UIKonf - We're Not "Doing a Startup"

The version of these slides from UIKonf in Berlin.

Transcript

1. We’re not “doing a startup” How to cut through the hype and build your side project into a profitable business. Rachel Andrew, UIKonf 2014 Wednesday, 14 May 14
2. grabaperch.com Wednesday, 14 May 14
3. G.K. Chesterton “I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite.” Wednesday, 14 May 14
4. This is a marathon, not a 5K. Wednesday, 14 May 14
5. Wednesday, 14 May 14
6. It’s not about the money (until it is) Wednesday, 14 May 14
7. Getting started Choosing the perfect idea to bootstrap as a side-project. https://www.flickr.com/photos/joeshlabotnik/7276841268 Wednesday, 14 May 14
8. Walt Disney “The way to get started is to quit talking and start doing.” Wednesday, 14 May 14
9. • for an audience you are already part of • that can get to a shippable version 1 quickly • that solves a problem people will pay to have solved • that does not need a lot of traction to be useful • that has existing competition A product ... Wednesday, 14 May 14
10. A product for an audience you are already part of. Wednesday, 14 May 14
11. Solve problems for your own community. Wednesday, 14 May 14
12. Look for problems close to home Wednesday, 14 May 14
13. The worst that could have happened with Perch? No-one would want it but we’d have a useful tool for our business. Wednesday, 14 May 14
14. With a track record in a community you will already have trust. Wednesday, 14 May 14
15. A product that can get to a shippable version 1 quickly. Wednesday, 14 May 14
16. John Radoff “The goal of a startup is to find the sweet-spot where minimum product and viable product meet – get people to fall in love with you.” Wednesday, 14 May 14
17. To launch with a small product, you need to find a problem that can be solved with a small product. Wednesday, 14 May 14
18. Perch v.1 • A simple content editor • No way to add new pages • No API • Images could be uploaded - but not resized Wednesday, 14 May 14
19. The Problem Client requests that an already developed static site be made editable via a CMS. Wednesday, 14 May 14
20. The Solution A simple CMS that turned static pages into editable pages by way of dropping in a couple of PHP tags. Wednesday, 14 May 14
21. A product that solves a problem that people are happy to pay to have solved. Wednesday, 14 May 14
22. Charging money is how you make sure you get feedback from the people who are willing to pay Wednesday, 14 May 14
23. A product that does not need a lot of traction to be useful. Wednesday, 14 May 14
24. “Social” or “community” products need a large user base to succeed. Wednesday, 14 May 14
25. Where do your initial users come from? What will they cost? Wednesday, 14 May 14
26. A product that has existing competition. Wednesday, 14 May 14
27. Perch competitors at launch • WordPress • ExpressionEngine • CushyCMS • PageLime • Joomla • Drupal Wednesday, 14 May 14
28. What problem is your competition NOT solving? Build it. Wednesday, 14 May 14
29. New concepts will require you to educate potential customers as to why they even need your product. Wednesday, 14 May 14
30. Finding the time How to make time for side-projects. https://www.flickr.com/photos/mybigtrip/6111406 Wednesday, 14 May 14
31. Malcolm S. Forbes “One worthwhile task carried to a successful conclusion is worth half-a- hundred half-finished tasks.” Wednesday, 14 May 14
32. Sir John Lubbock “In truth, people can generally make time for what they choose to do; it is not really the time but the will that is lacking.” Wednesday, 14 May 14
33. Get set up to be able to pick up and work on your side-project quickly - whenever the time is available. Wednesday, 14 May 14
34. Your product must be a first-class citizen alongside your other work. Wednesday, 14 May 14
35. Set aside time and plan in advance what you will do with it Wednesday, 14 May 14
36. Diana Scharf Hunt “Goals are dreams with deadlines” Wednesday, 14 May 14
37. There is power in setting a goal, writing it down, putting a date on it Wednesday, 14 May 14
38. Brian Casel http://casjam.com/the-cascading-to-do-list-or-how-to-get-big-things-done/ “In a nutshell, the idea is to start with the end-goal in mind, then divide it into smaller and smaller increments. Plan all of the actions in detail beforehand, then get to work.” Wednesday, 14 May 14
39. Be realistic about how much you can achieve. Feeling as if you are falling behind can demotivate you. Wednesday, 14 May 14
40. If there is not enough time ... • Either revise your end date • Or, remove elements of the project - pushing them into a post-launch phase. Wednesday, 14 May 14
