup out of South Africa that is playing in the same market. Synthasite founded by Vinny Lingham received funding and have since moved the operation to Silicon Valley.

Having said that, Tank is by far the simplest and easiest web application i have seen to create really simple websites. Due to the simplicity and ease of use, it is not highly customizable however with the market they are catering for, i doubt that a ton of widgets or customizable themes are required.  Registration is quick and simple and is completed in under a minute, creating a website is just as easy.  Answer a few questions such as subdomain, sitename,Strap line, Time zone and description, then Choose a template and your site is ready to be filled in with info. It took me under under 10 minutes to create and quickly populate the StartupAfrica website at tank.

The site offers, a pre-existing gallery section, static pages and a news section which works like a stripped down version of a blog. There are also plans to launch a new ‘page type’ called pod’s which could be used for FAQ’s/Lists.

Filling in information is as simple as typing it in, there is no WYSIWG editor or buttons for that matter. To bold a text, you simply insert * on either side, very much like a wiki.  The editor also accepts standard HTML if you are that way inclined. The only gripe i have is with inserting of images, images are uploaded and a unique image ID is generated. This then has to be copied and pasted into the post/page. On my Mac, the Command + C combination refused to copy the unique ID while manually selecting “Copy” from the menu bar worked just fine.

Tank follows a freemium business model, offering basic services free of charge and charging a small fee for additional services, support, webspace and traffic.

I caught up with Alan Aston, co-founder of tank for an interview, Alan kicked off his internet career at Armadillo Interactive, and was one of the original members of Ogilvy Interactive in Cape Town, he now is working on tank full time.

What motivates you?

Building stuff. Writing stuff. Playing with stuff. Even cooking stuff.

Back in the real world I’m reading Guy Kawasaki’s ‘The Art of the
Start’ (I think I might need that), Seth Godin’s ‘Small is the new
Big’ and I have a couple of Cormac McCarthy’s lined up too.

I wanted to solve my own problem: building a dead-simple site without
getting a ton of people involved. A blank canvas on which to hang
ideas. Something that grows with you, and you with it. Flexible, lean,
easy websites that you enjoy building. An app that puts you in touch
with your website.

The project is bootstrapped: I’ve been working on it after-hours for
the past couple of years while my partner has been on it full-time.
Only recently have I been able to move on to it on a full-time basis:
that said, the credit cards have been maxed on (and back in every now
and then) ever since this we started this project.

As a developer one tends to think of only certain aspects: development
and design of a certain product. A startup has many more aspects that
one needs to keep in mind: running a tight ship internally, branding,
marketing, sales, legal and of course systems and support. You either
need to master a lot of new skills, or get people to help.

Stick with your guns.
Build something people are willing to pay for.
Build your business one client at a time: even if you are aiming for
the mass market.
Think change. And then roll with it.
Think bottom-up, not top-down.
Think cashflow, not sales projections.
Think relationships: strangers to friends, friends to customers,
customers to salespeople (thanks for that Seth.)
Edit, edit, edit. Everything: your words, your thoughts, your business
idea, everything.
Get it in black-and-white.

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