Saw this today… snapshot:
1. Throw out the least necessary person at the table.
2. Walk out of the meeting if it lasts more than 30 minutes.
3. Do something productive today to make up for the time you spent here.
Not particularly my style, but a perspective that can certainly help me get better…
Our startup has used the Lean Startup process (my #3 recommended book for entrepreneurs by Eric Reis). Before we raised a single dollar of funding, we had run 5 different Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) that were designed to inform us of the problem that exists in our space and how to solve it. We ran a concierge service where we worked directly with consumers to solve a problem for them manually, we ran search arbitrage tests to understand the economics of consumer acquisition and inform our engine of growth, and built small products that made us smarter about what to build.
As we better understood the problem in front of us and were more confident in the path we should take, we then made deeper (one could argue more risky) investments. Over the past few months, we have spent material cycles on our data architecture and services so that they are set to scale. If we hadn’t validated our business opportunity and solution through the Lean process, there is no doubt that making these investments would have been a mistake – if we have missed the mark, it is possible that much of this spend would have been for naught.
Being Lean helped us get to a place of confidence where we could spend these few months and make some well-informed bets in order to avoid expensive (in both money and particularly time) re-engineering. Once we have launched our products and shift our attention toward consumer acquisition and growth, it will be very important for us to be able to test frequently, react quickly, and show constant improvement for our customers. Re-engineering during this phase is extremely painful (trust me… I know from my first business where we had to re-engineer during growth phases not once but twice).
Many would argue that in effect pausing the pace of learning to make these investments is counter to operating Lean. One could certainly argue that skipping this architecture investment and getting our core products out faster would accelerate our learning and reduce risk. Over the last 6 months, I’ve been able to internalize what it means to be a “Lean” organization and to me it is about minimizing waste (not minimizing risk). The maximum amount of waste can occur if you are in the wrong space, don’t understand the problem, and haven’t produced a solution that customers will want. Countless companies have built a product they think is going to work, make deep investments in case it works, miss the mark, and have wasted massive time and resources. However, waste can also occur if you have to do a major re-architecture while in the middle of the race, build products that you can’t iterate quickly, or have solutions that don’t scale leaving a poor consumer experience right when you need a great one.
Our team has learned what we believe it is to be Lean: build quickly and watch how customers use products to nail the required learning to make the right decisions… and then, make the right-sized investments to build the core solutions correctly (in as short a path as possible that will scale and doesn’t require near-term re-engineering). To us, it is about balance and through balance, minimizing waste.
Thank you to our beta users and those that have given us feedback thus far! We are excited for a few months from now when we will come out of stealth and begin to share what we are doing with the world.
A brief update (without giving too much away) for those that are interested: We closed a very successful round of financing from top angel investors in Seattle and the Bay Area and have continued to make excellent progress as a team. We are currently at 17 people and remain heads-down, focused on building some great solutions that can help solve real problems.
We are trying to build a great company — something that is enduring, meaningful, and creates real value for our customers and partners. And, truth be told, in order to pull this off, we’re going to need help…
Thanks for checking in and thanks in advance for helping however you can when we’re ready to get go!
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Update: I’ve been asked by a number of people… we raised a $6M seed round from a great group of angel investors. We’ll share more (company name, investors, product, etc) when we’re out of stealth.
I ran across a quote from Chamath Palihapitiya, a former VP at Facebook and the founding partner at The Social+Capital Partnership venture fund.
It is a note Chamath sent out to the FB team as he was departing. It is the truth. In my mind, it’s right on with the culture I’m trying to build and highlights the pitfalls that kill companies that could have been great.
its easy to get distracted. everyone thinks we are much better than we actually are. be humble and honest about the fact that more is left to do than has already been done. keep moving quickly and don’t get bogged down in the things that don’t matter.
we risk becoming like everyone else. the only chance we have is the discipline and resolve of the silent majority who needs to and MUST become more vocal as the company gets bigger. fight for the culture the way it should be…not the way it was or the way its becoming.
be afraid of the company you don’t know. there is someone out there lurking with a small idea that will grow into a giant. don’t ignore that which you don’t immediately understand and keep pushing to evolve faster than what people expect. it can create unease at times but its our only path to long term relevance.
speak the truth. its too easy to “manage” – upwards, sideways, downwards and be rewarded for it. this is death. speak candidly especially when it means it won’t be well received. respect the person but don’t let bad ideas go unchallenged.
their is more valor in failure than success. success is hard to define and hard to isolate root causes when it happens. its rare to learn much of anything from success except to conflate luck and skill, but you learn tons in failure. take enough risks that you continue to fail…and celebrate those so that it becomes the battle scars you talk about when you do eventually succeed.
don’t be a douchebag. this is pretty self-explanatory but its not about the right to ripstik or the quality of the candy bars in the office. its about winning. everything else comes second….a distant second. and the perceived correlation between winning and the rest is only in your mind. interestingly so is the resolve and focus to win.
