Product tips on building from 0 to 1

I had the privilege to fulfill a lifelong interest of mine recently: to teach others how to be more entrepreneurial and innovative using the power of design. Throughout the journey of walking through entrepreneurs and product managers in my initial cohort of students, I've synthesised five points to remember when building a product from zero to one.

1. Choose your market well

Commercial success is about finding product market fit and choosing the right market. Choosing the right market is one thing founders and product leaders don't spend enough time thinking about. Some vectors of consideration include competitive vulnerability, serviceable addressable market and number of competitors; all of which shapes your go-to-market strategy.

2. Keep initial prototype(s) simple

Someone in my class once thought he needed to hire developers to build his first prototype. When I question what is a simpler and low tech way to validate his assumption, he was stuck. I then promptly suggested he could first do a customer survey and then a Wizard of Oz demo. Always try to think of getting the first iteration of the product done on your own.

3. No research & bad research can kill your progress

Sometimes I unknowingly get pulled into meetings disguised as user interviews without first being given the opportunity to explain to the founder that I will not make an objective interview participant as I am aware of the research technique. I'm unsure why startup incubators/accelerators are training their founders on user interview techniques without explaining to them the dangers of leading questions, confirmation bias and asking customers/prospects to give solutions. Launching a product without research is risky; launching a product with bad data gives the team a false sense of security.

4. Build products without ego

A wise man once told me that if you are not getting the results you want in life, maybe you have the wrong theory. A product leader and founder should always be ready to stand corrected by the market and by a team smarter than him/her. Having a big ego prevents the product team from truly listening/seeing the data and evolving the product fast enough.

5. 3Ps of marketing shape distribution

When thinking about Product in the 4Ps, customers care about speed, convenience and results. This is even more true for consumer products e.g. diet pills that promise you that it helps you lose weight the next day without side effects will surely sell better than a training program that requires you to be highly disciplined for 21 days in diet and training.

Most founders and product leaders understand the above intuitively however the other 3Ps of marketing makes the difference between a product that gets minor vs. major traction.

Place (channel), price and promotion shapes your distribution approach e.g. a low price calculator should be sold in small convenience or stationery stores with a promotion that hooks the buyer persona that can't say no to a good deal: perhaps bundling with free batteries or pricing it as a $2.97 impulse purchase near the counter.

Each of these points could be a lecture of its own but this will do for now.

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@daylonsoh