4 ms·

Best advice on product management, marketing, & biz dev for lean startups

74 points by rafaelc 16y ago

idlewords 16y ago
The only lean thing about this fad is the name. Note the slow accumulation of received wisdom here, various MUST READ blog posts, books, MUST LISTEN podcasts, and now a Harvard MBA program. The first step to being lean is cutting out fat like this.
- michaeldwp 16y ago
  He's talking about the Lean Startup Methodology, not just being lean in general. Either way, don't think for a second that it's a good idea to avoid reading books and learning from other people's experiences via podcasts and blogs. That, in my humble opinion, would be a huge mistake. By taking the time to learn about the lean startup methodology, you save yourself the hassle of having to learn these things the hard way. And by "the hard way," I mean "through your own company." Yes, you do indeed have to read and/or listen to some podcasts, but you'll benefit in many ways that far outweigh the time you spend reading. One of the core principles of the lean startup is to learn from customers so that you can build a product that people actually want and are willing to pay for. It gives you ideas on how to do this. It also tells you to stay lean and be ready to pivot; to not be hard-nosed to press forward on your original path, because that may not be the best thing for the business. Does this sound like advice that you should be ignoring? The lean startup methodology isn't the only way to success, but it does seem to be helping people. And to "cut the fat" of learning of any sort (if you want to call it "fat") isn't a good thing. You should always try to learn from other people's experiences because it can save you lots of time and frustration.
  - idlewords 16y ago
    The 'Lean Startup Methodology' is a management fad like any other. It combines obvious advice ("don't waste money", "avoid wishful thinking") with a large dose of folklore. I run a website that didn't make any money for four years, then unexpectedly took off. If I had been 'ready to pivot' after the initial failure, I would still be broke right now, and I would have no idea that I had even missed an opportunity. That doesn't mean that 'lean startup' principles are wrong. But they may not be all that right, either. I would urge people to make their own mistakes, and draw their own lessons, rather than listening to too much received wisdom, particularly when it comes from people whose livelihood depends on sounding like they know what they're talking about.
    - apsurd 16y ago
      FWIW your last point is an accurate claim. Note his about me: TOM EISENMANN Professor at Harvard Business School who studies lean startups, entrepreneurship, platforms, and network effects.
    - rafaelc 16y ago
      "particularly when it comes from people whose livelihood depends on sounding like they know what they're talking about." Maybe so. But it's also worth noting that guys like Chris Dixon from Hunch/Site Advisor (http://twitter.com/#!/cdixon/status/23788591968686080 http://twitter.com/#!/cdixon/status/23788591968686080) and Vinicius Vacanti from Yipit (http://twitter.com/#!/vacanti/status/23852873972457472 http://twitter.com/#!/vacanti/status/23852873972457472) liked the list, among others...
Aegean 16y ago
Lean or not, one big lesson I learned is not to implement a feature until somebody asks for it. This is a surprisingly difficult thing to do, if your mindset has been focused on building things for a long time. If you are not aiming for commercial success, usually building things not necessarily require validation. You can often build for experimentation or fun. After spending weeks on building and removing features, if I now catch myself building something, I ask the question, "who told me to do this?" and often refrain from doing it. One hidden power of not building is the simplicity that it brings. You have one less feature to maintain, and you probably save weeks of quality engineering time by not having that feature.
- veb 16y ago
  That's actually very clever advice. Thank you.
apsurd 16y ago
Stop Reading. Start Doing. Good god thats a long list. Ok ok, you should never stop reading and never stop learning but I just want to convey my firm stance of balancing that out with doing stuff. And that's exactly what came to my mind when I looked at this list. A more academic minded person might feel like he struck gold - "all I need to do is read these books and I can unlock the secret formula!" The good news is you won't have to read all those books. The bad news that secret formula doesn't exist. I get that there are certainly valid strategizes that improve your chances (customer development) specific to a given goal, but the key takeaway for me has always been that that the strategy is and will always work insofar as it pertains to your situation. I.e. everyone's situation is different and when it comes down to it, in the words of Russel Simmons you gotta "do you". (can't believe i know that quote)
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]

