The Startup Weekly: #29
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Why Product Thinking is the next big thing in UX Design
Far too often, design happens in a silo. When thinking of User Experience, we often think of a simple, beautiful, and easy to use feature-set of a product, that makes the user’s life easier. But as a matter of fact, features are merely a small, fragile part of the product. They are only a few of many thinkable solutions for a user’s problem the product tries to solve. Features don’t work without the product — so think in products, not features.Because, as the writer says, life’s too short to build something nobody wants.
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Dilution vs. Death
As investor funds are flowing more easily, a timely warning from a Matrix Partners VC.Most of us haven’t seen the last down-cycle. But the music will stop at some point, and it will become difficult for even great companies to raise money.As Josh Hannah advises, take the money now, even if it’s at a lower-than-desired valuation. A little dilution is vastly better than the death of your company.
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Change Your Name
If you have a startup called X and you don’t own X.com, change your name. That’s how Paul Graham starts his latest article. Why? Because having X.com signals strength, and marginal domains suggest you’re a marginal player. I know, you identify with your name, and no other name’s. Don’t fully agree with the article, but it’s still an interesting read.
16 Startup Metrics
In this post, the Andreessen Horowitz team lists 16 important metrics that all startups should look at.I found it particularly useful for two reasons:
1. In this era of Big Data, you’re always drowning in metrics. It’s useful to know the few that you must always look at.
2. This article also gives definitions of each metric, and explains how to interpret each one.
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How startups can benefit from freelancing
As your startup begins to gain some traction, you need to start filling out your team with the new skills needed. But what if you don’t have the funds (or need) for full-time employees?This article lists seven different ways in which freelancers can make a significant contribution to a startup — whether with their domain expertise, outside-in perspective or the financial benefit.
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20 Life Equations for Entrepreneurs
I’ve always tried to break concepts into bare-bones, as a means to understand them better. And there are very few things more bare-bones than mathematical equations.This article presents twenty simple equations describing various facets of an entrepreneur’s journey. Whether it’s defining competitive advantage, understanding the difference between efficiency and effectiveness, or pushing for simplicity, this article breaks them down into their core elements. The real world is more complicated, of course. But these equations succinctly drive home what it takes to succeed.
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How Many Stock Options Should I Give An Advisor?
Advisors can add a lot of value to startups. When an inexperienced founder sets out to carve a niche for his or her startup, the experience and vision of an advisor can often significantly influence success. But how much is an advisor worth? Should you give an advisor 5% of the company? 10%? 1%? And over how much time should these shares vest? This article offers a very meticulous breakdown of how to arrive at the right number, depending on what the advisor brings to the table.
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Bigger Isn’t Always Better: How A Big Round Can Hurt Your Startup
When you’re a struggling team eating away at your meager savings and trying to get your startup profitable, venture capital funding seems like the holy grail. And there’s a pervasive belief that entrepreneurs should aim to raise as much money as possible, as often as possible. While this might be true in some circumstances, this article presents three reasons why raising as much money as possible is often not in the best interest of the entrepreneur or the company.
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