As entrepreneurs, we are good at coming up with ideas. We envision solutions to the problems that trouble the audience we have chosen to help. We think deeply about a problem, mentally shape a product, and see how much it would benefit the quality of life. Then we get to work and build the prototype, … Continue reading Solution Validation Doesn’t Happen In a Vacuum: How to Talk To Your Future Customers
Author: Arvid Kahl
Make It Sell Itself: On Referral Systems
One year into running FeedbackPanda, we released a referral system. It was an immediate success, and it stayed that way ever since. When we sold the business, around 40% of new signups came through our referral system. Immediately after turning on the user-facing parts of the referral system, we started seeing results. Our social media … Continue reading Make It Sell Itself: On Referral Systems
Problem Validation: Making Sure You’re Talking To The Right People
"Talk to your customers," they say, "because that's the only way to build something people want." The collective wisdom of the bootstrapper scene is not wrong. But talking to your customers is only half the truth. It's just as important to speak to the right kinds of customers as it is to ignore the rest. … Continue reading Problem Validation: Making Sure You’re Talking To The Right People
Finding the Most Painful Problem in a Market
When you're looking at a niche market, you will find many people having a large number of problems. However, people will only pay money for a tiny subset of those: the excruciating problems. You can solve many problems but still fail to build a business if you're solving the wrong ones. Your chances of success … Continue reading Finding the Most Painful Problem in a Market
The Power of the Niche
If you were to found a company that makes and sells beer today, you would probably start a craft brewery. You'd start a small operation, find the people who enjoy your product and slowly expand your business. You would not try to compete with Bud Light and Heinecken for shelf space. You would prefer to … Continue reading The Power of the Niche
Do You Need a Co-Founder?
Building a business alone can be daunting. You might lack a few skills; in fact, I am sure you do. There is a lot to learn when you start a company, and you will never stop running into unexpected challenges that require the acquisition of new skills and knowledge. So, should you find someone to … Continue reading Do You Need a Co-Founder?
So You Got an Offer: How to Do Due Diligence on Your Potential Acquirer
There is almost no better and, at the same time, terrifying feeling than when you receive an email from someone who wants to acquire you. There was great joy when that happened to us at FeedbackPanda. Immediately after, we started to think about the level of risk we were about to expose our company to. … Continue reading So You Got an Offer: How to Do Due Diligence on Your Potential Acquirer
Your Initial Pricing Will Never Be Right, But Try Anyway
When you're just starting, finding the right pricing model for your young business seems very hard and almost entirely arbitrary. That's because, at such an early stage of your business, it is impossible to find the "correct" price for several reasons. At the beginning of your business, revenue serves one purpose before any other: validation. … Continue reading Your Initial Pricing Will Never Be Right, But Try Anyway
Churn, Retention, and Revenue: What Makes Customers Stick Around and Why That's Important
Retaining a customer is easier than finding a new one. You already have an open communication channel. They're already interested in hearing from you. You also know their behavior patterns, and you can infer how much and how effectively they use your product from your metrics. On average, a 5% increase in customer retention leads … Continue reading Churn, Retention, and Revenue: What Makes Customers Stick Around and Why That's Important
Continuous Validation: Staying in Touch with Your Market
I first felt that we truly had a validated business when we had our very first yearly subscriber. That level of commitment for a young product such as FeedbackPanda two months into our existence showed us that people wanted what we made and were ready to put their money on it. However, validation is always … Continue reading Continuous Validation: Staying in Touch with Your Market
