Full disclosure – this isn’t my brilliant idea, but a recap of Paul Graham’s famous 2013 essay .
The essay is cult-literature of sorts for starts ups, but I would venture a guess that most corporate-types haven’t read it. If you find yourself in the latter category, please read the essay immediately. It sets out 10 contrarian points of view about setting out to build a new venture / project / initiative. Four ideas, in particular, stood out for me:
- Focus on a deliberately narrow market first
- Recruit users manually
- Take extraordinary (sometimes unproductive) measures to make your users happy
- Aim for a “little” not “big” launch
A worthwhile reminder that counterintuitive actions are often required to create the conditions for future business growth and success.
The Growth Hack Lab 