I launched BatteryMe and killed Zerra. It was a mistake.
The data told the truth after a month. People came for climate data. They did not come to buy batteries. The audience was wrong. The model was wrong.
Between a trademark concern and the weight of regulation, I knew I had to turn.
So I looked at the data and turned.
Zerra is back.
I am building it back into an open data platform. Taking government climate data and making it clear. It feels good. It has noble origins.
ZerraLedger is another thing. It is exploring Scope 3 carbon reporting for small business. Xero partnered with Sumday to own that market, but there may be room to compete if I move fast.
This is why we launch things. We add analytics. We track events. Over time, the data grows, and you spot things you missed: a broken redirect, a UX block, a meta description that finally matches a user's intent. You patch the fix because the data shows you where to look.
Once they click through, will they find what they need? That is the next problem to solve.
Start with the data. Use judgment to decide what to do with it.
The path is rarely clear at the start. Sometimes you must build the wrong thing to discover what the right thing ought to be.