building great products #producthuntto
DESCRIPTION
Quick presentation at #ProductHuntTO about building great products and a bit on Product Hunt itself. Includes a bit about Lean Analytics, investing, product management and more.TRANSCRIPT
More wins than losses
1996 1998 2001 2006 2007 2010 2011
1st startupBig pivot
The “I got too comfy” years
Started bloggingStandout Jobs
Failed
Year One LabsGoInstant
$0
2012 2014
Salesforce
VarageSale
http://leananalyticsbook.com
• San Francisco • Omaha • Barcelona • London • Amsterdam • Memphis • Vancouver • Las Vegas • and more...
The fun way to buy and sell in a trusted local community
• Fast growing • 40+ people • Making a difference • Hiring actively
http://varagesale.com/work_with_us
So let’s talk about Product Hunt…
I was an early adopter (#20)
• Get to the point!• FOMO!• Ask specific questions
• Network early!• Appeal to egos!• Create value for others
✓Found the right early adopters !
✓Had a clear & narrow value proposition !
✓Found a real need (solved a real problem) !
✓Built an MVP — but delivered on the value promised
What did Product Hunt do well?
Product Hunt = SF?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hubertyu/14102205739/
How to use Product Hunt
• Product Hunt is not a launch strategy !• Don’t spam !• Don’t randomly ask people to submit for you !• Engage as a founder — get into the comments !• There’s a long tail of votes (but don’t know if
it drives value)
Dash Hudson Product Hunt Case Study
• ~1,000 visitors on day 1!!• ~2% conversion!!• “Bit of buzz, mostly inside
the echo chamber”
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lisacee/5420415856/
A few thoughts on building great
products
Do things in order
Lean Analytics Stages “Gates” needed to move forward
Empathy
Stickiness
Virality
Revenue
Scale
Gro
wth
Rat
e
You’ve found a real, poorly-met need that a reachable market faces.
You’ve figured out how to solve the problem in a way they will adopt, keep using and pay for.
The users and features fuel growth organically and artificially.
You’ve found a sustainable, scalable business with the right margins in a healthy ecosystem.
Do things in order
Lean Analytics Stages “Gates” needed to move forward
Empathy
Stickiness
Virality
Revenue
Scale
Gro
wth
Rat
e
You’ve found a real, poorly-met need that a reachable market faces.
You’ve figured out how to solve the problem in a way they will adopt, keep using and pay for.
The users and features fuel growth organically and artificially.
You’ve found a sustainable, scalable business with the right margins in a healthy ecosystem.
Most startups fail here
Do things in order
Lean Analytics Stages “Gates” needed to move forward
Empathy
Stickiness
Virality
Revenue
Scale
Gro
wth
Rat
e
You’ve found a real, poorly-met need that a reachable market faces.
You’ve figured out how to solve the problem in a way they will adopt, keep using and pay for.
The users and features fuel growth organically and artificially.
You’ve found a sustainable, scalable business with the right margins in a healthy ecosystem.
Most people don’t really do this
https://www.flickr.com/photos/infomastern/14519782386
Small cycles of behaviour
• A—>B—>C • Reward & Delight users • Addictive
Understand your best users
• Identify your “good” users • What makes them special? • Find more “good” users
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tiarescott/69821764/in/
Never stop talking to users
• Quantitative Data = What • Qualitative Data = Why
Be deliberate
• The “One feature away” lie • Iterate and test, but don’t
panic
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pallotron/2206080648/
Resourceshttp://www.instigatorblog.com/tiny-addictive-new-behaviors/2013/07/02/ !http://www.amazon.com/Hooked-Guide-Building-Habit-Forming-Products/dp/1494277530 !http://www.instigatorblog.com/tiny-addictive-new-behaviors/2013/07/02/ !http://www.instigatorblog.com/your-best-users/2014/06/20/ !https://medium.com/@noah_weiss/50-articles-and-books-that-will-make-you-a-great-product-manager-aad5babee2f7 !http://www.defmacro.org/2013/09/26/products.html !https://blog.bufferapp.com/people-dont-buy-products-they-buy-better-versions-of-themselves
Thank you!
• Ben Yoskovitz • @byosko • [email protected] • http://instigatorblog.com • http://leananalyticsbook.com