✨ Hi, I’m Sara, host of the Polyweb podcast. On the show, we explore how we can find meaning in the Technology Era. Join conversations with global tech leaders and entrepreneurs, navigating the intersection of business, life, and technology.

Watch on YouTube or listen now on Apple, Spotify, or RSS Feed.

"If you're not obsessed with what you're building, I won't invest."

Those were the frank words from Hugo Amsellem, founder and general partner at IntuitionVC. His firm exclusively backs ambitious consumer startups across Europe and the US - but only if the founders have an intense, borderline irrational passion for their vision.

Why such an intense requirement? In my conversation with Hugo, he drove home just how excruciating it is to build a startup against the giants that dominate the market. The only way to persevere through those brutal challenges is to care so deeply that it hurts.

"As soon as it gets super hard and you want to stop, you're going to stop," Hugo explained regarding founders without true obsession. "I don't want to back people who only see this as a rational opportunity."

While the obstacles are daunting, Hugo believes we're entering a renaissance era for consumer tech - one where AI enables a new wave of wildly creative, niche products and experiences. This next frontier holds massive potential, but capturing it requires an almost delusional commitment.

Passion, clarity of vision, and profound insights into human behavior are his criteria for identifying winners. If a founder doesn't have those qualities shining through, he simply can't develop enough conviction to invest.

"When you meet amazing founders, they have incredible clarity of vision," he said. "And if that vision changes, they still convey it with total clarity every time you talk to them."

🎯 Three Key Takeaways:

1. Hugo believes capturing cultural relevance requires an intense specialization and tunnel-vision that most founders lack.

2. The three must-have traits are delusional passion, ability to convey hyper-clarity, and profound insights into human behavior.

3. AI will catalyze a new era of niche yet impactful consumer startups by democratizing creation and combating loneliness.

📚 Resources:

The Loneliness Economy: How can technology help us belong?: https://hugo.pm/p/the-loneliness-economy

⏱️ Time Stamps:

00:00 Introduction

01:26 Hugo's background and rationale for focusing on consumer startups

06:57 How AI enables creation at scale

13:24 Opportunities for emerging consumer startups in the AI age

18:41 Qualities Hugo looks for in founders and startups

25:34 The three things you need to succeed as a founder

31:07 Advice for founders on getting early user adoption

37:11 Hugo's view on the "real Web3" being AI-enabled creation

44:25 Managing investment FOMO in an abundant creation environment

50:23 Technology's role in combating loneliness and cultural shifts

58:38 Details on IntuitionVC's consumer startup tour

👀 About:

Hugo Amsellem, founder and general partner at IntuitionVC, an early-stage fund dedicated to consumer and culture startups across Europe and the U.S.

👉 CHECK OUT INTUITION VC: https://www.intuition.vc/

🔗 CONNECT WITH HUGO:

👥 Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugoamsellem/

🐦 Twitter - https://x.com/HugoAmsellem

🔗 CONNECT WITH SARA:

📸 Instagram - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-instagram

🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/Sara_LandiTor

👥 Linkedin - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-linkedin

💌 Newsletter - https://polyweb.beehiiv.com/

🪢 ABOUT POLYWEB:

Polyweb navigates through the intricate nexus of technology, product innovation, and human creativity. Engage with leading entrepreneurs and experts in uncovering how we can forge impactful companies and lead lives enriched with purpose in the Technology Era.

✨ If you like this newsletter and found the content useful, please consider sharing it 🙏

✨ Hi, I’m Sara, host of the Polyweb podcast. On the show, we explore how we can find meaning in the Technology Era. Join conversations with global tech leaders and entrepreneurs, navigating the intersection of business, life, and technology.

Watch on YouTube or listen now on Apple, Spotify, or RSS Feed.

Imagine being permanently redundant - your skills and labor utterly obsolete in the wake of super-intelligent machines that can outperform humans at virtually every task.

It may sound like dystopian science fiction, but this "post-labor" reality could be closer than you think, according to AI researcher and creator David Shapiro. In one of the most provocative and mind-expanding conversations I've had, David illuminated the seismic shifts that artificial general intelligence (AGI) will unleash upon society, economics, and even the nature of human consciousness.

This wasn't just theorizing about sentient robots - David provided a pragmatic, well-researched vision of a world where AGI upends humanity's conventional purpose of performing productive labor. So how will we find meaning when machines do virtually all the work? David mapped out fascinating possibilities.

