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"Time spend on early revenue is a distraction" This sentiment has been surfacing here more and more lately it seems, and frankly, I find it sickening. Compani

by timjahn 13y ago

"Time spend on early revenue is a distraction" This sentiment has been surfacing here more and more lately it seems, and frankly, I find it sickening. Companies make money. Maybe I'm crazy, but the idea of constantly seeking funding for my company instead of simply asking my customers to pay me just seems absolutely ludicrous.

mindcrime 13y ago
Agreed. In fact, I don't think there is anything more important to focus on in a startup than "what is the most impactful thing I could do right now, vis-a-vis generating revenue". Of course, that might lead you to wonder "Then WTF are you doing on here right now?" Well, simply, I'm stuck at my $DAYJOB right now and don't have anything productive to do, but it would be awkward to be working on my project from here. But in terms of time I spend on the startup, I'm trying very hard right now to stop looking so much at "big picture" stuff, narrow the vision, reign in my ambitions (for now) and focus on "what will get us to revenue fastest?" Maybe I'm crazy, but the idea of constantly seeking funding for my company instead of simply asking my customers to pay me just seems absolutely ludicrous. FWIW, I agree 100%
nlh 13y ago
Totally agreed with your sentiment. The reality the tech industry is facing at the moment is this, however -- there are three things people are building these days: 1. Businesses. 2. Products. 3. Features. You're absolutely right. If your goal is to build a business - you should be focused on making money and keeping the business viable. Long term, businesses can and will be self-sustaining. Products, however, don't need to be. Lots of people are building products these days and making a boatload of money selling them to businesses. There's nothing wrong with it - it seems, at times, to be a very good way of making money. What makes you (and me) sick is when people mix up what's what. So we should amend..."Time spent on early revenue is a distraction"...if your goal is to build a great product. (Features are what you think they are - just products with too narrow a focus to stand by themselves.)
- timjahn 13y ago
  This is the most eloquent way of putting this I've seen. Well said, my friend.
- wpietri 13y ago
  I agree 100% with this when your user is your customer. And I especially agree there are lot of people who confuse products and businesses. But there are companies where the user is the product. In that case, early monetization can substantially harm your goal of creating a valuable asset. All of the companies I listed are good examples of that. Unfortunately, their popularity makes entrepreneurs think their products can also be businesses. The obvious failure is people who just don't think about revenue. The subtle failure is people who say, "Oh, we'll run ads!" without every understanding what that means. I know people who have built ad-supported businesses, and at this point it's an extremely challenging space.
wpietri 13y ago
It really depends on the kind of business. I agree generally, but these network-effect free-to-use companies are an exception. If your business model is "sell user eyeballs", then you have to be really large to have a real business. And the eyeball-selling market is pretty well-understood at this point, so it's not like "companies will buy ads against demographic X" is not a hypothesis you need to test by trying it.

by timjahn 13y ago

mindcrime 13y ago

Agreed. In fact, I don't think there is anything more important to focus on in a startup than "what is the most impactful thing I could do right now, vis-a-vis generating revenue". Of course, that might lead you to wonder "Then WTF are you doing on here right now?" Well, simply, I'm stuck at my $DAYJOB right now and don't have anything productive to do, but it would be awkward to be working on my project from here. But in terms of time I spend on the startup, I'm trying very hard right now to stop looking so much at "big picture" stuff, narrow the vision, reign in my ambitions (for now) and focus on "what will get us to revenue fastest?" Maybe I'm crazy, but the idea of constantly seeking funding for my company instead of simply asking my customers to pay me just seems absolutely ludicrous. FWIW, I agree 100%

nlh 13y ago

Totally agreed with your sentiment. The reality the tech industry is facing at the moment is this, however -- there are three things people are building these days: 1. Businesses. 2. Products. 3. Features. You're absolutely right. If your goal is to build a business - you should be focused on making money and keeping the business viable. Long term, businesses can and will be self-sustaining. Products, however, don't need to be. Lots of people are building products these days and making a boatload of money selling them to businesses. There's nothing wrong with it - it seems, at times, to be a very good way of making money. What makes you (and me) sick is when people mix up what's what. So we should amend..."Time spent on early revenue is a distraction"...if your goal is to build a great product. (Features are what you think they are - just products with too narrow a focus to stand by themselves.)

timjahn 13y ago
This is the most eloquent way of putting this I've seen. Well said, my friend.
wpietri 13y ago
I agree 100% with this when your user is your customer. And I especially agree there are lot of people who confuse products and businesses. But there are companies where the user is the product. In that case, early monetization can substantially harm your goal of creating a valuable asset. All of the companies I listed are good examples of that. Unfortunately, their popularity makes entrepreneurs think their products can also be businesses. The obvious failure is people who just don't think about revenue. The subtle failure is people who say, "Oh, we'll run ads!" without every understanding what that means. I know people who have built ad-supported businesses, and at this point it's an extremely challenging space.

wpietri 13y ago

It really depends on the kind of business. I agree generally, but these network-effect free-to-use companies are an exception. If your business model is "sell user eyeballs", then you have to be really large to have a real business. And the eyeball-selling market is pretty well-understood at this point, so it's not like "companies will buy ads against demographic X" is not a hypothesis you need to test by trying it.