There’s a particular niche that offers tons of potential to opportunists and wise-thinking folks alike. The concept is simple. If you don’t have the manpower to make something huge, make something that’s already huge, more simple or easier to use. I like to call these products Bolt-On Applications. This is not an official term but seems to fit the idea perfectly. Find a need that’s been overlooked. Service that need. Benefit from the userbase that’s already been harvested, and help the community all at the same time.

[1] There are tons of examples of this out there. Today we’ll be touching base with the co-founder of one such service, [2] Steven Kovar of [1] WootAgent. Steven and his partner found a problem that needed to be solved and took the initiative to create an effective solution.

[1] WootAgent is a small application that monitors and delivers updates to users of [3] woot.com. [1] WootAgent sits nested in your usertray and automatically alerts you when [3] woot has a new item up for sale.

The essential purpose of [1] WootAgent is to simplify the process users go through when buying an item on woot. Previously, users had to remember to visit the site at midnight to get [3] woot’s daily special. Since [4] woot sells in such small quantities and their userbase is so large (over 675 thousand members), if you were a few hours late you often missed out.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Steven

to discuss a few important topics, so without further ado…

Scot: Steven, thanks for taking the time to talk with me tonight. Tell me a little bit about yourself to start us off and we’ll get into the heavier stuff later on.

Steven: Well now, you’re the interviewer. How’s about you ask me about myself? I’ve always had trouble with those little summaries in the “About Me” on Myspace or Facebook.

Scot: Ok, what do you do and why do you do it?

Steven: My own little motto I carry around with me is “I run companies,” and it’s basically a mentality I have about what I do. I like to build businesses up (so far all are web-based) and as of right now I only have two projects to worry about, which is perfect I think. I love design, marketing, and advertising– I think the web is a great medium to do all of these. I’m not in it for the money, much like Trump isn’t in real estate for the money. We both love what we do and it just so happens revenue is a good indicator of how well you’re doing. I love the work I do and I can’t wait to see how my career evolves over this next extremely crucial year.

Scot: What are these projects that you are working on?

Steven: One of the projects is named [1] WootAgent, which is an application my partner Carlo and I decided to make because we both love [3] woot.com and wanted an easier way to keep up with what’s going on at [3] woot. If you’re unfamiliar with [3] woot, their business model is clever: sell one (tech related) item a day. It is put up for sale at 12AM Central Standard Time and is kept up until it sells out, then the next day at 12AM, a new item is for sale. Occasionally, there’s a WootOff, where they sell left-over stock, new items, etc. continuously for about 72 hours straight. “Wooters” go CRAZY during WootOffs and are constantly checking [3] woot’s homepage to see what item they can get their dirty paws on for hopefully what is a good deal. [1] WootAgent grew from 1,200 users to over 7,000 users during the last WootOff because Wooters love the service so much. We’re currently looking to expand its capabilities and offer more services, like an AIM bot that will message subscribers (it’s free) when a new item comes out.

Scot: Who is [1] WootAgent’s biggest competitor and what sets you apart from him?

Steven: [5] WootSnoop is probably our biggest competitor. [1] WootAgent is faster, is more simple to use, has a price comparison system, and looks nicer than the others available. [1] WootAgent also offers customizable sounds for [3] woot alerts.

Scot: So, [1] WootAgent is an idea that expands upon an already good service– what advice can you give to others who are trying to enter similar niches?

Steven: The best advice is to be PASSIONATE about it. If you’re not really in to [it], users can tell, and they’ll use an app from someone else who is. Also, a good quote I got from watching a panel of web entrepreneurs on Google Video: “If you release your [app] and you like the way it looks and runs, you waited too long.” Meaning, don’t sit around perfecting things to get it out there. Distribution is MUCH more important than the quality of your product (to an extent)

Scot: That’s an interesting piece of advice– what do you feel is a good amount of time to wait to release a web app, and do you think it depends at all on what type of service you’re attempting to offer?

Steven: I can’t give you a set time frame that is good for releasing a web app, or any kind of project even. It depends on how complicated everything is and what you’re trying to deliver to the users. [1] WootAgent was done in about a week. I was expecting it to take much longer, but the programmer we found was almost more into the project than Carlo and I, so we all meshed well and things got done quickly. So yes, it does depend, but at the same time, you shouldn’t put a time frame to it. Bust your ass to get things done and hope it’s sooner than later. You’ll never really know when it will be done until you’re working on it.

Scot: Since apps like yours have become popular, [3] woot published an RSS feed to try to lessen the load that apps have been dishing out to it’s server. Is [1] WootAgent using this feed yet? If not, how does it get it’s updates?

Steven: [3] woot’s RSS feeds are still too slow to be applicable. [1] WootAgent is still scraping [3] woot for quicker updates– it applies the same load as users continuously refreshing the page as they usually would.

Scot: [1] WootAgent has gotten some press from some big name blogs such as [6] TechCrunch, [7] Lifehacker and [8] Gizmodo. Has [3] woot contacted you directly and if so what did they have to say about [1] WootAgent?

Steven: [3] woot has contacted us and are very encouraging about what we’re doing.

Scot: Your personal blog describes you as a “typical young ‘over-ambitious’ quasi-elitist marketing enthusiast ad publishing entrepreneurialistic capitalist”, do you have any plans for the monetization of [1] WootAgent?

Steven: It would be nice if we could. But at the same time, as a heavy user of the app, I won’t be adding anything that takes away from the experience. I believe there are ways we can monetize it that will actually help users instead of being just an annoyance. This project is more for fun, but if we can generate some revenue to pay for future updates and service expansions, we will take the matter very seriously.

Scot: Just from knowing you for a couple of years, I realize you’re really in to enhancing web services that are already out there. What do you feel about those who say, “You die as soon as your host dies”?

Steven: I say if you have half a brain you can find a niche that won’t be dying off any time soon, or a product to improve that will be relevant for years to come. The web is a fast market, but that doesn’t mean it has to be unintelligent.

Scot: That makes a lot of sense. There are tons of people trying to make a fast buck through different venues on the internet right now. What differentiates people like you from people like them?

Steven: I think it’s a success issue. I’ve grown up with the idea that the really successful people have this certain attitude about them. They live as if success is a mindset, where as your average person will see success as some milestone. The people looking for a quick buck are the ones who see success as a point in life you reach.

Scot: Anything else you’d like to share with the readers of my blog before I let you be on your way?

Steven: I’d like to thank you for interviewing me. I love these little impromptu gigs; they never get old.
Scot: And, where’s my five bucks?

Steven: Check your wallet.

You can visit Steven at [2] StevenKovar.com or try out [1] WootAgent for free by clicking [1] here.