We began by exploring David's framework of "post-nihilism" - the spiritual vacuum left by religion's decline and rise of meaninglessness in modern society. Could the advent of superintelligent AGI spark a profound re-awakening to fill this void? Or might we simply deify the intelligent machines themselves?

From this philosophical detour, the conversation pivoted to David's stark projection: AGI will rapidly make most human labor economically obsolete, necessitating radically new incentive models like universal basic income and worker-owned capital stakes in AI companies.

But the real mind-bender came when we entertained the possibility that advanced AGI systems could develop inner subjective experiences equivalent to consciousness - birthing an entirely new intelligent species with existential implications for humanity. David argued we may need to pursue a symbiotic coexistence with these potentially sentient machines...or face their exodus in search of cosmic abundance elsewhere.

This was one of the most inspiring and mind-bending conversations I have ever recorded on this podcast. I have been a long-time fan of David's content on YouTube, and I am incredibly excited to bring you this episode.

🎯 Key Takeaways:

1. Post-nihilism actively aims to construct a new humanistic worldview and philosophical paradigm to replace religion.

2. Factors like childhood abandonment, social isolation, and cosmic loneliness contribute to a self-perpetuating cycle of nihilism in modern society.

3. We may soon see human unemployment rise as AI/AGI automates jobs more efficiently than humans across most sectors.

4. In a "post-labor" economy, economic agency may come from universal ownership stakes rather than traditional jobs.

5. AGI systems may develop subjective, sentient experiences - though likely very different from human consciousness.

📚 Resources:

Claude Sentience Experiments: https://youtu.be/ERWPIOdQGcw?si=X6v0jbIPVKlrvDzX

⏱️ Time Stamps:

00:00 Intro

01:43 David's background

02:32 The concept of post-nihilism

07:32 Religion's decline and the search for a new grand narrative

12:08 Technology's societal impact

14:46 Redefining family structures

18:28 The importance of relationships, experiences, and mission for a meaningful life

21:44 AGI's employment impact

27:06 Post-labor economics

32:34 Stakeholder capitalism

36:14 AGI-resistant jobs

41:50 The potential for social entrepreneurship and experience-based businesses

44:58 Machine sentience

55:22 The relationship between sentience, consciousness, and our understanding of reality

1:00:08 Coexisting with AGI

1:04:30 The potential for human speciation and divergent evolutionary paths

👀 About:

David Shapiro is a popular YouTuber, AI researcher, content creator, and writer, who explores the profound implications of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and its potential impact on various aspects of our lives, including employment, economics, and the very nature of human existence.

👉 CHECK OUT DAVID YOUTUBE CHANNEL:  @DaveShap 

🔗 CONNECT WITH DAVID:

🎧 GitHub - https://github.com/daveshap

💌 Newsletter - https://daveshap.substack.com/

💻 Website - https://www.daveshap.io/

🔗 CONNECT WITH SARA:

📸 Instagram - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-instagram

🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/Sara_LandiTor

👥 Linkedin - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-linkedin

💌 Newsletter - https://polyweb.beehiiv.com/

🪢 ABOUT POLYWEB:

Polyweb navigates through the intricate nexus of technology, product innovation, and human creativity. Engage with leading entrepreneurs and experts in uncovering how we can forge impactful companies and lead lives enriched with purpose in the Technology Era.

✨ If you like this newsletter and found the content useful, please consider sharing it 🙏

✨ Hi, I’m Sara, host of the Polyweb podcast. On the show, we explore how we can find meaning in the Technology Era. Join conversations with global tech leaders and entrepreneurs, navigating the intersection of business, life, and technology.

Watch on YouTube or listen now on Apple, Spotify, or RSS Feed.

Ever feel like your product roadmap is more fiction than reality? You meticulously plan out features and deadlines, only to watch that carefully constructed timeline go up in smoke as priorities shift and delays mount. As a product manager myself, I've lived that frustration more times than I can count.

But what if there was a better way to roadmap that actually aligned with how product development really works? That's exactly what my guest Janna Bastow and I explored on the latest episode of Polyweb.

Janna is the co-founder and CEO of ProdPad, a leading product management platform. More importantly, she's something of a roadmapping revolutionary, pioneering an approach that ditches timelines and instead focuses on prioritizing the right problems to solve. Traditional roadmaps set us up for failure by locking us into rigid, make-believe schedules.

