A few months ago, I decided to try a new sushi restaurant that’s about 2 minutes from my house. It’s called Tako Sushi & Ramen. Although Halifax, Nova Scotia sits right on the ocean, the city isn’t loaded with awesome sushi places. (Side note: It’s also lacking in really amazing fish & chips places, which […]
You Suck! And How to Handle Other Negative Feedback
Negative feedback hurts. It’s easy to take personally and get offended. It’s easy to dismiss too. But negative feedback is a lot better than no feedback at all. The worst thing for a startup -at any stage- is crickets. … … … … … … … … … … … … … … Ugh. Silence […]
One Customer Doesn’t Make a Market
These days, most entrepreneurs I talk to understand the importance of speaking with customers before building a full-blown product. They’re getting out of the building. And that’s great. A few years ago it wasn’t like that at all. But unfortunately, I often speak with entrepreneurs that have only talked to one or two customers. That’s […]
Gaps in the Market
Startup founders often say to me, “We’re going ahead with this new startup … we’ve identified a gap in the market!” It’s a common refrain explaining why someone is starting a business, and how the startup is positioned against competition. There’s a gap in the market. The question to ask at that point is simple: […]
Pick Your Early Beta Customers Very Carefully
The goal of a startup is to find a sustainable, repeatable and scalable business model. And so much of a startup’s success is dependent on the early “beta period” where you provide access (to your product) to a limited group of prospects. If the beta period is a complete flop (no one uses the product, […]
Don’t Sell Technology, Sell Magic
Tech startups aren’t in the technology business. They’re in the magic business. I’m not talking about sleight of hand tricks, fooling people with funky props, or pretending to saw off someone’s head. I’m talking about providing magical experiences to customers. Startups need to sell magic. Most customers don’t understand the technology that exists behind the […]
Being Responsive is Critical for Successful Customer Development
Most customers tolerate bugs. Most customers tolerate products with missing features that they need (or think they need!) Most customers tolerate the quirks and hiccups that come with new technology and software. This is true of early adopters, but it’s even true to some degree, of late adopters. Customers can be quite forgiving. But what […]
Defining Success
The Lean Startup model is all about running experiments, learning and making informed decisions on what to do next. I’m clearly a believer in the model, but there are some parts of it that are quite nuanced and challenging to figure out. One of those is with respect to experimental design. A good experiment needs […]
Customer Validation Really Starts with In-Person Interviews
When you have a startup idea, the first instinct is to pitch it to friends and colleagues. This can be somewhat helpful, because they may provide insight that you hadn’t thought of yet, or quickly validate some of your concerns based on their questions. They may be familiar with a competitor worth looking at, or […]
How To Run a Business Model Hackathon
A tech hackathon is typically a half-day to two-day event where teams get together and build a product in a very short period of time. They’re always fun and interesting, often organized around specific platforms (like Foursquare), and a great way to meet new people, get into a community and test your chops. At Year […]
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