Startups

Two thoughts: The best startups are masters of asymmetric warfare -- they don't fight on the battlefield the incumbent selects. And, users often understand their problems well but are horrible at suggesting features to solve these problems.

My notes from Hackers & Painters by Paul Graham: The way to create something beautiful is often to make subtle tweaks to something that already exists, or to combine existing ideas in a slightly new way. There are only two things you have to know about business: build something users love, and make more than you spend. If you get these two ri... See more

Startup strategic planning: + Set a goal for rev/traffic/x that is 3 mos out + Figure out the top 3-5 driver metrics (eg, leads, sales mtgs, churn) needed to hit the goal + Pick the top 3 activities w high confidence to achieve the driver metrics Execute. Rinse/repeat.

If you notice something at your company below standards and don't fix it or make sure someone else does, you have set a new standard. Complaining about it does not count as fixing it. If someone gets upset/tells you to stay in your lane, they've set an even worse new standard.