In this episode, Jon hath become undead... Barring that breach of logic and reality, the whole crew moves into a fantastic, content rich topic lineup of quantifying success and launching a product amongst a multitude of competitors.
The Startup Rat-race:
- Defining success.
- You should NOT be obsessing about your product, numbers, or work 24/7.
- Every business is a lifestyle business, the question is, “What kind of lifestyle is it giving you?”
- Be the captain of your own ship.
- Don’t be apart of the rat-race.
- Compete with yourself, then beat yourself.
- Hockey stick growth is great, but don’t expect it.
- Be happy with steady growth.
- The dangers of venture capitalist funding.
- Silicon Valley should not be your standard
- More money does not equal happiness.
- There are ample studies showing those who make over a 70-75k salary, have diminishing returns on happiness.
- The same studies show 35-75k being the happiness sweet-spot, depending on family size and location.
Launching a Product in a Saturated Market:
- Weighting starting in a saturated market versus creating a category.
- Pros and cons of launching in the middle of saturation.
- A demo for your product is a great tool.
- Finding out what users need.
- What are people saying about the competition?
- Fanboys can be dangerous.
- Beware of false standards from the competition.
- Legacy users can be trouble in some situations.
- Price is a terrible differentiator.
- You must stand out in other ways.
- You want customers who are seeking solutions, not bargains.
- Don't undercut your worth.
- Anybody can build a feature that you have.
- Anybody can do what you've done.
- Evaluate and often reevaluate what can, will, and does set you apart.
- Finding your differentiator versus finding your niche.
We close out with Kenny dropping a hilarious bit of hot knowledge on us (which gets
mildly explicit), as he explains business jargon, as only a Kenny can.