

How to Become a Must-Have - lesterbuck
http://smartfaststartup.com/2011/09/20/how-to-become-a-must-have/

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uurayan
This is actually a very solid insight, the value of the problem you're solving
with your app can be determined by the amount of time someone will complain to
you about it, especially busy people.

Sound so simple but its amazing how many "entrepreneurs" are terrified of
talking to potential customers and end up wasting a ton of tie developing
things nobody wants.

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SkiAlta
Agree. This is a fresh and disruptive approach to solving one of the biggest
problems entrepreneurs face, but are afraid to ask or don't know how to ask.
Am I building anything anyone wants to buy? Taking this question off the table
before you start coding makes a ton of sense.

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kkowalczyk
I can't really treat this article seriously when his second graph illustrating
"real" growth of startups requires that we are able to breach time-space
continuum and go back in time.

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swombat
Then you wasted an opportunity to learn something from a very insightful
article because of a superficial detail. I'm not entirely sure why that's
something you're proud enough of to post a comment about it. Seems like a
flawed outlook on life to discard a message because of a single superficial
detail in its delivery.

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roryokane
If everyone had infinite time to read articles on the internet, it would be
best to keep reading and possibly learn something useful from the article
despite its error. Since we don’t have that much time, we have to decide which
articles are worth reading – there is a lot of nonsense on the internet that
is a waste of time to read (Sturgeon's law). Errors of sufficient number and
magnitude at the beginning of the article indicate a higher likelihood that
the rest of the article is too nonsensical to bother reading, i.e. that the
ratio of usefulness to time spent is too low.

Now, maybe you disagree that a graph with loops is that big of an error. But
then you should write about the graph specifically. I don’t think you have
grounds for disagreement with the basic principle of generalizing the quality
of an article from part of it and using that estimate to decide whether to
continue spending your time on reading that article.

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JarekS
As a founder of a B2B startup I think that your article is great! I think that
this quote from Steve Jobs is a perfect fit here:

When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you
come up with are very complex, and most people stop there. But if you keep
going, and live with the problem and peel more layers of the onion off, you
can often times arrive at some very elegant and simple solutions.

I wish I UNDERSTOOD (very different then "I wish I knew") that 2 years ago
when I was starting my company. Focusing on the problem, discussing it with
the people that actually have that problem and not jumping immediately to
solutions but "peel the onion" is something very very very hard to do.

Hope that next episodes of your article will provide more info about HOW to
peel that onion :)

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edsull
None of this startup porn is new. The best source I've found discussing all
stages of company development is Geoffrey Moore's work (Crossing the Chasm and
Inside the Tornado).

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ABrandt
The OP does draw a comparison between his ideas and Moore's Crossing the
Chasm. I agree there's a lot of buzz-like words thrown around, but there is
substance here. There's an actionable suggestion for finding the monitizable
pain (or any other term you want to give it). His plan instructs you to call a
specific person, to convey a specific message, and measure for a specific
success rate. I'd say this is useful and fresh advice in that regard.

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edsull
I agree and sorry for not being more clear. This article along with a lot of
the current startup philosophies help with finding the initial market and
traction. My challenge has always been what to do next. Focusing on the pain
is part of the equation. The other critical factor, once a company moves out
of the zone of early adopters, is the buying process of the main stream shifts
dramatically. It's a sales and marketing scale issue vs. product and tech
issue. (Although, as I write this, I'm realizing this may only be true for b2b
products vs. b2c)

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andrew93101
This article is the best advice relating to building a successful startup that
I've read on HN in awhile.

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spicyxtreme
good stuff. an article on B2C next? :D

