Measurement is important, but the value proposition of your product has to come first
(at minute 42:38)
Founder Lesson
My initial conversations with founders often go like this...
Founder: Here’s my startup idea…won’t it be amazing what we can do when we have 10,000 users?
Me: Since you haven’t launched yet, I’d encourage you to spend as much time as possible measuring whether or not there’s demand for what you plan to launch.
What I often forget to mention in this conversation is that there’s something even before measuring early customer demand and it’s the most important facet of any startup...
What’s your vision for the value that your product is going to give to your customers?
The judgement necessary to know that there's a real problem and your solution is the right one is incredibly difficult and rare.
The best founders I know absolutely gush about the problem that they are solving for their customers. 75% of the time it’s because they’ve been those customers themselves, but either way it’s tough to get them to stop describing the problem and their unique solution (which is great)!
In this podcast/video, the CEO of LinkedIn describes how he puts customer value proposition before measurement.
Get Right to the Lesson
I’d recommend listening to the entire thing, but to get right to the point go to minute 42:38 of this podcast/video.
Thanks to these folks for helping us all learn faster
Jeff Weiner (@jeffweiner), CEO of LinkedIn (@LinkedIn)
This Week In Startups (@TWistartups )
Jason Calacanis (@jason)
Jacqui Deegan (@jacqKD)
Jacob Beemer (@jacobbeemer)
Please let me and others know what you think about this topic
Email me privately at dave@switchyards.com or let's discuss publicly at @davempayne.
The best startup advice from experienced founders...one real-world lesson at a time.
