

Steve Jobs' obsession with secrecy and the "big-bang" - optiplex
http://www.edibleapple.com/steve-jobs-obsession-with-secrecy-and-the-big-bang/

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aero142
Some interesting thoughts.

The iPhone was far from complete when it was released. What they did release
was very polished. They are still iterating somewhat when they tacked on 3G,
the API, etc. The iPhone was also launching into a mature market, as was the
iPod. I think many of us knew our smartphones sucked and had laundry lists of
things that sucked about them. Apple's real gamble was that people would spend
large amounts of money on their phone. They still gambled, but I think the
need to make huge pivots and change everything was less likely.

Also, I think Apple has enough money where they can afford to have an
unsuccessful product, unlike startups. AppleTV hasn't taken off, and I think
Apple will eventually launch a major dud, and will have spent a lot of money
on it, but they can afford it.

Finally, Apple seems be really good at predicting what people will want. This
is rare.

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JacobAldridge
This certainly highlights the difference between a major corporation and most
start-ups.

When you can fund masses of inventory, have access to user-tests and product
trials, and already have a profile that can be leveraged through a big-bang,
Jobs and Apple have clearly demonstrated the success of that strategy.

When you don't already have a lazy $30M, on top of a customer base and media
world who know and love you, then you gotta release-early, release often. Make
sure you're building something that will sell, and if that means test sites,
low sales, and constant iteration then look around on this site to find the
demonstrated success of _that_ strategy.

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jodrellblank
> When you don't already have a lazy $30M

Apple has $30 _B_

( src: [http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2009/10/20/apple-is-
ch...](http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2009/10/20/apple-is-cheating-
you.aspx) )

~~~
JacobAldridge
That wasn't intended as a reference to Apple, it was meant as a generic amount
of disposable cash that a business might have at hand, and be able to risk
building inventory on a product they haven't announced or fully market tested
yet.

And I wouldn't describe Apple's $30B as 'lazy'.

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krmmalik
Not in entire agreement with this. This goes against the very grain of the
lean startup methodologies and the idea of being out of "stealth mode" as it
were.

I think both Apple, and Google have the luxury of a huge in-house user test
base which other companies do not, which means they cannot afford to create
something in-house and launch it and expect it to be an instant market fit.

Just my 2 cents.

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josh33
The principle of setting expectations low or not setting them at all
(officially) can apply to startups as well as large corporations. Startups
that fail often try to please too many people (web developer opens biz to
build more websites and applications only to realize that different markets
need different expertise, only to let people down, etc.).

