Before I decide to do something, my first question is:
“What problem are we solving?”
9 times out of 10, answering that question shows me:
1) It’s not really a problem (so I can ignore it)
2) What I was planning on doing wasn’t the best way to solve... See more
A better use of some of that capital is continued experimentation.
In a world with an emerging new class of startups, the Silicon Valley Small Business, thinking of investment capital specifically as a means to learn more about your users faster through experimentation is worth considering.
The more you learn, the more you’ll be able to iterate to... See more
Collapse the talent stack every chance you get . As I reflect on the teams I’ve led and hundreds of start-ups I’ve worked with, there is a consistent unfair competitive advantage i’ve witnessed when the talent stack was collapsed - when the lead designer was also the product leader, when the front-end engineer was also a designer, when the designer... See more
Instead of doing broad but thin market research (e.g., customer surveys), focus on one person (or a small group) and go as deep as you can, learning everything about how your product fits into their broader lives. Or become your customer—spend a day, a month, or even a few years in the role you're trying to sell to before attempting to build a... See more