Focus

That, as a startup, you should only do half of what you want to do (only half the options, half the tabs, half the offerings, and half the target audience) to compound your chances of true PMF.

The difference between average results and exceptional ones is what you avoid.

Be quick to say no and slow to say yes. Saying yes consumes time. Saying no creates time.

Never say yes on the spot. Always give yourself some space. Make it a rule. Tell people. That’s what Daniel Kahneman does. When he’s on the phone, he says, ‘my rule is I never say... See more

“Diversification is a protection against ignorance. It makes very little sense for those who know what they are doing.” -Warren Buffet

Jony Ive on what Steve Jobs taught him about the power of focusing: “Focus is not this thing you aspire to…or something you do on Monday. It’s something you do every minute.”

How to identify your invisible asymptotes

One way to identify your invisible asymptotes is to simply ask your customers. As I noted at the start of this piece, at Amazon we honed in on how shipping fees were a brake on our business by simply asking customers and non-customers.

Here's where the oft-cited quote from Henry Ford is brought up as an... See more