We are building our family home. It’s a lot of work, but a fantastic adventure. The process is fascinating and I’ve learned a great deal:
Priceline’s Name Your Own Price feature works. I require my teams to use this when booking hotels. Every single time I travel to San Diego (and it has been a lot over the years) I stay at a solid 3 star hotel for $60 per night. The last time in San Diego with my family, we stayed in a beautiful 4 star hotel for $90 per night. The last time in New York, I stayed in a great 4 star place in the middle of the city for $130 per night.
Be frugal!
It’s been quite the week for my beloved Seahawks. I was at the Monday Night Football game and let me just say that from my seats in the 300’s, it clearly looked like a catch. :)
The way Pete Carroll responded to a difficult leadership situation inspired thoughts about how his approach can be applied to a startup and to leading a company. There is a lot to like:
“Do it better than it has ever been done before”: Pete inspires his team and his program to want to do it better than ever before. He believes this at his core. The idea of evaluating, optimizing, and maximizing production out of every area is right on and something that I can certainly do a better job of. Once a year, break down every aspect of operations from cleaning service to Board Meetings and evaluate how it can be done better than anyone has before.
“Be different”: The Seahawks leadership has specifically looked for players with unique skills and traits and put them in a position that takes full advantage of their strength and minimizes their weakness. Through this, they have a collection of players that others didn’t value as highly and these players fit together perform at a very high level. With the market for technical talent as competitive as it is, part of the challenge for a successful startup and technology company is to think outside of the box as to the right type of people and skills to hire. With a specific amount of salary available, it is critical to use those dollars to achieve maximum output – what are the people and skills that are undervalued, but can add tremendous value when put together?
“Compete”: Competition is about setting up an environment where people are driven to perform to their maximum ability. Doing this while retaining team camaraderie and the right spirit of an organization is difficult. I believe Pete has done an excellent job of communicating the purpose of internal competition – to make each player better. The detailed evaluation and grading of game and practice tape, awareness of this information, and comparison between players, naturally creates a meritocracy. Pete is matter-of-fact that if there is another player available that will improve the team, it is his responsibility to make a change in order to make the team as competitive as possible. My learning: set up an environment that requires everyone to up their game each day, use data and transparency to show everyone how they are performing, and be very clear in communication that it is my responsibility to use our limited number of positions and budget to have the very best people in the company… it’s their responsibility to make sure they are the best.
Go Seahawks!
- ME
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PS: We are making great strides with the new startup, hence the delay since my last post. We are wrapping up our financing on Monday, but as we continue to operate in stealth mode, we are going to forgo any fun announcements or details. I look forward to asking for your support at the right time in the future when we’re ready… thanks in advance!
PPS: We still need more inside sales representatives in Seattle, WA. We will also be hiring 1 or 2 outside sales reps in certain top 10 cities across the country to test and measure the ROI vs an inside approach. If you know anyone, send them my way!
I am frequently asked what the best books are for someone who wants to start or scale a business. Here is my stack-ranked Top 7 Best Books for Entrepreneurs – each has made a tangible impact on my day-to-day activities and career.
Good to Great – Collins is the man.
Built to Last – Collins is still the man.
The Lean Startup – A new entrant for me, but jumps all of the way up to #3 on the list. A solid book that can be put into practice immediately. The core concept for me: how to minimize the massive amounts of waste that is typically created in an environment of uncertainty (such as with a startup).
Venture Deals – If you are raising money, thinking about raising money, or are interested in the subject, read this.
Getting to Yes – You negotiate every day whether you know it or not… one of the most important skills to understand.
Founders at Work – A fun read, telling the story of many different startups through interviews with the founder. It’s helpful to know that every business, even the great ones, had the funny stories and impossible challenges, and yet persevered.
Crossing the Chasm – A solid book to help form thinking around strategy, marketing, and what markets to attack. Not always a page turner, but many concepts that resonate and stick… and are put into use.
Some great books that didn’t make the cut… Where did I go wrong and what would you advocate making the top 7 list? On my nightstand now are Thinking, Fast and Slow and Social Business By Design. I’ll let you know if they’re worth the recommendation.