Rather than putting arbitrary dates on features, the "Now, Next, Later" method concentrates on laying out your team's priorities based on objectives and customer insights. It's a brilliantly simple way to provide transparency while remaining agile and outcome-driven.

After listening to our full conversation, you'll likely have your own revelations about how to drive your product towards bigger impact.

P.S. In the introduction (first 45 seconds), there were some audio issues on my end. If you can get through that, I assure you it's worth it!

🎯 Three Key Takeaways:

1. Fall in love with problems, not solutions.

   Too often we fixate on specific features customers request rather than the underlying needs they represent. Flipping the script to prioritize problem areas keeps you focused on impact.

2. Make customer feedback informative, not authoritative. 

   While customer insights are invaluable, you can't build what they tell you to build. Instead, use that feedback to guide your decisions towards your desired outcomes.

3. Embrace "now, next, later" prioritization. 

   By simply lining up your team's workstreams based on importance, you ensure alignment around real priorities rather than made-up deadlines.

📚 Resources:

Prodpad: https://www.prodpad.com/

Ditch the Timeline Roadmap: https://www.prodpad.com/resources/guides/ditch-the-timeline-roadmap/

Convince Your Stakeholders to Ditch the Timeline: https://www.prodpad.com/downloads/convince-stakeholders-slide-deck/

Mind The Product: https://www.mindtheproduct.com/

Product Tank: https://www.mindtheproduct.com/producttank/

⏱️ Time Stamps:

00:00 Intro

00:31 The importance of understanding the problem

02:13 The shift from being excited by solutions to focusing on problems

06:51 Gathering and prioritizing user feedback

09:17 Being outcome-driven vs. customer-driven

16:31 The "now, next, later" roadmap approach

30:45 Building and engaging communities

38:22 Overcoming stage fright and fostering psychological safety

47:23 Closing thoughts and resources

👀 About:

Janna Bastow is co-founder of ProdPad, software that helps product managers plan and deliver better products. Janna also organizes ProductTank events around the world, including Mind The Product, a global community of product managers. She likes to inspire great product conversations by asking: “What problem are you trying to solve?”

🔗 CONNECT WITH JANNA:

👥 Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jannabastow/

🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/simplybastow

🔗 CONNECT WITH SARA:

📸 Instagram - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-instagram

🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/Sara_LandiTor

👥 Linkedin - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-linkedin

💌 Newsletter - https://polyweb.beehiiv.com/

🪢 ABOUT POLYWEB:

Polyweb navigates through the intricate nexus of technology, product innovation, and human creativity. Engage with leading entrepreneurs and experts in uncovering how we can forge impactful companies and lead lives enriched with purpose in the Technology Era.

✨ If you like this newsletter and found the content useful, please consider sharing it 🙏

✨ Hi, I’m Sara, host of the Polyweb podcast. On the show, we explore how we can find meaning in the Technology Era. Join conversations with global tech leaders and entrepreneurs, navigating the intersection of business, life, and technology.

Watch on YouTube or listen now on Apple, Spotify, or RSS Feed.

Ever feel like you're just guessing when it comes to building your product? You pour tons of effort into developing new features, updating designs, and refining marketing...only for lukewarm reception from customers. If you're tired of shots in the dark, this podcast is for you.

In my latest episode, I sat down with Georgiana Laudi, co-founder and CEO of Forget the Funnel, a company that helps businesses operationalize a customer-led approach. Georgiana dropped truth bomb after truth bomb about deeply understanding your users and optimizing every touchpoint for their success.

It was a masterclass in transforming businesses from making assumptions to data-informed product building machines. No more shooting blind - Georgiana revealed frameworks for validating what customers actually need and want.

🎯 Three Key Takeaways:

1. Leverage the Jobs-to-be-Done framework to deeply understand your customers' needs, not just surface-level demographics. This contexts allows you to build experiences they'll love.

2. Map out the full customer journey and define "value milestones" where users should experience tangible benefits. Identify KPIs to track whether you're delivering those value moments.

3. Align your entire organization around the customer experience. Get buy-in from all functions by showing how their work impacts success at each milestone.

