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Beta or Rel 1.0? Sick of Products That Don’t Work.

Posted on August 17, 2005 ·

(Updates at bottom)
Guerilla Product Marketing Principles from Charlie Wood’s Moonwatcher (via Paul Kedrosky’s Infectious Greed):

“Version 1 of a product should crawl. This means it should do the bare minimum to be recognizable as what it’s intended to be. If it’s supposed to be a foo, and someone could look at version 1 and say, “That’s a foo,” you’re done. Ship it.

Version 2 should walk. This is where you add enough functionality that the product is useful in day-to-day life. This is not the time for polish. Basically, it’s just adding the things that most people insisted should have been in version 1, because without them, they said, the product is completely useless. They were wrong then, but they’re right now.

Version 3 should run. This is where the product hits its stride. What it does it should do well. It should be comfortable to use. It should be strong, polished, and effective.

Version 4 should fly. This is where the, “Oh man, wouldn’t it be awesome if…” features get added. This is where you start implementing things that aren’t necessarily useful now, but have a lot of possibility. “

I’m sorry, I just don’t buy it. The product, that is.   Having been in cash-strapped startups myself, I understand the need to hit the market fast, and start generating revenue… but I am a Customer, too, and as such am sick of non-working products.  It’s frustrating to waste time installing, learning the damn thing when it’s really just a Beta!  Give it to someone who signed up as Beta-tester, not to me, a Customer.

“Give me what I want or I am out of here” – says Seth Godin.  In our case it means: Uninstall, don’t look back until 2 releases later.  Quite a way to build a happy customer base.

Update (8/31):  “When a Beta Isn’t Enough” by David Beisel is worth reading.

Update (11/20) : “Web 2.0: Web of Beta”

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Trouble Cooking for the GYM

Posted on August 5, 2005 ·

Jeff Clavier ponders about startups’ hiring difficulties in the face of competition from the “Big 3”: Talent grabbing war at the GYM

“Did you also have this feeling that the “Big 3” (Google, Yahoo and Microsoft – let’s refer to them as the GYM) were not only deploying new features on an accelerated “tit for tat” basis, but they are also on a wide ranging talent grab ? I bet you did…”

Well, it would appear there’s one talent in even shorter supply then engineering, and this one is not even high-tech.  Google is having trouble filling two Executive Chef positions.   It must be a VIP position, a Google VP heads up the Selection Committee.

 “It’s been a challenge to get someone who has the scale and quality (to live up to the company’s expectations),” said Susan Wojcicki, a Google vice president on the hiring committee. “
(LA Times via SFGate)

 Google plans to invite the top applicants for a cook-off, preparing meals for several dozen members of a tasting committee that probably will include co- founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page.

I’ll be happy to volunteer my services on the Tasting Committee

 
Update (8/5): I thought it might be appropriate  to link to a Google Lunch Menu.  (Baileys Irish Cream Cheesecake.. ahh).  Notice where it  is posted: on Google’s Job Opportunities! 🙂

Update (8/15): (G)oops, now they can’t even throw a party! 🙂

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Filed Under: Bay Area, Business, Humor, Misc, Software, Startups ·
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Work Life Balance

Posted on July 26, 2005 ·
I’ve read several posts on Work Life Balance recently by Fred Wilson,  Brad Feld and Steve Shu.  What a co-incidence that I received a relevant email today… it’s one of those chain-mails, I don’t even know who to credit as original author, but it’s good enough that I felt compelled to share here.
 
The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee . .

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor as the laughter subsided, “I want you to
recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the
important things–God, your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions–and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else–the small stuff.”

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you. “Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first–the things that really matter. Set your priorities.
The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee
represented. The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

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VC Breakfast Club

Posted on July 1, 2005 ·

I am volunteering at SVASE, the Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs, and amongst others I sometimes moderate our VC Breakfast Club sessions. 

 
It’s an informal round-table where up to 10 entrepreneurs get to deliver a pitch, then answer questions and get critiqued by a VC Partner.    We’ve had VC’s from Draper Fisher, Hummer Winblad, Kleiner Perkins, Mayfield, Mohr Davidow, Emergence Capital …etc.
 
I think it’s an incredible opportunity for Entrepreneurs, most of who would probably have a hard time getting through the door to a mainstream VC.   However,  recently I’ve seen quite a few entrepreneurs “blow it”.
 
Yes, it’s a pressure-free environment, with no Powerpoint presentations, Business Plans…etc –  just casual conversation, but for God’s sake it does not mean Entrepreneurs should come unprepared!
 
Please:
  •  Don’t just talk freely about what you would like to do, or even worse, spend all your time describing the problem, without addressing what your solution is
  •  Follow a structure, and don’t forget “small things” like the Team, Product, Market..etc, and it would not hurt to mention how much you are looking for, and how you would use the funds.
  •  Write down and practice your pitch, and please be aware that whatever your practice time was, when you are on the spot, you will likely take twice as long to deliver your story.
 
Thanks for listening … and I hope we’ll have more productive sessions in the future
 
 

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Filed Under: Bay Area, Business, Social Networking, Startups ·
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CNET says Social Networking doesn’t work ????

Posted on June 5, 2005 ·

The Buzz Report: Five reasons social networking doesn’t work – CNET.com:

By Molly Wood, section editor, CNET.com
Thursday, June 2, 2005

The word on the street lately is that social networking is in trouble…” etc…etc..

Then she goes on saying how Friendster is in trouble, which is probably true, but I beg to differ as to her general conclusion. The more focused, targeted sites do and will work.

LinkedIn has a business focus, the invitation-only approach actually enhances the value of the network for business use. I received several calls from headhunters who found me there, and who all claim they no longer go to Monster and the likes, they use LinkedIn as the primary source to find candidates. LinkedIn is clearly for the business crowd, and I think it makes sense to keep your business and social life separate…not doing so is what hurt Ryze, the early player in this game.

As for “finding the money” they started to charge for job postings, and plan several other premimum services. I am not worried about LinkedIn’s survival as the primary business networking site. Hm … what did I just say? Perhaps that’s a differentiator, i.e. “business networking”vs. “social networking” (?)

Then again, there is the phenomenal success of Thefacebookwith a completely different business model: they are a classic media company, reveneue comes solely from advertising, all functions are free. Why are they successful? Very focused on a segment of the population (college students), and they basically map communities that already exist in individual campuses.

Bottom line: the CNET article is probably right, generalist sites without a particular focus will die; after the initial spike in signups users realize there’s not much to do there –  but focused, targeted sites that offer added value are here to stay.

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