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Summary - (1) make money fast, (2) say no to new features unless necessary, (3) dominate small core markets, then expand, (4) really listen to feedback, (5) rea
by xianshou 13y ago
Summary - (1) make money fast, (2) say no to new features unless necessary, (3) dominate small core markets, then expand, (4) really listen to feedback, (5) really listen to your team, (6) trust your users.
Every time I see one of these letters, it saddens me to think how strongly the current SV model pushes growth before value. You might say it's best for VCs but not for founders, but does even the VC see the upside they might have gotten with more patience?
What these stories seem to say...Groupon isn't a deviation; it's the most successful incarnation of a broken and widely promoted growth model whose typical end state is this.
- zaidf 13y agoGroupon's created a ton of actual value with their product. Groupon's issues have less to do with value delivered and more to do with competition and their stock being over-valued.
- comrade_ogilvy 13y agoAgreed. Inside of that (formerly) $16 billion company is a really wonderful $2 billion company fighting to get out.
- GVIrish 13y agoThe principle problem with Groupon wasn't the competition or the stock being overvalued. Groupon's main problem is that their acquisition costs were so high that they couldn't make money. Competition only became a drag on them when users began to get fatigued with daily deals. But even if users didn't get tired of daily deals, their business model simply wasn't on the path to profitability.
- zaidf 13y agoCPA is closely tied to competition.
- wasd 13y agoIts the same story but when you're knee deep, its easy to forget the fundamentals.