Startup Systems
systems that power startups
Startup Systems
Customer math for a new business
How much does it cost to get a new customer?
How much do you make from every interaction with that customer?
How long does the customer stick around?
How many new customers will existing customers bring you over time?
How much does it cost to get a new customer?
How much do you make from every interaction with that customer?
How long does the customer stick around?
How many new customers will existing customers bring you over time?
Customer math for a new business
Pick a customer instead of an idea: “One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was that when you're starting a company, you often think you're picking an idea, but you're really picking a customer. It's actually pretty easy to change your idea, but it’s way harder to change the customer you're serving,” says Agrawal.
Superhuman
“Why didn’t they simply do the perfect thing on the first attempt?”
The short answer is: that’s not how this works. Things are not linear or clean. We can only asymptote towards perfection through trial and error.
The short answer is: that’s not how this works. Things are not linear or clean. We can only asymptote towards perfection through trial and error.
Packy McCormick • The Experimentation Layer
The most exciting thing about professional project management is that it trades away excitement for systems thinking and intentional action. We make heroes out of people who show up with the last-minute save, but the real work is in not needing the last minute.
And it’s helpful to realize that it’s a skill, a choice, a set of tools to be learned,... See more
And it’s helpful to realize that it’s a skill, a choice, a set of tools to be learned,... See more
Project management
It’s easy to be excited about what the company seems to do... to choose our path based on the public’s perception of the output. But once the company has more than one person in it, most of our day is about satisfying the customer, meeting supplier requirements and dancing with the tension of doing our jobs.
Often, we use the product we make as a... See more
Often, we use the product we make as a... See more
Product and Process
Little decisions compound and then anchor systems.
Our commitment to defending sunk costs keeps those systems long after they’re no longer serving a purpose.
There are endless tasks to be done in starting a new venture. But most of the tasks are necessary but insufficient. You can’t begin without them, but by themselves, they won’t create enough impact for your work to make a change happen.
And every new project must create change, or else it fails.
We spend our time focusing on the tasks because the... See more
And every new project must create change, or else it fails.
We spend our time focusing on the tasks because the... See more
Customer traction is the hard part
A difference in emphasis: raising the floor versus raising the ceiling
Matt Clifford has written about how building a world-changing technology company has never been easier than it is today. But for all of the technical, commercial, and industry-specific knowledge that founders can readily access, psychological knowledge still lags behind. (In... See more
Matt Clifford has written about how building a world-changing technology company has never been easier than it is today. But for all of the technical, commercial, and industry-specific knowledge that founders can readily access, psychological knowledge still lags behind. (In... See more
Gena Gorlin • The Psychological Needs of the Extremely Ambitious
The early days are exciting. Customers are seen and heard and served. Variations are created and value is produced as problems are solved.
In the early days, the most celebrated employees are the ones who figure out what someone needs and then determines a way to fill that need.
Once the organization gains traction, it’s possible that a short-term profit maximizer will join the team. They push to treat the customers as replaceable flanges, almost identical, income opportunities to be processed. And the employees? They are expenses, not part of a team.
It can seem like the fastest way for a stable business to increase profits is simply to remove some sticks. Process more flanges with fewer expenses. Lower overhead, measure the easy stuff, do it faster.
We spend too much time dealing with shaky towers. The resilience of people connecting, of organizations evolving, of service and clarity and generative work is far too important to be threatened by a few hustlers who insist on measuring the wrong thing.