Garry Tan (rantfoil), co-founder of Posterous, on getting traction
gabrielweinberg.com
Garry Tan (rantfoil), co-founder of Posterous, on getting traction
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Re: Garry Tan (rantfoil), co-founder of Posterous, on getting traction
#2Very insightful interview. However, I'd like to hear more interviews of startups where there is more of a "fight" -- where getting traction is a battle that requires a lot of iterating. Model startups that tend to be interviewed seem to:
a) Come up with a great, simple idea
b) Make the site very clean and simple
c) Launch publicly
d) MASSIVE VIRAL GROWTH! (Of course, more modestly ;))
That seems to go against conventional startup wisdom, where you have to fight tooth and nail for a long time before you start getting traction. These interviews of late are really motivating and awesome, but at the same time, they are sort of demoralizing because the subtext seems to indicate that if you aren't growing super fast from day one, you are almost better off just starting over.
Re: Garry Tan (rantfoil), co-founder of Posterous, on getting traction
#3Very insightful interview. However, I'd like to hear more interviews of startups where there is more of a "fight" -- where getting traction is a battle that requires a lot of iterating. Model startups that tend to be interviewed seem to: a) Come up with a great, simple idea b) Make the site very clean and simple c) Launch publicly d) MASSIVE VIRAL GROWTH! (Of course, more modestly ;)) That seems to go against convent…
I think this story (your a-d) is rare, which I tried to codify in this powderkeg/movement metaphor in a recent blog post: http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/blog/2010/02/are-you-building...
Posterous seems like the typical powderkeg. And at any point there are powderkeg ideas out there waiting to be launched, so a-d can work. Or in other words, some ideas are valuable! (Not to discount execution at all, which is usually a necessary condition.)
Half of my other interviews already, however, have told a different story. Steve Welch and Steve Barsh made cold calls endlessly. Rand Fishkin blogged tirelessly, for years. And Mark Cramer experimented with lots of things before he hit on some success with a Firefox add-on. Wikipedia was also a slow growth story that really capitalized on SEO.
Re: Garry Tan (rantfoil), co-founder of Posterous, on getting traction
#4Very insightful interview. However, I'd like to hear more interviews of startups where there is more of a "fight" -- where getting traction is a battle that requires a lot of iterating. Model startups that tend to be interviewed seem to: a) Come up with a great, simple idea b) Make the site very clean and simple c) Launch publicly d) MASSIVE VIRAL GROWTH! (Of course, more modestly ;)) That seems to go against convent…
I think this story (your a-d) is rare, which I tried to codify in this powderkeg/movement metaphor in a recent blog post: http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/blog/2010/02/are-you-building... Posterous seems like the typical powderkeg. And at any point there are powderkeg ideas out there waiting to be launched, so a-d can work. Or in other words, some ideas are valuable! (Not to discount execution at all, which is usually…
Necessary conditions for a movement includes 1) an idea which is fundamentally easy or makes a lot of sense 2) lots of people discovering that idea at the same time and exciting each other, 3) an idea that lends itself to the improvement of one's social-status/geek-cred, so they share it with others. It's very much unpredictable.
I'd liken this to winning the lottery. And that's why articles like this are discouraging, because you are trying to find the magic and you invest your time, listening to the very end, but you find that the magic isn't really there at all.
Re: Garry Tan (rantfoil), co-founder of Posterous, on getting traction
#5Very insightful interview. However, I'd like to hear more interviews of startups where there is more of a "fight" -- where getting traction is a battle that requires a lot of iterating. Model startups that tend to be interviewed seem to: a) Come up with a great, simple idea b) Make the site very clean and simple c) Launch publicly d) MASSIVE VIRAL GROWTH! (Of course, more modestly ;)) That seems to go against convent…
This interview seems really useful for small sites battling to get traction, especially the part about doing better customer service than big sites can do.
Re: Garry Tan (rantfoil), co-founder of Posterous, on getting traction
#6Garry Tan is truly a force of nature. He's like Samson, but if he cuts his hair, he won't lose his power.
Re: Garry Tan (rantfoil), co-founder of Posterous, on getting traction
#7Very insightful interview. However, I'd like to hear more interviews of startups where there is more of a "fight" -- where getting traction is a battle that requires a lot of iterating. Model startups that tend to be interviewed seem to: a) Come up with a great, simple idea b) Make the site very clean and simple c) Launch publicly d) MASSIVE VIRAL GROWTH! (Of course, more modestly ;)) That seems to go against convent…
I think this story (your a-d) is rare, which I tried to codify in this powderkeg/movement metaphor in a recent blog post: http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/blog/2010/02/are-you-building... Posterous seems like the typical powderkeg. And at any point there are powderkeg ideas out there waiting to be launched, so a-d can work. Or in other words, some ideas are valuable! (Not to discount execution at all, which is usually…
Cold calling endlessly, blogging tirelessly, etc - everyone wants the news that it will easier than that! ;)
I know there was a post recently about achievements that I didn't read, but I find achievements (in the Xbox 360 sense) can be a reasonable motivator. Wondering about a service that is almost an achievement list, a to do list with pre-filled actions, to help entrepreneurs work through some of the bland getting-traction things. Third blog entry, 20th blog, Triple Figure Blogging, Got a TC mention, Had a blog entry with 20 comments, Got to 2k page views/day, Had a tweet RTed 20 times, etc.
Obviously doesn't guarantee success, but anything that can encourage someone to stay motivated and pushing themselves would be helpful.
Re: Garry Tan (rantfoil), co-founder of Posterous, on getting traction
#8Just to remind people: It's 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. I recently heard the CEO of OpenTable speak. You know, the HUGE success, publicly traded, etc. Did you know it took them over 10 years to really figure it out. Few remember that.
As a reminder, you want to get in the market as soon as possible (a la lean startup) to iterate and learn and look for opportunities and pivot points. That's what we are doing at PackLate.com. We are happy with our progress already, but we are iterating at a VERY high rate of speed, always looking for our next opportunity for even greater traction. Even now, after our last minute vacation rental marketplace has only been open for a month, we see 2 major nearly game changing opportunities for our model that we'll be pursuing. It will take time and we know that. We TRY to have patience.
Steve Barsh CEO, PackLate.com @packlate http://www.PackLate.com