I think there are two components to trust and in my mind it comes down to intent and competence. Both are critical. At LookStat, we’re aggregating microstock earnings data and crunching it to create actionable information for microstock contributors. A critical part of this is convincing users to trust us with their earnings stats.

What are your intentions? (Or more accurately, what do people think your intentions are?)

It’s not enough to just have good intentions. That’s nice, but it only counts if other

people (ideally your users) believe that you have them. Potential LookStat users need to see us as people who are genuinely interested in creating value for them rather than doing them harm.

For a startup with little to no brand recognition, the only way to do this is by being open, transparent and accessible and working to convince one user at a time until word gets around. In the early days, who you are and who will vouch for you is critical. At some point, the balance shifts and the individual becomes less important than the brand, but that will take time. Until then, get out there and make friends – meet as many people as you can.

Do you know what the hell you’re doing?

Good intentions are worthless unless they can be backed up with appropriate actions. Our potential users may believe we want to do the right thing, but if they don’t believe that we are competent, there’s not much point going further. People have to believe that you have the skills and technical competence needed to protect them.

The Answer to Both Questions Has to be Yes

Each component taken by itself is necessary but not sufficient to gain trust. Being honorable, but clueless or being competent, but evil leaves you in a similar place from your users’ perspective. You need both components to start to gain trust. One closing (but very important) reminder – like most things that are worthwhile, trust is hard to gain and easy to lose. You have to take it seriously and you have to keep working at it.