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Comment by SeoxyS | Hacker News Reader

I hate to be a downer, but I don't think there's any world in which two weeks is enough to make any conclusions. I think you need to give it a serious shot (think months) before you'll be able to objectively assess your business.

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I disagree. The most successful entrepreneurs learn quickly and iterate quickly. You usually can learn something in two weeks - even if it's just that certain language you use is unclear or a turn off. And that's a start.

Quick iteration is the goal, but in two weeks you can't possibly gain enough data, experience, and mindshare to properly build a conclusive picture. Sure, iteration means making quick tactical decisions and conclusions, but business is about strategy and that often moves on the scale of months (even in lean startup land). Those that try to make strategic decisions faster than they can figure out what their data and experience means always end up falling over (I've worked for companies that have done this - twice).

I agree, but I don't think that the original poster was claiming to have a conclusive picture. He had a few observations from the first two weeks, and I'm arguing that they were valid. Was it a good idea to act on them so quickly? Possibly. In my experience, (nine years of running the same business) intuition is sometimes enough.

Actually 2 weeks could be enough to gain some information and make quick and necessary changes. The early days of a start-up would be the most unpredictable and if you haven't learned anything in two weeks that you need to change or improve upon then you haven't been monitoring your project carefully. It's not the length of time but the level and intensity of activities you went through that counts the most.

Did you think about your comment for months before you posted it? I think you need to give this article a serious shot (think months) before you'll be able to objectively assess this article.

I agree with SeoxyS - 14 days is nothing! I'm just now reaching conclusions about my business and it has been a whole year! Granted my business is very different and conclusions to be made vary based on the character and intentions of what you are doing - but I still hold to the logic that 14 days just isn't enough time to draw conclusions.

Further, you could actually put forth why you disagree with him instead of taking his comment and applying an out-of-context switch with the subject. Comments and articles are completely different from a business on scale and intent (seriously, months to think about a comment? However I do re-read my comments to make sure they are sound, so maybe minutes). What I think you meant to say is that writing and sharing thoughts is okay no matter what stage you are at; in that I agree, but I disagree with writing about weak conclusions (weak because 14 days isn't enough time to gather the data and experience necessary to clearly conclude) based on the fact that as an author on the internet, drawing conclusions too soon can actually hurt your business.

As you said, writing and sharing your thoughts on your own business is fine at any stage. The author wasn't making a final, definitive assessment of his business, and it's absurd for SeoxyS to assert that he was.

Even if the author had made a "conclusion", he is welcome to. If he learned something in two weeks, congratulations to him. If after two weeks post launch, and months of development, he cannot plausibly have "made a conclusion", then no one on this thread has the right to "make a conclusion" after reading one blog post.

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