No posts from me since May because I have been working fairly non stop on my new company. We are in stealth mode, but getting ready to launch (soon!).
Guy Kawasaki is one of my favorite business writers and I was fortunate enough to partner with Garage Technology Ventures (when it was garage.com) when I raised venture capital for my first startup in 1999.
Guy has a new book out called "The Art of the Start". I am waiting for my copy right now, in the meantime, I have been thinking all summer about one of Guy's earlier books - Rules for Revolutionaries. One of my favorite rules is "Don't Worry, Be Crappy". What Guy means by that is that the best way to develop a product (and a company) is to get your product out the door, in the hands of real customers, as quickly as possible, even if it sucks (but not too much).
What you lose in "polish" and "presentation" along with some functionality is more than made up for in finding out (1) whether the customers are interested in buying what you are selling and (2) what you forgot about that customers actually need. No matter how much thinking the team does on product features, customers will always come up with different or additional stuff that they have to have and they will let you know about it.
Of course, you always have to reach out to your customer base and communicate that your product is under development and needs more work, you want to partner with the customer in making the best product possible, etc. Don't claim your product is perfect when you know it is not, be humble.
I have used "Don't Worry, be Crappy" twice now. When we launched Coreflix, we had a basic product and bam, customers were on it from day one. We did have to add features but the development process was much more focused with real customers giving us real feedback as opposed to focus groups, etc.
We are using it again now on our new company. We started out this summer with a really crappy beta that had only the bare minimum functions. This time we had to test not only whether beta customers were interested and would pay for the product, but also whether the algorithms the service is based on would work. The answer on both counts was an unqualified yes, but we also found we had to go back to the workshop and create a much more "automatic" product that was easier to use - around a 90 day process of very long days (and nights).
Once again though, "Don't Worry, Be Crappy" pointed us in the right direction.
I wish Guy's book had been around in 1999. We didn't use "Don't Worry, Be Crappy" at Netfreight.com and we spent over a million dollars developing our beta product before we got input from customers. Of course, we would need that money later, and when we didn't have it, we didn't have many choices.
"Don't Worry, Be Crappy" is probably one of my most valuable lessons learned.
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2 comments:
Ah, but the Lightning Strikers Manifesto, which I will soon post on my Streight Site blog (Mentally Correct Marketing) goes well beyond the "Don't Worry, Be Crappy."
The problem with this theory is that some companies, certainly not you, my friend, but some will let the product *remain crappy* if the customers like it fine.
They hide behind the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" which is the recipe for mediocrity and traditionalism...not the formula for innovation and revolutionary break throughs.
Oh my...the Lightning Strikers believe in Instant Perfection According to Present Input, which leaves the door open to Future Enhancements.
I say "Don't Be Blurry, Strike Like Lightning"...with a product that is as perfect as you can get it. A crappy product may communicate to customers a crappy manufacturer...then all credibility disappears forever.
Think about this, my friend.
Then consider Mentally Correct Marketing over at:
http://www.streightsite.blogspot.com
Good point. I agree that be crappy is not a goal, but rather a part of the process.
The reason I advocate be crappy it helps avoid "we can't go to market yet, we don't have [fill in the blank] feature, yet." End result is that often the product never gets released and the company dies (especially if it is a startup).
I have been a part of this, so I know.
In addition, no matter how in touch with the market the creators are, there is no substitute for getting a customer to use the product - that is as close as you can get!
So, some caveats in line with what you rightly point out:
1. probably not a good strategy for safety or life-affecting products (but then few software products really fit this category, right?)
2. fully disclose to the customer (presumably with the designation "beta" etc.) that your product is crappy and you are looking for help in perfecting it
3. compensate the customer by offering the product for free, and insure that you are giving the customer something back by making sure that even the "crappy" product gives them something of value.
Joe
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