Scaling products beyond regular constraints

Transcript

1. View Slide

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

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

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4. 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.
   

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5. 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.
   

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6. 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
   

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7. It’s easy to remember:
   no no …maybe?
   

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8. 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.’”
   

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

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

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11. 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
    

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

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13. 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
    

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14. bland ideas
    

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15. 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”)
    

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

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

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18. 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…
    

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19. A Practical Example of Average
    

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20. A Practical Example of Great
    

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

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22. 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.
    

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

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24. 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…
    

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25. 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.
    

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26. Work the brain muscle.
    

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27. Get 1%
    better
    every day
    

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28. 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.
    

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

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30. …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.
    

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31. …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
    

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

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

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

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