What skills are most crucial for running small internet companies? • Hacker News Board

Re: What skills are most crucial for running small internet companies?

#41

Post by shanecleveland » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 1:11 AM UTC

kareemm wrote: post #7

I'm running Savio[1], which is my fourth small internet company I've run since 2007 (the previous three were sold). At the risk of sounding cliche, the three skills that have been most valuable are: 1. The ability to build software that meaningfully solves a customer's problem 2. The ability to reach people who have the problem my software solves 3. The persistence to grind until we have a decent product and can regu…

You may have listed in no particular order, but, if you did, I would argue #2 as the most important.

Re: What skills are most crucial for running small internet companies?

#42

Post by bcrosby95 » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 1:13 AM UTC

734129837261 wrote: post #34

Here's what NOT to do, from my experience in the first decade of this millennium: 1. What came first: More work or more developers? Don't stress your development team for ages without hiring new employees. They'll burn out and hate working for you. 2. Don't focus all your energy on outward appearance. Your work should speak for itself, not your amazing expensive new car and tailored suits. 3. Don't stop innovating. T…

> 3. Don't stop innovating. The developers who were there since day 1 who refuse to adopt new tech? Yeah, get rid of them. They're pulling the rest down to their level.

Sorry, but adopting new tech isn't innovating. Building new tech is. Adopting new tech may make it easier. Or it might just be that your developers are bored and need something to entertain themselves.

Re: What skills are most crucial for running small internet companies?

#43

Post by odie88 » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 1:25 AM UTC

edoceo wrote: post #35

erichocean wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Read The Startup Owner's Manual , or the previous version of the same, Four Steps to the Epiphany , and apply what you've read.

Add Lean Customer Development by Cindy Alvarez

Loved Cindy's book. Hey talk 'From 0 to Interviewing Customers Well in 90 Minutes' [0] available on YouTube is a great resource too.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5hc7sseHbE

Re: What skills are most crucial for running small internet companies?

#44

Post by karmelapple » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 1:31 AM UTC

Flexibility. Humility. Optimism.

Flexibility means you’re willing to do any task needed, whether it’s filling out some spreadsheet or going to a conference or figuring out how to come up with an intelligent database schema. Flexibility also means you don’t need to build everything perfectly, that you have the flexibility to leave some things a little less-than-perfect.

Humility to admit you don’t know what the best route is, because everything is in the primordial state. It may involve a company-wide pivot, it may involve something much simpler and easier, but admitting you might not know everything is crucial.

Optimism helps you ensure all the things stewing about you don’t totally get you down, and that you will find a way out. Some pragmatic thoughts and realism are needed, too, but optimism in the early stages means “sure, I think I can do that” comes to mind rather than “oh gosh that sounds really hard, I think we shouldn’t even try.”

Re: What skills are most crucial for running small internet companies?

#45

Post by Sophistifunk » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 1:35 AM UTC

734129837261 wrote: post #34

Here's what NOT to do, from my experience in the first decade of this millennium: 1. What came first: More work or more developers? Don't stress your development team for ages without hiring new employees. They'll burn out and hate working for you. 2. Don't focus all your energy on outward appearance. Your work should speak for itself, not your amazing expensive new car and tailored suits. 3. Don't stop innovating. T…

That escalated quickly

Re: What skills are most crucial for running small internet companies?

#46

Post by kareemm » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 1:47 AM UTC

arthurcolle wrote: post #13

kareemm wrote: post #7

I'm running Savio[1], which is my fourth small internet company I've run since 2007 (the previous three were sold). At the risk of sounding cliche, the three skills that have been most valuable are: 1. The ability to build software that meaningfully solves a customer's problem 2. The ability to reach people who have the problem my software solves 3. The persistence to grind until we have a decent product and can regu…

How did you tackle problem (2) here? trade shows or something? How do you go from 0 (no connections to industry X, or people who face problem Y) to being able to do 2 without some inside connection?

