Flintstoning
Matthew Zammit
Head of Product at Binderr / Advisor for Tech Startups / Helping Startups build, grow and scale
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where your product or startup is missing a crucial feature, but you're determined to launch? This is where the concept of "Flintstoning" comes into play.
What is Flintstoning?
Flintstoning is the art of manually compensating for the lack of a specific feature in your product or startup. It's akin to Fred Flintstone's iconic car, which looks and functions like a car but is powered by feet. In the same way, Flintstoning involves using manual human effort to bridge the gap left by missing product functionality or anticipated user activity.
The Flintstone Philosophy
Early in your product development journey, you face an essential decision: what parts of the user experience should you build end-to-end, and where should you rely on manual processes for the sake of gaining a deep understanding before automation? Like Fred Flintstone powering his car by running, you may find yourself manually keeping your product alive and working.
The Value of Flintstoning
Flintstoning isn't just a workaround; it's a strategic approach. It allows you to gather invaluable insights, discover what works, and uncover potential pitfalls. Moreover, it enables you to get early feedback from your audience, a critical step in taking your product to the next stage.
Embracing the Challenges
However, Flintstoning isn't without its challenges. It can create anxiety, knowing that things might not work perfectly, but having a workaround in place. Yet, the benefits far outweigh the temporary discomfort. It's a powerful tool in your product development toolkit.
Content Recap
Some content from the past few days:
领英推荐
Startups shutting down and prioritisation : This is the most difficult year for startups in a decade and it will remain so into 2024. And it‘s an extremely difficult period for founders in the current economic climate.More than ever, your focus for 2023Q4 and 2024H1 needs to prioritise ruthlessly towards survival.
The underused-feature dilemma : There’s this one feature that potential customers ask for and get excited about during the sales pitch, but once the deal's sealed, it's like it vanishes into thin air. Practically no one uses it.What do you do?
Finding the right balance between detailed product discovery and taking action (carousel): 10 ideas to help you think about Product Discovery and where to find your balance.
This was one of my biggest mistakes : I faced immense stress when I hired the wrong person. The pressure was intense when our top developer left. And finding a replacement with precise skills took longer than expected, and impatience crept in. Do I keep looking? Do I lower our standards? Do I hire for fewer skills? Impatience led to a compromise.
That's all for today.
Speak soon ??
Matthew