This product shouldn't work!
20 years of startup lessons in an hour | Rethinking the MVP | Beating incumbents | Notion founder interview + loads more…
🆕 Personal Updates
Have tried Google’s Gemini? I spent some time playing with their new Google Workspace integration and it’s a game changer for digital hoarders like me. I have a ton of content on my Gdrive and despite it being pedantically organised it’s been a drag sifting through it, until now. Now, I have my own free personal assistant who can go down to the archive and find exactly what I’m looking for (and more) using just a basic natural language prompt.
How has AI crept into your daily/weekly workflow? There is so much noise about how AI 10x’ing productivity but I’ve yet to experience this. Hit reply and let me know and I will share some of them in next month’s issue.
Right, let’s get to it - time for this month’s roundup 👇
🔥 Top post last month: Pieter levels Maker Investment Strategy
📓 Articles
Rethinking the startup MVP: Building a competitive product
If I had a pound for every time I’ve read a post about “rethinking” the Minimal Viable Product (MVP) I would be on my private island (still writing this newsletter). I tend to avoid reading these weak arguments as typically they aren’t grounded with any substance. Just a pithy, heuristic, clickbaity conceptual idea… (pause for deep breath). However, when the CTO at Linear published this post I thought it would be worth a read. I respect Linear and admire the product.
Now I bet you're waiting for the “you have to read this post because of...” Well, no, in-fact, most of it is exactly founded on the original MVP principles and I honestly don’t understand how they’ve been “rethinking” it. The post essentially argues the current MVP process/principles aren’t fit for purpose in today’s crowded software market.- i.e. the bar is higher than it previously was.
…building a hacky product as quickly and cheaply as possible to validate the product no longer works.
Well, if people need to “see it to believe it,” it suggests we’re selling to people who have lots of other alternatives, people who can afford to be sceptical because they don’t have a compelling need for a new solution.
So, instead of validating to get signals of desirability and viability with prototypes, landing pages, video demos etc, we should drop these strategies for something more high fidelity or perhaps the ‘minimal marketable product’ as it’s known.
As Matt Dupree wrote in a follow up post “There are lots of markets where minimal MVPs are good enough, and if you aren’t in one of those markets, you may be better off pivoting instead of building a fancy MVP for picky customers who are flush with alternatives”.
Don’t get me wrong, the post does offer some great advice, in particular, their approach to building a waiting list of beta users. Additionally, I’m fully aware there are particular markets with particular solutions in which this “hacky” approach doesn’t suffice e.g. Healthcare, Law etc. And yes, some companies have built successful products avoiding the traditional MVP approach but again they are extremely rare.
Check out both posts and let me know what you think in the comments or hit reply. I’m keen to hear other opinions.
🎁 Bonus content: The Story of Linear as told by its CTO
Lessons from a product that shouldn’t work
Yes, I’m writing about Arc again, feel free to skip this if you're sick of my fanboyism.
In this article, Finn Lobsien (of CommandBar), explores the product lessons behind Arc: How they built a remarkable product that spread and created excitement while violating all of Silicon Valley’s dogma. More specifically, how they have repeatedly broken the rules below and proven us all wrong (so far).
Avoid what’s already been tried
Follow the data
Building for everyone
You can’t out-corporation the corporations
Take for example the Y Combinator’s concept called ‘Tar Pit Ideas’ (Rule #1) - “Tempting business ideas that have been tried multiple times—and have failed just as often”. On the face of it, Arc is a prime example of this concept. Many browsers have launched and most have failed among stiff competition with large market share, however, as Finn points out it doesn’t suggest these ideas are impossible but that the bar is much higher. Raising that bar is exactly what Arc have done and it’s beginning to turn heads.
Product aside, the future direction The Browser Company is taking with Arc is absolutely fascinating. Arc’s vision? to ‘build a browser that browsers for you’. As you would expect, this will require AI. Not only that, but Arc is looking to create an entirely new Operating System as well - something
already explored it in a post some time ago. I can’t wait to see how this plays out.🎁 Bonus content: Arc has just launched a great new video series titled ‘We might not make it’ starting with Why every Al company will try to build a browser.
How startups beat incumbents
In my first few years as a PM working with startups I constantly had the fear and anxiety of competitors - especially the larger well funded ones who could at any moment in time decide they wanted to swoop into our space and wipe us out. As years past I learned it’s healthy to consider them but also there truly are some unique advantages new startups have over their incumbents.
As Jason Cohen (Founder of WP Engine) points out in this post, big companies may seem tough to beat, but they have weaknesses that startups can exploit. These include taking risks, focusing on smaller markets, providing exceptional customer service, doing unscalable things, leveraging new technology and having an unconventional approach. Companies at scale also have difficulties that startups can avoid, such as legal issues and slower decision-making processes. On the flip side, startups can succeed by taking risks that incumbents won't, even if they are not quantifiable, and focusing on high-risk, high-reward opportunities that larger companies may shy away from. Here’s to the startups 💪
🔗 Hyperlinks
I couldn’t not share this. This photo of Steve Jobs in his office was taken in 2004. It’s not what you expected right? You would expect an ultra-modern minimal aesthetic with the books colour-coded, stationary positioned at perfect right angles and a view out to a zen garden. Well, I did some digging and it turns out, that a recent psychological study by Kathleen Vohs, a researcher at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, demonstrated that tidy rooms fostered conventional thoughts whereas messy rooms inspired a sense of novelty and creativity. Looks like I have an excuse now for those crusty mugs and books splayed across my home office.
