Discuss this article or ask me any questions you may have.
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In general, great article. Slight snark though:
How do you launch a product in a crowded market when you have no name recognition, no track record, no website, no ad budget, and no email list?
It sounds like your answer was to build a website, collect an email list and runs ads anyway?
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Love it! After failing many times, seems that the idea and the market you are in, it's the most important for bootstrappers, execution comes later when you need to scale.
The market is important because you need to be able to find customers quick and free. A market where there are many open forums, facebook groups, communities, bloggers, influencers is a must for bootstrappers(in my opinion), otherwise you will struggle with cold email, sales calls, ads, etc. A growing market with very very few competitors is a gold mine together with a great idea.
The idea is important because it determines the value the product brings to the customer and what issue it solves. Moreover, the idea can also tell very important things like, how quick it shows value, is it difficult to integrate the product in the user workflow, is it automated or it requires a lot of user interaction, etc
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thanks @crysper. yes having an active online market helps with research and testing for sure. and you don't know anything until someone actually pays :-) - progress over perfection!
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I'm constantly telling anybody that'll listen competition is good! Thanks for the validation!
Great article, thanks for sharing. @cmason Were you not afraid that someone was going to take your idea when you announced in the forums that you were building it? Do you suggest a maximum time out from having an MVP before you announce/gather beta testers?
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@gbyron yeah it's a fear - but being knocked off is inevitable. we have someone now who literally copy and pasted our code and is trying to compete. in the end, people won't stay customers because of our product alone. it will be because no other product owner will fight for their success and make sure they get results more than i will. seth godin has a good perspective on this that you might enjoy: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2017/10/the-pre-steal-panic-and-why-it-doesnt-matter.html
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Hey Chris!
Thanks a lot for sharing your insights. Right now I'm running the checklist against some project ideas I have! Hope at least one survives hahah.
Have a good one!
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sounds great! it can save you a lot of time. go get em!
In general, great article. Slight snark though:
It sounds like your answer was to build a website, collect an email list and runs ads anyway?
Love it! After failing many times, seems that the idea and the market you are in, it's the most important for bootstrappers, execution comes later when you need to scale.
The market is important because you need to be able to find customers quick and free. A market where there are many open forums, facebook groups, communities, bloggers, influencers is a must for bootstrappers(in my opinion), otherwise you will struggle with cold email, sales calls, ads, etc. A growing market with very very few competitors is a gold mine together with a great idea.
The idea is important because it determines the value the product brings to the customer and what issue it solves. Moreover, the idea can also tell very important things like, how quick it shows value, is it difficult to integrate the product in the user workflow, is it automated or it requires a lot of user interaction, etc
thanks @crysper. yes having an active online market helps with research and testing for sure. and you don't know anything until someone actually pays :-) - progress over perfection!
I'm constantly telling anybody that'll listen competition is good! Thanks for the validation!
@rlsharp3 you bet! appreciate your comment!
Great article, thanks for sharing. @cmason Were you not afraid that someone was going to take your idea when you announced in the forums that you were building it? Do you suggest a maximum time out from having an MVP before you announce/gather beta testers?
@gbyron yeah it's a fear - but being knocked off is inevitable. we have someone now who literally copy and pasted our code and is trying to compete. in the end, people won't stay customers because of our product alone. it will be because no other product owner will fight for their success and make sure they get results more than i will. seth godin has a good perspective on this that you might enjoy: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2017/10/the-pre-steal-panic-and-why-it-doesnt-matter.html
Hey Chris!
Thanks a lot for sharing your insights. Right now I'm running the checklist against some project ideas I have! Hope at least one survives hahah.
Have a good one!
sounds great! it can save you a lot of time. go get em!