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Select your scaling difficulty mode: 0 1 1 x to to Hard Easy 8 to Extreme x 8

Scaling is not a conventional problem. We are: GOOD BAD at predicting impossible outcomes at predicting success

We know what can’t possibly scale. But we don’t know what will actually scale. “The horse is here to stay but the automobile is only a novelty—a fad”. 1903 - The most horribly wrong person in history* to Henry Ford’s lawyer. *Obviously, a banker.

And there’s a word for that: Hindsight “Of course Amazon is so successful. They did all the right things back in the ‘90s.” - Basically everyone trying to look smart in 2019.

Why people think products don’t scale: Time Money People … but you can always raise money … but you can always prioritize … but you can always hire/train/outsource

It’s easy to remember: no no …maybe?

Why products don’t actually scale: Lack of focus Bland ideas Average execution “I think you’ll like this idea – it’s sort of ‘dull’ meets ‘inoffensive.’”

H A W T I S O F ? L A C K 1 2 3 4 5

Which part of the plane needs reinforcement? • A: Wings • B: Body • C: Stabilizers • D: Nose PMM Edition

And the answer is: • A: Anything from the previous slide • B: Cockpit, Engines & Tail “Gentlemen, you need to put more armor-plate where the holes aren’t, because that’s where the holes were on the planes that didn’t return.” - Abraham Wald PMM Edition

How much are you relying on data? Either too much, or too little.

Do these look familiar? These are seat-holders, not factors of growth. Focus Groups 3rd Party Research User Surveys Product Testing Satisfaction Analysis NPS A/B Testing Pricing Research Ads Testing Shopper Insights Kano Analysis Usability Testing Product Optimization Usage Research Competitive Analysis

bland ideas

bland ideas are sneaky and take a lot of forms: • “Google Trends says this is a good niche.” (Late to the party) • “Everybody else is doing it.” (Peer pressure) • “Nobody else is doing it.” (Ford Edsel syndrome) • “This is how it was always done.” (Peer pressure from dead people; AKA “tradition”)

BOLD ideas 1 2 3 146,000 pre-orders $8.2 BILLION in <48 hours

How bold is still bold in 2020? Earth SpaceX HQ Mars Codename “Planet Musk”

Then it’s average. Average Execution If you’re doing what everybody else is doing; If you’re seeing the same results everybody else is seeing; If you’re looking at industry benchmarks an resting on laurels…

A Practical Example of Average

A Practical Example of Great

So if that doesn’t work… what does? Do things that don’t scale Work the brain muscle Be bold, don’t look back

Do things that don’t scale Recruit your first users one by one; Make them happy (even if it’s different for every one of them); Roll up your sleeves and solve the problems your product doesn’t. Don’t scale before the demand is real.

How we turned a small plastic BOX into a scalable service:

A) Solving problems in a way that isn't yet automatic B) Having something automatic that doesn't yet solve any problems? What’s scarier? If there’s an opportunity to grow but the process is not quite there yet…

Do the manual work and THEN automate yourself out of the loop. Eventually, it will tip from a boulder you have to push to a high-speed train with its own momentum.

Work the brain muscle.

Get 1% better every day

Things a PMM should be good at: Product Management Marketing Content Creation Graphic Design Engineering UX/UI A/B Testing Project Management Copywriting Office Politics Growth Hacking PR Social Media Advertising People Management Yeah. Really.

Don’t hold back. Don’t look back. Be bold.

…a dating service? Our users were one step ahead of us. They began using YouTube to share […] their dogs, vacations, anything. We said, 'Why not let the users define what YouTube is all about?' By June, we had completely revamped the website, making it more open and general. It worked." - Jawed Karim, YouTube co-founder and uploader of legendary Me at the zoo video.

…the video game? “It took us a little while to settle on the idea that would become Slack. That was really born out of the style of communication that developed while we were working on the game.” - Stewart Butterfield, Slack Founder… and Flickr Co-Founder

Dried fish & flour exports Wood pulp mill, then rubber boots 花札 then taxi, and ramen Telegram service Wall cleaner for coal residue Podcasts

People are only going to remember you for one thing. Which will it be? Remember:

I’m very responsive on: LinkedIn / Quora / Twitter Let’s keep in touch! And at SebastianUngureanu.com