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My startup validation process

neilcocker.com

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Re: My startup validation process

#51

Post by starfallg »

baxtr wrote: post #48
rexreed wrote: post #34

The reason why most startups don't start this way is because many successful founders have an intuitive understanding for what the problem is and what the right solution should look like. And the reason why they are successful is because they are right. The reason why unsuccessful startups fail is many, but for many they don't have product-market fit. The reason they don't have product-market fit is because they star…

Agreed. And then again: which problem did the iPhone solve exactly?

Not enough holes in wallets?

Re: My startup validation process

#52

Post by Abishek_Muthian »

baxtr wrote: post #47
Abishek_Muthian wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The reason they don't have product-market fit is because they start with a solution and look for a problem. I agree. Understanding the importance of solving the right problem i.e. the problem with enough need gap that people are willing to pay for getting it solved and of course the problem which we want ourselves to be solved played a huge role in me building successful products later on. So, I'm building needgap[1…

I really like the site. At the same time I think you could optimize comment display. I don’t understand who is replying to whom. How are Threads sorted? Super confusing. Just copy HN, done. And: I don’t get how the front page items are sorted. By activity?!

Thank you. Improving comment thread is on my TODO list and would be addressing it soon.

As for the front page ranking algorithm, it's similar HN/Reddit's Hot but the difference is that the problem/need gap karma is visible only to the creator of that post and the comment karma is visible only to the commenter although the profile karma is visible to everyone. This was done to limit populism, limit discouraging those who might post a problem which could be perceived as 'small', limiting hive behaviour and for the general health of the community.

You can read more about karma on needgap here - https://needgap.com/problems/2-contributor-guidelines-for-ne....

Re: My startup validation process

#53

Post by maneesh »

baxtr wrote: post #48
rexreed wrote: post #34

The reason why most startups don't start this way is because many successful founders have an intuitive understanding for what the problem is and what the right solution should look like. And the reason why they are successful is because they are right. The reason why unsuccessful startups fail is many, but for many they don't have product-market fit. The reason they don't have product-market fit is because they star…

Agreed. And then again: which problem did the iPhone solve exactly?

Phone, music player, and internet communicator in a single device, that enabled worldwide communication reliably.

Just the original phone solved voicemail (with visual voicemail) once and for all in one fell swoop. It was just echelons better.

That part of the initial demo still continues to blow my mind. https://youtu.be/VQKMoT-6XSg?t=29m30s

Here’s the original introduction to the iphone: https://youtu.be/MnrJzXM7a6o?t=1m23s

Re: My startup validation process

#54

Post by saos »

randomsearch wrote: post #20

Probably drop the surveys and replace them with a sign up page. Surveys are low quality. Individual conversations will tell you more, and a sign up page requires action / intent (you can raise the bar as high as you like to increase confidence).

What service do you recommend for sign-up page?

Re: My startup validation process

#55

Post by baxtr »

maneesh wrote: post #53
baxtr wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. And then again: which problem did the iPhone solve exactly?

Phone, music player, and internet communicator in a single device, that enabled worldwide communication reliably. Just the original phone solved voicemail (with visual voicemail) once and for all in one fell swoop. It was just echelons better. That part of the initial demo still continues to blow my mind. https://youtu.be/VQKMoT-6XSg?t=29m30s Here’s the original introduction to the iphone: https://youtu.be/MnrJzXM7a6…

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a huge fan of the iPhone. I just don’t think it really fits the standard “solve a problem for customers” folklore.

Re: My startup validation process

#56

Post by bobwernstein »

saos wrote: post #54
randomsearch wrote: post #20

Probably drop the surveys and replace them with a sign up page. Surveys are low quality. Individual conversations will tell you more, and a sign up page requires action / intent (you can raise the bar as high as you like to increase confidence).

What service do you recommend for sign-up page?

Not OP but check out this (1) thread from yesterday . balloonary (2) is mentioned as a solution to quickly launch a sign up page. Here (3) is an example of how that would look like.

1.https://www.reddit.com/r/Entrepreneur/comments/ig9csz/is_the...

2.https://balloonary.io/

3.https://rent-a-cat.blnry.com/zxz

Re: My startup validation process

#57

Post by aldanor »

baxtr wrote: post #55
maneesh wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Phone, music player, and internet communicator in a single device, that enabled worldwide communication reliably. Just the original phone solved voicemail (with visual voicemail) once and for all in one fell swoop. It was just echelons better. That part of the initial demo still continues to blow my mind. https://youtu.be/VQKMoT-6XSg?t=29m30s Here’s the original introduction to the iphone: https://youtu.be/MnrJzXM7a6…

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a huge fan of the iPhone. I just don’t think it really fits the standard “solve a problem for customers” folklore.

But then again, Apple wasn't a startup at that point. A corporation with millions of customers and a huge fanbase who would buy anything it would produce without even questioning isn't exactly on the same line as a 0-customer startup.

Re: My startup validation process

#58

Post by this2shallPass »

tchock23 wrote: post #50
this2shallPass wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What information in The Mom Test would you say is misleading or incorrect?

As one, he says surveys are 100% useless, which is not entirely correct (there is a time/place for them). Second, he says customer interviews must be face to face to be valuable. That is patently false, and even dangerous. In a face to face setting many people feel social pressure to conform and there is a strong interviewer bias. A mix of in-person and online methods is essential to get an unbiased read. I’m on vaca…

Makes sense. Agree with what you're saying, that surveys can have value and customer interviews can be valuable even if not face to face.

Would love to hear more of your thoughts sometime after you vacation.

Re: My startup validation process

#59

Post by baxtr »

aldanor wrote: post #57
baxtr wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a huge fan of the iPhone. I just don’t think it really fits the standard “solve a problem for customers” folklore.

But then again, Apple wasn't a startup at that point. A corporation with millions of customers and a huge fanbase who would buy anything it would produce without even questioning isn't exactly on the same line as a 0-customer startup.

Ok, fair enough. And what about TikTok then?

Re: My startup validation process

#60

Post by saos »

bobwernstein wrote: post #56
saos wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What service do you recommend for sign-up page?

Not OP but check out this (1) thread from yesterday . balloonary (2) is mentioned as a solution to quickly launch a sign up page. Here (3) is an example of how that would look like. 1. https://www.reddit.com/r/Entrepreneur/comments/ig9csz/is_the... 2. https://balloonary.io/ 3. https://rent-a-cat.blnry.com/zxz

This looks good! Could do with more design options
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