Building Great Products #ProductHuntTO

Building Great Products

Ben Yoskovitz!@byosko!byosko@gmail.com

#ProductHuntTO

More wins than losses

1996 1998 2001 2006 2007 2010 2011

1st startupBig pivot

The “I got too comfy” years

Started bloggingStandout Jobs

Failed

Year One LabsGoInstant

$0

2012 2014

Salesforce

VarageSale

http://leananalyticsbook.com

• San Francisco • Omaha • Barcelona • London • Amsterdam • Memphis • Vancouver • Las Vegas • and more...

The fun way to buy and sell in a trusted local community

• Fast growing • 40+ people • Making a difference • Hiring actively

http://varagesale.com/work_with_us

So let’s talk about Product Hunt…

I was an early adopter (#20)

• Get to the point!• FOMO!• Ask specific questions

• Network early!• Appeal to egos!• Create value for others

✓Found the right early adopters !

✓Had a clear & narrow value proposition !

✓Found a real need (solved a real problem) !

✓Built an MVP — but delivered on the value promised

What did Product Hunt do well?

Product Hunt = SF?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/hubertyu/14102205739/

How to use Product Hunt

• Product Hunt is not a launch strategy !• Don’t spam !• Don’t randomly ask people to submit for you !• Engage as a founder — get into the comments !• There’s a long tail of votes (but don’t know if

it drives value)

Dash Hudson Product Hunt Case Study

• ~1,000 visitors on day 1!!• ~2% conversion!!• “Bit of buzz, mostly inside

the echo chamber”

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lisacee/5420415856/

A few thoughts on building great

products

Do things in order

Lean Analytics Stages “Gates” needed to move forward

Empathy

Stickiness

Virality

Revenue

Scale

Gro

wth

Rat

e

You’ve found a real, poorly-met need that a reachable market faces.

You’ve figured out how to solve the problem in a way they will adopt, keep using and pay for.

The users and features fuel growth organically and artificially.

You’ve found a sustainable, scalable business with the right margins in a healthy ecosystem.

Do things in order

Lean Analytics Stages “Gates” needed to move forward

Empathy

Stickiness

Virality

Revenue

Scale

Gro

wth

Rat

e

You’ve found a real, poorly-met need that a reachable market faces.

You’ve figured out how to solve the problem in a way they will adopt, keep using and pay for.

The users and features fuel growth organically and artificially.

You’ve found a sustainable, scalable business with the right margins in a healthy ecosystem.

Most startups fail here

Do things in order

Lean Analytics Stages “Gates” needed to move forward

Empathy

Stickiness

Virality

Revenue

Scale

Gro

wth

Rat

e

You’ve found a real, poorly-met need that a reachable market faces.

You’ve figured out how to solve the problem in a way they will adopt, keep using and pay for.

The users and features fuel growth organically and artificially.

You’ve found a sustainable, scalable business with the right margins in a healthy ecosystem.

Most people don’t really do this

https://www.flickr.com/photos/infomastern/14519782386

Small cycles of behaviour

• A—>B—>C • Reward & Delight users • Addictive

Understand your best users

• Identify your “good” users • What makes them special? • Find more “good” users

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tiarescott/69821764/in/

Never stop talking to users

• Quantitative Data = What • Qualitative Data = Why

Be deliberate

• The “One feature away” lie • Iterate and test, but don’t

panic

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pallotron/2206080648/

Resourceshttp://www.instigatorblog.com/tiny-addictive-new-behaviors/2013/07/02/ !http://www.amazon.com/Hooked-Guide-Building-Habit-Forming-Products/dp/1494277530 !http://www.instigatorblog.com/tiny-addictive-new-behaviors/2013/07/02/ !http://www.instigatorblog.com/your-best-users/2014/06/20/ !https://medium.com/@noah_weiss/50-articles-and-books-that-will-make-you-a-great-product-manager-aad5babee2f7 !http://www.defmacro.org/2013/09/26/products.html !https://blog.bufferapp.com/people-dont-buy-products-they-buy-better-versions-of-themselves

Thank you!

• Ben Yoskovitz • @byosko • byosko@gmail.com • http://instigatorblog.com • http://leananalyticsbook.com