Re problem 2 - I’ve had decent success using Gabe Weinberg’s Bullseye framework.

re no connections to industry x - if you don’t have connections it means you probably don’t have the insight necessary to solve a problem for people in that industry. I’d probably look closer to home. If you really want to, reach out to people on LinkedIn and offer to pay the first couple for an hour of their time. Then reach out to more people and share insights from the first few. In short, add value. Soon you’ll be an expert.

Re: What skills are most crucial for running small internet companies?

#47

Post by kareemm » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 2:00 AM UTC

shanecleveland wrote: post #41

kareemm wrote: post #7

I'm running Savio[1], which is my fourth small internet company I've run since 2007 (the previous three were sold). At the risk of sounding cliche, the three skills that have been most valuable are: 1. The ability to build software that meaningfully solves a customer's problem 2. The ability to reach people who have the problem my software solves 3. The persistence to grind until we have a decent product and can regu…

You may have listed in no particular order, but, if you did, I would argue #2 as the most important.

I think they're all necessary.

Product + grinding - building it and nobody comes, will get there eventually. Easier to learn to sell than to make a good product.

Sales + grinding - selling a turd, hopefully will get there. Harder to learn how to make a good product than sell.

Product + sales - flame out early

Re: What skills are most crucial for running small internet companies?

#48

Post by pryelluw » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 2:12 AM UTC

shanecleveland wrote: post #41

kareemm wrote: post #7

I'm running Savio[1], which is my fourth small internet company I've run since 2007 (the previous three were sold). At the risk of sounding cliche, the three skills that have been most valuable are: 1. The ability to build software that meaningfully solves a customer's problem 2. The ability to reach people who have the problem my software solves 3. The persistence to grind until we have a decent product and can regu…

You may have listed in no particular order, but, if you did, I would argue #2 as the most important.

The three of them form a triangle. Which side of the triangle is most important?

This is not a magical thing. Id argue it is fairly mechanical. The biggest issue you'd face is fear. Focus first on conquering that.

Re: What skills are most crucial for running small internet companies?

#49

Post by csallen » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 2:43 AM UTC

kareemm wrote: post #7

I'm running Savio[1], which is my fourth small internet company I've run since 2007 (the previous three were sold). At the risk of sounding cliche, the three skills that have been most valuable are: 1. The ability to build software that meaningfully solves a customer's problem 2. The ability to reach people who have the problem my software solves 3. The persistence to grind until we have a decent product and can regu…

This reminds me of Brian Balfour's "Four Fits" model which is the bedrock for how I think about companies.

You need four things: (1) a market, i.e. a set of customers with a valuable problem; (2) a product that actually solves that problem well; (3) a channel through which you can reach these customers; and (4) a business model to sustain the above efforts.

A good business idea attempts to account for all of these, and usually starts by looking at the customers and their problems and working backwards. But most new founders confuse "business idea" with "product idea." They focus entirely on the product, which is only one part of a business. And then after they've finished building, they go out in search of customers with problems, trying to fit their square peg in to round holes. I strongly recommend against that path.

Re: What skills are most crucial for running small internet companies?

#50

Post by sshumaker » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 3:02 AM UTC

shanecleveland wrote: post #41

kareemm wrote: post #7

I'm running Savio[1], which is my fourth small internet company I've run since 2007 (the previous three were sold). At the risk of sounding cliche, the three skills that have been most valuable are: 1. The ability to build software that meaningfully solves a customer's problem 2. The ability to reach people who have the problem my software solves 3. The persistence to grind until we have a decent product and can regu…

You may have listed in no particular order, but, if you did, I would argue #2 as the most important.

I disagree, and this is the mistake I made earlier in my career. Having the market is most important. I have built great products that flopped and ok products that were incredibly successful.

Quoting Andy Rachleff: If your startup addresses a market that really wants your product, you can screw almost everything up and still likely be successful. On the flip side, if you are really good at execution, but the “dogs aren’t eating the dog food”, you have no chance at winning.

“When a great team meets a lousy market, market wins. When a lousy team meets a great market, market wins. When a great team meets a great market, something special happens.”