How Bad Products Happen to Good Startups
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Charles Hudson discusses how bad products can happen to good startups. He identifies 4 common ways this occurs: releasing MVPs that are too minimal, focusing on the wrong metrics, letting expectations get too high, and failing to launch at all. The document provides advice on building regular product release rhythms, focusing on user flow rather than just launch, identifying the key metrics, and having conviction in core beliefs about the product.
How Bad Products Happen to Good Startups
- 1. How Bad Products Happen to Good Startups Charles Hudson SoftTech VC @chudson Friday, April 5, 13
- 2. About Me General Partner, SoftTech VC CEO and Co-Founder, Bionic Panda Games VP Biz Dev, Serious Business (Zynga) Biz Dev, Gaia Online Founder, Virtual Goods Summit (WEBM) Biz Dev, Google In-Q-Tel (CIA VC) Products Are Hard 2013 #PAH2013 @chudson Friday, April 5, 13
- 3. Bad Products Happen Nobody sets out to build (or launch) a bad product. Not every bad product launch is preventable; sometimes the market changes. There are some consistent patterns I've observed around bad product launches. Products Are Hard 2013 #PAH2013 @chudson Friday, April 5, 13
- 4. 4 Ways Bad Products Happen to Good People Friday, April 5, 13
- 5. #1 Too Much M in the MVP Never forget the real goal of an MVP - it should allow you to learn about your product and market. You won't learn much from launching a broken product - people won't use it. Speed matters, but it isn't everything. Products Are Hard 2013 #PAH2013 @chudson Friday, April 5, 13
- 6. Investors and MVPs Investors and outsiders are often poor judges of what your MVP should be. Investors often push companies to launch so you (and they) can get feedback on the product as quickly as possible. Launching a poor product too quickly can lead investors to lose faith in your product organization. Products Are Hard 2013 #PAH2013 @chudson Friday, April 5, 13
- 7. #2 Focus on Wrong Metrics Prior to launch, identify the metrics you think really matter for your product or service. On launch, you will get a lot of data about usage, not all of which actually matters. You can fool your investors and the press, but don't fool yourself. Products Are Hard 2013 #PAH2013 @chudson Friday, April 5, 13
- 8. Investors and Metrics Some of your investors will be enthralled by vanity metrics. Dont be surprised by that. Part of a founders job is to help investors understand the few numbers that really matter. Spend the time required to get alignment around what really drives the business. Products Are Hard 2013 #PAH2013 @chudson Friday, April 5, 13
- 9. #3 The Weight of Expectations Raising money and announcing your company to the press raises your public pro鍖le. A brighter spotlight increases the pressure to have a successful launch. Pivoting in public is hard and really ugly. Products Are Hard 2013 #PAH2013 @chudson Friday, April 5, 13
- 10. Managing Pre-Launch Expectations Keeping your team on an even keel as you head toward launch requires 鍖nesse. If launch is not going as planned, let your investors know sooner rather than later. Beware of fanning the hype 鍖ames too heavily in the press - it can come back to bite you. Products Are Hard 2013 #PAH2013 @chudson Friday, April 5, 13
- 11. #4 Failure to Launch Launching is a very, very scary thing for many companies. You can always make the product better - that's not a reason not to launch. If your gut is telling you that the product hasn't yet hit the mark, listen to your gut. Products Are Hard 2013 #PAH2013 @chudson Friday, April 5, 13
- 12. Dealing with Investors Few things undermine investor con鍖dence in product teams like a failure to launch a product. Do not let investors pressure you into launching product prematurely if you know the product isnt ready. If something about your products or the market has changed, communicate that early. Products Are Hard 2013 #PAH2013 @chudson Friday, April 5, 13
- 13. What Can Work (YMMV) Friday, April 5, 13
- 14. Build the Smallest Satisfying Experience What reasonable constraints can you put on your product to prove that it works? Constrained domain or use cases Constrained geography Constrained platform availability Products Are Hard 2013 #PAH2013 @chudson Friday, April 5, 13
- 15. Build Product Release Rhythm Launch is a singular event and one of several times you'll release product to the world. Build a product organization that releases product on a regular basis. Develop standards for what feels right for your company. Products Are Hard 2013 #PAH2013 @chudson Friday, April 5, 13
- 16. Obsess About the Flow, Not the Launch Launch is a singular event - focus on the total product experience: Distribution and Discovery Registration Activation Usage Re-engagement Monetization Products Are Hard 2013 #PAH2013 @chudson Friday, April 5, 13
- 17. Only a Few Stats Really Matter How frequently should your active users use your product? What's your conversion / activation funnel? How important is viral / network distribution for success in your category? What small set of metrics will give you a sense of overall product health? Products Are Hard 2013 #PAH2013 @chudson Friday, April 5, 13
- 18. Have Conviction About Your Core Beliefs Identify the core beliefs you have about your product or market and stick to them. Not everything worth doing lends itself to testing or analytics. Make sure you work with investors who share your core beliefs around your product. Products Are Hard 2013 #PAH2013 @chudson Friday, April 5, 13