4 ms·

We perfected our simple first product, won the market, and have nothing to do.

21 points by jonsteinberg 17y ago

raheemm 17y ago
That title is completely misleading - I actually was looking forward to reading about the market they had perfected for and how long it took them.
- dolinsky 17y ago
  Agreed, and considering the post was added by the author of the linked article, it's not a huge stretch to suggest he knowingly did so.
  - nkohari 17y ago
    Still, an interesting article nonetheless.
enoren 17y ago
"I also agree with this tweet from Dustin Curtis: ”I have never heard an entrepreneur say ‘I wish I had launched my product later.’”" I am sure Cuil would disagree with this, however their problem was more mass marketing too early and having too big of an audience for their effectively Alpha release.
- anigbrowl 17y ago
  There's a ton of products that failed because the markt wasn't ready for them. Segway, anyone?
  - a-priori 17y ago
    There's a subtle but important difference between "the market isn't ready" and "there is no market".
  - InclinedPlane 17y ago
    Yes, the market wasn't ready for a scooter that costs as much as a used car, has no storage capacity, barely has enough range for a short commute, and can only be used on sidewalks. For the cost of a segway I could buy a racing bicycle made entirely out of carbon fiber. Or, for half the price of a segway I could buy a very high quality commuter bike and a motorized scooter that I could drive on the road, I'd have more options, be able to travel faster and farther (with either the bike or the scooter), be able to carry things, get some exercise, and still have enough cash left over for a 40 inch 1080p LCD. Segways never made sense as a practical means of transportation.
- petewarden 17y ago
  > I am sure Cuil would disagree with this That assumes that a later release of Cuil would have done any better. My assumption is that an even buggier release much earlier would have indicated that there was no market for what they were offering, and saved their investors $x million dollars. Certainly whatever improvements they've done haven't moved the needle on their visitors: http://siteanalytics.compete.com/cuil.com/ http://siteanalytics.compete.com/cuil.com/ If it was a case that the bugginess of the alpha put people off, you'd expect an initial spike, then a slump, then a rising slope as new visitors stuck with the improved post-alpha product. Instead it's just been a downward slope.
swombat 17y ago
Interesting article, but seems to really over-simplify things. There are many reasons to diversify your product portfolio. I agree that most of them don't apply to an early start-up, but the fact that it takes a quasi-infinite amount of time to perfect even just one product should not be a reason to ignore all other products. Diversification can become a valid strategy for companies once they reach a certain size.

21 points by jonsteinberg 17y ago

That title is completely misleading - I actually was looking forward to reading about the market they had perfected for and how long it took them.

dolinsky 17y ago
Agreed, and considering the post was added by the author of the linked article, it's not a huge stretch to suggest he knowingly did so.
- nkohari 17y ago
  Still, an interesting article nonetheless.

enoren 17y ago

"I also agree with this tweet from Dustin Curtis: ”I have never heard an entrepreneur say ‘I wish I had launched my product later.’”" I am sure Cuil would disagree with this, however their problem was more mass marketing too early and having too big of an audience for their effectively Alpha release.

anigbrowl 17y ago
There's a ton of products that failed because the markt wasn't ready for them. Segway, anyone?
- a-priori 17y ago
  There's a subtle but important difference between "the market isn't ready" and "there is no market".
- InclinedPlane 17y ago
  Yes, the market wasn't ready for a scooter that costs as much as a used car, has no storage capacity, barely has enough range for a short commute, and can only be used on sidewalks. For the cost of a segway I could buy a racing bicycle made entirely out of carbon fiber. Or, for half the price of a segway I could buy a very high quality commuter bike and a motorized scooter that I could drive on the road, I'd have more options, be able to travel faster and farther (with either the bike or the scooter), be able to carry things, get some exercise, and still have enough cash left over for a 40 inch 1080p LCD. Segways never made sense as a practical means of transportation.
petewarden 17y ago
> I am sure Cuil would disagree with this That assumes that a later release of Cuil would have done any better. My assumption is that an even buggier release much earlier would have indicated that there was no market for what they were offering, and saved their investors $x million dollars. Certainly whatever improvements they've done haven't moved the needle on their visitors: http://siteanalytics.compete.com/cuil.com/ http://siteanalytics.compete.com/cuil.com/ If it was a case that the bugginess of the alpha put people off, you'd expect an initial spike, then a slump, then a rising slope as new visitors stuck with the improved post-alpha product. Instead it's just been a downward slope.

swombat 17y ago

Interesting article, but seems to really over-simplify things. There are many reasons to diversify your product portfolio. I agree that most of them don't apply to an early start-up, but the fact that it takes a quasi-infinite amount of time to perfect even just one product should not be a reason to ignore all other products. Diversification can become a valid strategy for companies once they reach a certain size.