Product Habits - A few rules

One at a Time, Over and Over

Seth Godin is so good at breaking down complex topics into short and sweet posts—and this one is no exception. He uses a restaurant in this example, but the concept easily transfers to startups. Here's his point in a nutshell: You may have many customers to serve at any given point in time, but for each of those customers, it may be the only time they interact with you. In other words, treat each customer interaction like it's the only one you're going to get with them. It may very well be. 

The Ultimate Guide to First Principles Thinking

This is a thoughtfully put together guide about first principles, which are considered the "lego building blocks" for thinking. They are basic assumptions that cannot be deduced from any other assumptions. In this guide, you'll find a more thorough explanation of first principles from Elon Musk, as well as a handful of links that will help you grasp how the concept applies to multiple disciplines—from psychology to economics to computation. Read more here. 

A Few Rules

This list of rules is thought provoking. I don't agree with all of it, but there are a handful that I subscribe to wholeheartedly. Here are a few of them:

• The person who tells the most compelling story wins
• People learn when they are surprised
• Self-interest is the most powerful force in the world
• History is driven by surprising events, forecasting is driven by predictable ones

B2B SaaS Marketing Guide 2020

Alex Kracov, the VP of Marketing at Lattice, says he wasn't quite qualified to be the first marketing hire when he first started. He decided to compile this living, breathing guide of both his own best practices and some of the most useful resources he's found on the internet along the way. I think Alex has great perspective since he learned how to be a marketing leader on the fly, from the ground up. You'll want to bookmark this one. 

Evidence-Based Tips on Designing App Screenshots for Conversion Rate Optimization

I don't know about you, but when I'm browsing apps in a certain category, the screenshots play a huge role in helping me determine whether I want to download something I haven't necessarily heard of before. If you've got an app, this article is filled with a handful of very helpful tips for creating screenshots that are compelling and help you convert new users. Here's a simple but effective one: Place characters on the left and captions on the right. 

How to Say No (for the People Pleaser Who Always Says Yes)

"There's a high price to pay for constantly aiming to make other people happy." I couldn't agree more—and you might be a people pleaser without even realizing it. This is a great reminder of how important it is to understand your bandwidth and boundaries, and stick to them like your life depends on it. If it makes you uncomfortable to say no, at the very least, this article will encourage you to take a pause before you say yes to things that may not be aligned for you.

How Notion Built a $2B SaaS Startup Through Community and Templates

I'm a big fan of thoughtfully composed company teardowns because I think it's one of the best ways to learn about the hard-to-spot inflection points that contribute to a company's success (or failure). This is a fantastic breakdown dissecting how Notion became a $2 billion SaaS company with more than one million users. It covers just about everything—from how the company built a 46k member subreddit to how it built a strong growth loop with templates. There is a lot to learn from what the Notion team has achieved in four years. Which part of this company teardown surprises you the most? 

Coinbase Is A Product-Led Company

This is an interesting, quick read about Coinbase's product-led company philosophy, using product leads as DRIs (directly responsible individuals) on all projects that impact customers. The idea is that things move faster when there is a single decision maker, which I tend to agree with. Could a structure like this work at your company?

Building Breakthroughs: A New Course From Floodgate

The Floodgate team is launching an online course called "Building Breakthroughs," which is open to all students and startup founders across the country. The goal of the course is to help find and test breakthrough concepts, and develop the resources needed to scale. If it sounds like something you might be interested in, Floodgate is accepting applications until 9/20.

Lean more about the program here and apply here.

Going All-In on Remote Work: The Technical and Cultural Challenges

“Remote work can be either costly or cost-saving, depending on how you approach it and how well-equipped you are to truly support it.” I couldn’t agree more. Going remote is an opportunity to redefine roles and make sure your team has the resources they need, but it takes conscientious effort. This is an important read for anyone who is now leading a remote or semi-remote team. 

Bessemer Venture's Investment Recommendation Memos

Bessemer Venture Partners shared their Investment Recommendation Memoranda from some of their most successful investments. The common thread? It was less about the products and more about the people. In my experience with investing, people are the most important thing. I think most investors would agree. Keep this in mind if you’re pitching your startup in the near future. 

Hiring Your First Head of Marketing

This was a thought-provoking read about why there is so much turnover among startup CMOs. Often, they aren’t set up for success—especially if the company has invested few resources in marketing initiatives up until that point. Make sure you think through this checklist to determine whether you’re ready for a marketing head. 

How Etsy Created Joyful Online Events Pre-Zoom

I didn’t realize this, but Etsy started something called “Virtual Labs,” which were basically digital events, way back in 2009. One of the first dozen employees at Etsy shares why they created them, how they worked, and what made the community fall in love with them. 

Step Functions and One-Percent Improvements

I agree with Auren Hoffman: You can build a solid company with consistent one percent improvements. But in order to build a great company, you need step functions that provide exponential growth (though they tend to carry more risk). This is a thoughtful read about how step functions operate, and why they are important but require patience and risk tolerance. 

What the First Seven Christmases Were Like at Amazon

Amazon launched in July 1995. I didn’t know this, but apparently the company had a near-death experience around Christmas for the first seven years. Dan Rose joined in 1999 and recounts what it was like to work at Amazon during that crazy time. His tweet thread about it will surprise and inspire you. 

Why Senior Engineers Get Nothing Done

I hear this all the time from senior engineers: “I hardly code anymore.” I read this article and thought it was a great, clear explanation for why that tends to happen. If you’re an engineer (especially a senior one), this will make you chuckle and nod in agreement. More than that, it’ll help you find ways to protect your coding time and get back to the work you love the most.