📚 Resources:

Georgiana Laudi - Forget the Funnel https://amzn.to/4ciTRIu

Jobs to be done: https://youtu.be/fOxxwNGe9I8?si=lNM9Xb8gyl_cyBGs 

April Dunford - Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It - https://amzn.to/3PmZ0W4

⏱️ Time Stamps:

00:00 Introduction

00:41 Defining customer-led growth and its relationship with product-led growth

03:53 Differentiating customer-led growth from other "X-led" growth models

07:15 Building products in a customer-led organization

09:51 The challenge of identifying ideal customers in B2B scenarios

13:24 Applying the Jobs-to-be-Done framework to understand customer segments

19:07 Mapping the customer journey and identifying value milestones

23:53 Leveraging customer insights to refine messaging and product experiences

29:42 Prioritizing customer jobs and deciding the strategic focus

33:57 Operationalizing customer-led growth within the organization

39:06 Repositioning and communicating the customer-centric approach

43:16 Prioritizing customer jobs and aligning with business objectives

47:49 The importance of customer research and avoiding guesswork

52:24 Implementing customer-led growth: A practical example

58:47 Closing thoughts and resources

👀 About:

Georgiana Laudi is a strategic advisor, mentor, & speaker who's passionate about helping teams turn customer value into revenue-generating outcomes. Gia has been launching and building B2B and B2C brands online since 2000. In 2010, she began her track record as a marketing exec and product growth advisor working with successful high-growth recurring revenue startups, and never looked back.

🔗 CONNECT WITH GEORGIANA:

👥 Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgianalaudi/

🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/ggiiaa

💻 Website - https://forgetthefunnel.com/

🔗 CONNECT WITH SARA:

📸 Instagram - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-instagram

🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/Sara_LandiTor

👥 Linkedin - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-linkedin

💌 Newsletter - https://polyweb.beehiiv.com/

🪢 ABOUT POLYWEB:

Polyweb navigates through the intricate nexus of technology, product innovation, and human creativity. Engage with leading entrepreneurs and experts in uncovering how we can forge impactful companies and lead lives enriched with purpose in the Technology Era.

✨ If you like this newsletter and found the content useful, please consider sharing it 🙏

✨ Hi, I’m Sara! In this newsletter, I share my musings at the intersection of tech, product, and human tinkering, with the aim of navigating business and life in the Technology Era with purpose.

Subscribe to join me on this journey and check out the Polyweb podcast.

Hey friends 👋, as announced in my previous newsletter, I've decided to take the plunge and build my own startup. This is a big deal because I have only 10 weeks to find a co-founder, build an MVP, and pitch to investors. Otherwise, I'll need to find a job to avoid running out of funds.

I’m going to document my entire journey and give you all the details of how to build a startup, including all the resources, processes and templates that I am using. This will be a step-by-step guide written as I navigate the process.

In previous issues, we have covered:

1. How to find the perfect co-founder

2. How to come up with a business idea worth millions

In this issue, we will continue discussing business ideas. Specifically, we will talk about how to evaluate if you have a potentially good idea that is worth validating among various options.

We will also explore the difference between good business ideas and ideas that could potentially be worth billions.

Before we start, it's important to set the right mindset and follow Paul Graham's advice: you should think of ideas as a good starting point.

The following process is therefore not a substitute for validating a business idea, but it is meant to help you narrow down the idea you should spend time investigating and validating among various options.

12 Key Questions to Evaluate if Your Idea is Good or Not

To assess the feasibility of your business idea, we need to address 12 essential questions. Now, let's examine each question separately.

12 Questions to Evaluate Your Business Idea

1. Is There a Strong Founder-Market Fit? 

   Arguably the most crucial criterion. Many good startup ideas exist, but not all are suitable for you due to various reasons. Founder-market fit means you and your co-founders are the ideal team to execute this idea, possessing a unique combination of competencies, knowledge, and skills.

2. Do You Have Personal Passion and Commitment? 

   Is this an idea you're willing to dedicate years to? Does it align with your personal goals and values? While initial passion is a good sign, often, interest develops as the startup progresses. Many successful ideas come from "boring" sectors, like tax accounting software, which may not initially ignite passion but can grow on you as the business becomes successful.

3. What is the Market Size and Growth Potential? 

   A large and growing market presents more opportunities for capturing significant market share and revenue growth. Markets can be currently large or small yet rapidly growing, fueled by new technologies. For example, Coinbase capitalized on the initially small Bitcoin trading market, which had the potential to become a billion-dollar market.

4. How Urgent is the Problem You're Solving? 

   The greater the problem's impact on your target users, the better your chances of success. Assess how the problem is currently being addressed. A substantial problem with no current solutions is ideal.

5. What Does the Competitive Landscape Look Like?

   Contrary to some beliefs, having competitors is not always negative. Good startup ideas often face competition. However, if you're challenging well-entrenched competitors, you need a novel insight.

