Parker Thompson Lean Startup SXSW
โข
3 likesโข1,173 views
This short document discusses two types of people - visionaries and missionaries - who can succeed in early stages. It also asks what success is and briefly mentions having a vision, but does not provide many details about these topics in the limited text.
Recommended
More Related Content
Viewers also liked
Viewers also liked (16)
More from Eric Ries
More from Eric Ries (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Parker Thompson Lean Startup SXSW
- 1. Visionaries and Missionaries ย Succeeding at the earliest stages
- 2. ย
- 4. So, what is success?
- 7. So, what about my vision?
Editor's Notes
- Today Iโd like to talk about the two kinds of founders we see at Pivotal and suggest one type is much more likely to be successful at the earliest stages.
- 200 startups over the last 5 years Today 30 concurrent startups Across our 4 offices
- project management tool thatโs doing very well.
- Iโm interested in the earliest stages of the startup, YMMV applying this frame more broadly. Success is building a product someone gives a crap about.
- He knows exactly what heโs doing. He has clarity of purpose. He convinces others heโs right and they follow him. Heโs great at building and leading organizations. Investors love this guy. But when it comes to products heโฆ thinks the details should be obvious and implied by the vision. He doesnโt value user feedback if they donโt get the vision. He doesnโt measure or learn. He sees incremental or pre-vision releases as a necessary evil rather than an opportunity. He sees the vision as something that canโt be validated until youโre done. He overdesigns, overbuilds, overspends, and ultimately tries to sell a vision to users who just need a better mousetrap. In short, visionaries sucks at building products.
- She isnโt necessarily sure how sheโll ultimately change the world but sees a clear near-term problem or opportunity. Sheโs often a domain expert, but doesnโt presume to be the user. When it comes to products sheโฆ She is user facing. Because sheโs focused on userโs needs, she sees simple solutions that can deliver immediate value. She canโt wait to get new features in userโs hands and lives to make them happy. She values releasing as soon as features are built and lives to see users get excited. When sheโs wrong, she listens to feedback and adjusts course. Missionaries make products happen.
- Your vision is like a beautiful flower and Iโm not here to criticize it. Vision get you get you off the bench. And they can keep you from quitting. But successful products get built by missionaries. And at the earliest stages success is building a great product.