41. Be ruthless in cutting features that can be added post-launch Wednesday, 14 May 14
42. The “missing” features at launch will seem far more important to you than to your customers. Wednesday, 14 May 14
43. Describe the product as it is now. Sell the solution. Wednesday, 14 May 14
44. • Start Small • Get feedback from paying customers • Improve and add to your product based on their needs balanced by your vision. Wednesday, 14 May 14
45. Launch and beyond Managing a growing side- project alongside an existing job or business. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasamarshall Wednesday, 14 May 14
46. • We launched Perch at the end of May 2009 • At launch we were still 100% booked out on client projects • Income from Perch was initially reinvested into Perch • January 2013 we made the decision to stop taking on new client work Our timeline Wednesday, 14 May 14
47. A successful side-project should be given more time as it represents a higher % of your income. Wednesday, 14 May 14
48. Not making a profit? • Are you pricing too cheaply? • Are you reliant on expensive services? • Are you attracting customers who need a lot of support? Wednesday, 14 May 14
49. The slower growth curve of bootstrapped products gives you time to fix problems before they become BIG problems. Wednesday, 14 May 14
50. Managing Growth Wednesday, 14 May 14
51. Never promise a specific timeframe to customers Wednesday, 14 May 14
52. When your product is a side-project you have even more things that could cause you to push back a feature. Wednesday, 14 May 14
53. We don’t publish a roadmap • It allows us to be flexible and react to customer needs and changing trends in web design. • It means that customers are not relying on the launch of feature X in order to complete a project. • It means that we can hold back a feature until we are absolutely sure it won’t cause anyone a problem. Wednesday, 14 May 14
54. Use Cases not Feature Requests Wednesday, 14 May 14
55. Find general solutions that will benefit many customers rather than adding very specific features Wednesday, 14 May 14
56. Understanding the problem means we can help the customer now and optimize the solution later. Wednesday, 14 May 14
57. Delight customers by solving their problems and letting them know when you have done so Wednesday, 14 May 14
58. Protect the Core Use Case Wednesday, 14 May 14
59. Your product will benefit by being owned by someone who will say no. Wednesday, 14 May 14
60. Make Frequent Small Releases Wednesday, 14 May 14
61. Small releases • Fewer changes = fewer things to go wrong • Easier to isolate the issue if a problem does occur • Get features to customers more quickly • For our customers, less of a dramatic change that they need to communicate to their clients Wednesday, 14 May 14
62. Don’t be led by a noisy minority Wednesday, 14 May 14
63. Seek out the opinion of those customers you never hear from. The happy majority are often silent. Wednesday, 14 May 14
64. Marketing How to tell people about your product, when you have no money to burn. https://www.flickr.com/photos/brent_nashville/5284764031/ Wednesday, 14 May 14
65. Seth Godin “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.” Wednesday, 14 May 14
66. You have made something that genuinely solves a problem. Go tell people about it! Wednesday, 14 May 14
67. Pre-launch of Perch • A month before we put up a landing page and email signup form • About 500 people signed up • We emailed the list on launch and those people represented enough sales on launch day to pay back all pre-launch costs. Wednesday, 14 May 14
68. Your reach will give you your initial customers. Then what? Wednesday, 14 May 14
69. Content Marketing Wednesday, 14 May 14
70. Write blog posts and articles on the things your potential customer is interested in, not about your product. Wednesday, 14 May 14
71. Sponsorship Wednesday, 14 May 14
72. Perch sponsoring the Unfinished Business podcast Wednesday, 14 May 14
73. Paid Advertising Wednesday, 14 May 14
74. If you cannot track it do not pay for it Wednesday, 14 May 14
75. Target the “long tail” keywords Wednesday, 14 May 14
76. Research smaller sites visited by your ideal customer, advertise on those less expensive sites. Wednesday, 14 May 14
77. People love Perch - http://grabaperch.com/people-love-perch Wednesday, 14 May 14
78. Create your own definition of success Wednesday, 14 May 14
79. No investors means we get to focus 100% on our customers. Wednesday, 14 May 14
80. The work is always worth it. Wednesday, 14 May 14
81. Thank you http://rachelandrew.co.uk/presentations/not-doing-a-startup Rachel Andrew me@rachelandrew.co.uk @rachelandrew http://rachelandrew.co.uk Wednesday, 14 May 14