This. I think the biggest problem startups make is finding a problem and building a solution, but not realizing there is a difference in problem size, value and pain per your medicine analogy.
32 karma · joined May 6, 2012
Pretty much agree with everything you said, this is a good unpacking of what I was trying to briefly convey in the OP.
For example, if one of the founders is strong in Biz Dev, then they probably don't need this (though some level of assistance would still be helpful), but if this is not the case, then getting guidance and potentially full-service assistance with an all-in effort in gaining customer feedback in a valid way that could be just the frequency shift that determined success or failure in an otherwise solid product/idea.
Basically you would be taking the product from something potential customers respond with "maybe" into something they say "Heck yes, take my money!"
YES! If you're building a dashboard, don't answer the question "what data do I have?" or "what does the brass say this should be?" But instead, get out and talk to users, find out what data is most important to them, think outside the box, throw some different ideas out there and see what sticks with users.
You can see my desk design here. It was acquired for very cheap: $1 counter top from thrift store, $10 in 2x4's from lowes. and only 1 strategically placed screw in the wall. I also have an anti-fatigue mat and a foot stool that helps a lot.
pic: https://www.dropbox.com/s/e3zl8jxk7xeazsr/Screenshot%202014-...
I wonder if this is in part because, now that our work is less social, we want our environment to be geared toward more social, i.e. big cities.
Sure, if your a cereal entrepreneur like Adii or captain crunch, it's doable, but for most of us who are still trying for our first big breakthrough, we need all the help we can get.
Almost any startup/product needs two things. A good quality product and users. When speed is important it's extremely difficult for one person to do these very different tasks exceptionally well. As a CTO (who isn't overly technical, just enough to build prototypes, PM, and lead the team) I feel completely overwhelmed just thinking about having to do all that our CEO does on the business and growth side.
There is a 2000 year old book that basically says "There will always be the poor" --not sure exactly what that means, but it kinda makes sense. For me, I've tried both large scale and small scale ways of helping "the poor" and I've developed the model of:
1. help people when you can & however you are able...It probably won't help them long-term though but maybe thats ok.
2. A few of those folks really are motivated to change their life for the better, so when you help them, it may pay off for the greater good.
Either way, studies show that helping others and "giving to a good cause" typically pays off higher "happiness dividends" than selfishly spending money on yourself (unless its for a new smartphone or laptop of course :))
Developer, Generalist -- with some combination of skills in: --frontend, web apps --backend, REST & SOAP APIs --Mobile, Android & Services
We are an enterprise SaaS company approaching our 1 year mark. We have paying customers and a full stack v1.0. Now, we need you to help us scale. Our customers are some of the largest corporations in the world and our market is transportation/logistics. Northwest Arkansas may seem like a random place for a tech startup, but we have half of the top 30 supply-chain & logistics companies just down the road and its a great place to live and raise a family.
Offering cost-of-living stipend + equity on a 1 year vesting schedule.
Shoot me and email and lets chat! jeremywilliams [at] crossfleet.com (tech cofounder)
Creativity begets creativity
Don't forget that customer value trumps hi-tech cool factor when it comes to actually having your new idea see the light of day
Not sure how this will be applicable to any of my projects right now, but I've got to admit the demo's work impressively.
But I'm going to assume this article references companies where the Technology department is more of a cost center than primary operations.
For example a SaaS company that basically just has sales/marketing and technology/operations, the CTO is also acting as the COO, so I think you could attribute the COO salary to that of the CTO in a SaaS or high-tech startup.
also, best linkedIn trolling is endorsing people for languages they despise but have had to use anyway :)
A lot of it has taken me by surprised. My long standing idea of Buffett was that he was careful and prudent, but I'm surprised to learn how highly intellegent he was. the book references how easy school/college was and that he was the only one to get an A+ in Ben Graham's class. It was also very interesting at how OBSESSED he was with earning money, from a very young age, all his efforts revolved around how he could earn more and more money.
All that to say, there were a lot of serendipitous aspects to buffet's success, but I think more so he was just an extremely unique individual able to combine 1. very smart 2. very ambitious 3. very concerned with increasing his capitol.