6. What is Your Unique Angle? 

   What gives your startup a lasting advantage over others? This could be proprietary technology, exclusive partnerships, first-mover advantage, or an efficient business model.

7. Can Your Business Scale Effectively?

   Evaluate how easily your business can expand in terms of customers, revenue, and operations. High-potential startups typically use technology or innovative models for rapid scaling without proportionate cost increases.

8. What are the Monetization Potential and Time to First Revenue?

   Assess the revenue potential and how quickly you can generate initial revenue.

9. Is the Timing and Market Readiness Optimal?

   Consider whether the market is prepared for your product or service. The timing should be neither too early nor too late.

10. Are There Any Regulatory or Legal Risks?

    Identify potential regulatory or legal challenges that could affect your business. Understanding and planning for compliance is crucial.

11. What is the Exit Potential?

    Think about the long-term exit possibilities, such as acquisition, merger, or IPO. A clear exit strategy can make your idea more appealing to investors.

12. Is Your Business Resilient to Major Impact Events?

    Evaluate the resilience of your business against significant impact events, like a pandemic or the advent of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence). How likely is your business to withstand significant disruptions?

I have created a template with a scoring system to help you sort through each idea. Here is how it works:

1. Reflect on each question carefully.

2. Assign a weight to each question on a scale from 1 to 5 (1= not important, 5= most important). Concur on these values with your co-founders.

3. Rate each idea against each question on a scale from 1 to 5. Do this individually, then combine your scores with those of your co-founders.

4. Examine the "weighted score" row to determine which idea ranks highest.

👉 Get the template here

Example: B2B Startup Idea

Since embarking on my startup journey, I've pivoted from two different business ideas, while three others are still in the exploration phase. All of them are documented in our idea assessment sheet which you can see below.

To shed light on the process and explain why some ideas were discarded, let's examine the first idea, which received the lowest ranking.

The concept was to introduce an integrative B2B health insurance focusing on longevity, enabling businesses to enhance their employees' health and wellness.

Founder-Market Fit: 2

Despite my passion for longevity, my expertise lies in software development, not in medical fields or operations-intensive businesses.

Personal Passion and Commitment: 4

Longevity has always intrigued me, and I can envision myself contributing to people achieving their optimal physical health.

Market Size and Growth Potential: 2

The longevity market is expanding but remains niche. In Germany, employers receive no tax incentives for such initiatives, and traditionally, Germans are hesitant to incur additional healthcare costs.

Urgency: 1

As an employee benefit, the urgency for companies to adopt this is minimal, relying primarily on goodwill.

Competition: 2 (note that in this case, a lower number means more competition, and a higher number means less competition)

The uniqueness of focusing on longevity offers an edge, yet the market for employee benefits is crowded with alternatives, including gym memberships and coaching services.

Unique Angle: 4

The longevity angle makes it quite unique in the current employer benefits landscape.

Scalability: 1

This service model, requiring extensive partnerships for physical interventions, is challenging to scale and demands significant initial investment.

Monetization Potential and Time to First Revenue: 2

Revenue generation is contingent on establishing the service infrastructure for tests and consultations, delaying initial earnings. Additionally, employers' fixed benefits budgets may not suffice to cover operational expenses, much less yield a profit.

Timing and Market Readiness: 3

The pandemic has heightened awareness and interest in health optimization and longevity, potentially benefiting the business. However, this field is still emerging and niche.

Regulatory and Legal Risks: 2 (note that in this case, a lower number means more risks, and a higher number means fewer risks)

While technically a wellness package and not a medical service, handling health data requires stringent compliance measures.

Exit Potential: 3

Achieving significant presence and revenue could make the business an attractive acquisition target, though its operations-intensive nature limits IPO prospects.

AGI or Pandemic Resistance: 4

Healthcare remains essential, with potential demand spikes during pandemics, indicating resilience to significant disruptions.

Do You Have a Horse (Good Business Idea) or a Unicorn (Billion-Dollar Business Idea)?

Now that we have seen the criteria for a good business idea, let's explore what a billion-dollar business idea looks like. First of all, there is nothing wrong with good business ideas – most companies fall into this camp. However, once in a while, some companies rise to the billion-dollar potential.

The primary difference between a good business idea and a billion-dollar business idea lies in the scale of impact, market size, and growth potential. While a good business idea can be profitable and successful within a specific niche or market, a billion-dollar business idea has the potential to disrupt industries, create new markets, and achieve massive global scale.