Interview with Ivan Zhao and Simon Last, Co-Founders of Notion
I just discovered Notion’s YouTube series called ‘First Block’. In particular, this episode with all three Notion co-founders discussing their series of product failures and technical mistakes that eventually brought them to the Notion we know today, their personal attributes as founders, finding their first customers and the future for Notion.
Side note: check out their matching uniforms and their office aesthetic (AKA product-office fit). Everything is on brand. Apparently, Ivan, founder/ceo of Notion, had designed the office himself, carefully choosing every lamp, chair, couch, and other details personally - check out some of the original office images here.
🎁 Bonus content: Sequoia (investors in Notion) wrote a fantastic post a while back that documents the founder’s journey to Japan to create Notion. What a story!
🎁 Bonus bonus content: Ivan, founder/ceo of Notion sits down and discusses Notion’s AI feature, their AI team, workflow and AI for calendars and the future of AI-embedded into Notion + loads more.
20 years of startup experience in an hour
Furqan Rydhan (Founder of Founders, Inc) recently gave a lecture at Buildspace for the students in SF2 cohort which condenses his 20 years of working in and founding startups into a super punchy 1 hour casual lecture. And if you’re wondering who this guy? Furqan is a serial entrepreneur who got started at a dot-com at 15, built his first company at 17, and spent the last couple of decades building software & hardware companies including the founding CTO of Applovin & Bebo and now running both ThirdWeb and Founders Inc. So he knows a thing or two. Give it a watch and I guarantee you get a nugget or two of wisdom to put into practice.
🎁 Bonus content: Check out this podcast episode with Furqan discussing what it was like starting a multibillion-dollar company and his mindset around making decisions on what projects to work on.
👾 Friends of Creator Club
Friends of Creator Club is a dedicated section to support other independent internet creators who subscribe.
This month we have Alex Lockey with his new newsletter and video interview series The Leanpreneur where he showcases how real solopreneurs and lean businesses operate. Earlier this month I had the pleasure of being invited to discuss a wide range of topics, including, my past projects, how I create this newsletter, managing multiple projects with a FT job and loads more.
📱 Products
AI test | Test LLMs for free
It feels like every week there is a new LLM or a big upgrade launched from - just last year we pretty much had Open AI, now we have some stiff competition and that’s fantastic for greedy consumers like us. However, I’m sick of reading long benchmark tests which I honestly don’t understand. What if you could test Gemini vs ChatGPT vs Claude AI all at once with the same prompt for free!! This super handy tool lets you do just that with no sign-up required at all.
Check out this example from a simple prompt I tested. Personally, I found Claud performed poorly, with Gemini Pro doing a reasonable job but Chat GPT 4 -Turbo providing the most comprehensive answer.
Animstats | Showcase your stats
Sharing static images of your build in public metrics and stats is so 2023. Slick-looking animated GIFs/videos are going to grab attention and bring your data to life. Created by serial makers Tibo & Audiencon Animstats is the solution to transforming dull statistics into animated GIFs/videos in seconds. With a user-friendly interface. Choose templates, and customize backgrounds, colours, fonts, and more. Perfect for sharing on socials, websites or embedding into content.
LOOI Robot | Turn your smartphone into a desktop robot
I don’t typically include Kickstarter projects in this newsletter due to various personal disappointments in the past with backing projects, however, this one is too fun not to include. If you struggle to focus working from home I would suggest you stop reading now. Ok, for all you focused, WFH lonely workers I might have a solution for you. The LOOI consists of a smartphone app and cradle. This cute-looking little gizmo is like a fidget spinner
Looi can sense its surroundings and interact with users by telling jokes, playing games, and capturing special moments. The robot can transform into a wireless charger for smartphones and remind users of important information. Personally, I don’t need any more distractions but it’s a clever concept.
Beta Directory | Discover the latest tech products
This month’s latest early access beta products brought to you by Beta Directory are:
ION design: Ship product at the speed of thought.
Womp: A new way to 3D.
Typlr: Create fonts without software.
🐽 Other links to consume
🔮 Flashback
This month isn’t necessarily a flashback per se but I had to share and this seemed the most relevant section. Both are indie projects using 3D printers cloning the OG 1984 Macintosh but for two different purposes.
First up we have Scott Yu-Jan’s Macintosh Studio. This clever custom build houses a bulky Mac Studio, iPad, external hard drives and a headphone cradle in an Apple’s iconic Macintosh form. Check out this fantastic video which documents the conceptual design > prototype > finished product.
Next up we have the Brewintosh Plus built by Kevin Noki. If you’ve 40 free weekends, a 3D printer, extensive knowledge of vintage computer coding and some soldering skills you too could create a complete working clone from scratch. Check out this video of Kevin building it from the ground up.
If you made it this far, hit reply or jump into the comments and tell me what you thought of this edition. Was this 🔥 or 🗑. I read every response 👀
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Until next the next issue,
Sam | @thisdickie 👨💻
Having worked in a few start ups, I long ago concluded that they all do (Almost?) everything wrong but they don't all fail. There are no hard and fast rules. Thanks for this interesting post!