74 points by rafaelc 16y ago

The only lean thing about this fad is the name. Note the slow accumulation of received wisdom here, various MUST READ blog posts, books, MUST LISTEN podcasts, and now a Harvard MBA program. The first step to being lean is cutting out fat like this.

michaeldwp 16y ago
He's talking about the Lean Startup Methodology, not just being lean in general. Either way, don't think for a second that it's a good idea to avoid reading books and learning from other people's experiences via podcasts and blogs. That, in my humble opinion, would be a huge mistake. By taking the time to learn about the lean startup methodology, you save yourself the hassle of having to learn these things the hard way. And by "the hard way," I mean "through your own company." Yes, you do indeed have to read and/or listen to some podcasts, but you'll benefit in many ways that far outweigh the time you spend reading. One of the core principles of the lean startup is to learn from customers so that you can build a product that people actually want and are willing to pay for. It gives you ideas on how to do this. It also tells you to stay lean and be ready to pivot; to not be hard-nosed to press forward on your original path, because that may not be the best thing for the business. Does this sound like advice that you should be ignoring? The lean startup methodology isn't the only way to success, but it does seem to be helping people. And to "cut the fat" of learning of any sort (if you want to call it "fat") isn't a good thing. You should always try to learn from other people's experiences because it can save you lots of time and frustration.
- idlewords 16y ago
  The 'Lean Startup Methodology' is a management fad like any other. It combines obvious advice ("don't waste money", "avoid wishful thinking") with a large dose of folklore. I run a website that didn't make any money for four years, then unexpectedly took off. If I had been 'ready to pivot' after the initial failure, I would still be broke right now, and I would have no idea that I had even missed an opportunity. That doesn't mean that 'lean startup' principles are wrong. But they may not be all that right, either. I would urge people to make their own mistakes, and draw their own lessons, rather than listening to too much received wisdom, particularly when it comes from people whose livelihood depends on sounding like they know what they're talking about.
  - apsurd 16y ago
    FWIW your last point is an accurate claim. Note his about me: TOM EISENMANN Professor at Harvard Business School who studies lean startups, entrepreneurship, platforms, and network effects.
  - rafaelc 16y ago
    "particularly when it comes from people whose livelihood depends on sounding like they know what they're talking about." Maybe so. But it's also worth noting that guys like Chris Dixon from Hunch/Site Advisor (http://twitter.com/#!/cdixon/status/23788591968686080 http://twitter.com/#!/cdixon/status/23788591968686080) and Vinicius Vacanti from Yipit (http://twitter.com/#!/vacanti/status/23852873972457472 http://twitter.com/#!/vacanti/status/23852873972457472) liked the list, among others...

Aegean 16y ago

Lean or not, one big lesson I learned is not to implement a feature until somebody asks for it. This is a surprisingly difficult thing to do, if your mindset has been focused on building things for a long time. If you are not aiming for commercial success, usually building things not necessarily require validation. You can often build for experimentation or fun. After spending weeks on building and removing features, if I now catch myself building something, I ask the question, "who told me to do this?" and often refrain from doing it. One hidden power of not building is the simplicity that it brings. You have one less feature to maintain, and you probably save weeks of quality engineering time by not having that feature.

veb 16y ago
That's actually very clever advice. Thank you.

apsurd 16y ago

Stop Reading. Start Doing. Good god thats a long list. Ok ok, you should never stop reading and never stop learning but I just want to convey my firm stance of balancing that out with doing stuff. And that's exactly what came to my mind when I looked at this list. A more academic minded person might feel like he struck gold - "all I need to do is read these books and I can unlock the secret formula!" The good news is you won't have to read all those books. The bad news that secret formula doesn't exist. I get that there are certainly valid strategizes that improve your chances (customer development) specific to a given goal, but the key takeaway for me has always been that that the strategy is and will always work insofar as it pertains to your situation. I.e. everyone's situation is different and when it comes down to it, in the words of Russel Simmons you gotta "do you". (can't believe i know that quote)

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]