Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 18, 2008

Pick a similar product that they do use, and ask them "who was the first person you know who started using [social networking, mobile phones, plasma TV, instant messaging.]? For companies in the early-adopter phase, you can play "the earlyvangelist game" whenever a customer turns out to be too mainstream for your product.

San Francisco 133

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 133

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 7, 2008

On the web, we have many of these channels: SEM, SEO, world of mouth, PR and viral. For example, if any of the mobile ad networks gets major traction, they may become a dominant way that people discover new apps. Or if your lifetime value is high enough, you can just keep spending on SEM. The observation sounds strange.

San Francisco 68

San Francisco Lean Retention SEM 68

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 18, 2008

If you sell an online service that solves a defined problem, you can compete in SEO or SEM. So there is an opportunity to build new brands with attributes like "the most amazing mobile apps" but I think building a company around that strategy means really thinking through how to do it. Blake, thanks for the comment! Which app is yours?

Distribution 74

Distribution San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 74