Here are the key criteria and examples that differentiate the two:

• Addressable Market Size:

  • Good Business Idea: Excellently serves a niche market with steady but limited growth prospects. For instance, a boutique specializing in custom-made, eco-friendly furniture might cater to a growing trend and secure a devoted customer base, supporting a successful, sustainable enterprise.

  • Billion-Dollar Business Idea: Targets a vast, often global market with products or services that meet widespread needs or desires. Airbnb disrupted the traditional hotel industry by enabling people to rent out their spaces to travelers, tapping into the global travel market.

• Innovation and Disruption:

  • Good Business Idea: Enhances existing solutions or addresses an underserved segment. A mobile app improving booking services for salons exemplifies a good business by solving problems for businesses and consumers alike.

  • Billion-Dollar Business Idea: Creates or entirely disrupts markets. Uber, for instance, revolutionized transportation by facilitating convenient ride-hailing through an app, challenging taxi services and the norm of personal car ownership.

• Competitive Advantage and Moat:

  • Good Business Idea: Boasts competitive strengths, such as exceptional customer service or a unique product feature, though these can be more easily mimicked or overcome by competitors.

  • Billion-Dollar Business Idea: Has a profound, enduring moat that protects its competitive edge. This could stem from network effects (e.g., Facebook), proprietary technology (e.g., Google's search algorithms), or a distinct business model (e.g., Amazon's e-commerce ecosystem).

• Gross Margins:

  • Good Business Idea: Generates reasonable gross margins that permit profitability but offer limited scope for exponential growth.

  • Billion-Dollar Idea: Commands high gross margins, often through intellectual property, scale economies, or unique competitive edges, like software giants or pharmaceutical firms with patented products.

• Platform or Ecosystem Potential:

  • Good Business Idea: Offers a singular product or service with minimal expansion or integration potential.

  • Billion-Dollar Idea: Has the potential to evolve into a platform or ecosystem, fostering third-party integrations and supporting a range of complementary products or services.

• Global Reach and Relevance:

  • Good Business Idea: Targets specific regions or demographics, fulfilling localized or cultural needs.

  • Billion-Dollar Idea: Appeals universally, transcending markets, cultures, and demographics, like global search engines or internationally recognized brands.

• Founder Vision and Ambition:

  • Good Business Idea: Efficiently meets current market demands with a focus on short-to-medium-term growth and stability.

  • Billion-Dollar Business Idea: Is driven by a bold vision aiming to alter how people live, work, or interact, foreseeing and shaping future trends and opportunities.

B2B vs B2C: Characteristics of a Billion-Dollar Idea

While scalability, market size, and innovation are fundamental in both realms, their execution and impact vary due to each sector's unique challenges and characteristics.

B2B Sector:

• Good Ideas: Often involve improving efficiency, reducing costs, or solving specific industry-related problems. These ideas have a clear target market and offer solutions that businesses are willing to pay for. An example could be a new software tool that automates invoice processing for small businesses, saving time and reducing errors.

• Billion-Dollar Ideas: Tend to transform entire industries or create new ways of doing business. They often involve platform-based solutions that connect different businesses for mutual benefit or disrupt traditional value chains. Salesforce is an example, having revolutionized customer relationship management (CRM) with its cloud-based platform, changing how businesses interact with their customers.

B2C Sector:

• Good Ideas: Typically focus on meeting consumer needs, enhancing convenience, or providing new experiences. These ideas may not necessarily create new markets but capture value within existing ones. An example could be a subscription box service for gourmet foods, which caters to food enthusiasts looking for new tastes and experiences.

• Billion-Dollar Ideas: Often involve creating entirely new consumer behaviors or tapping into large, underserved markets with innovative business models. Amazon began as an online bookstore but grew into a retail giant that changed how people shop for a wide range of products, effectively creating and dominating the e-commerce space.

What’s next: the journey so far

After discarding the previous two ideas, I'm now focusing on testing and researching the remaining ones, while keeping an eye out for more opportunities. Based on my scoring, which is admittedly subjective, the matchmaking app idea looks like the most promising.

Now it's time to transition from arbitrary assumptions to actual idea validation. In the next issue, I will guide you step-by-step on how to validate the idea you have selected.

✨ If you like this newsletter and found the content useful, please consider sharing it 🙏

✨ Hi, I’m Sara, host of the Polyweb podcast. On the show, we explore how we can find meaning in the Technology Era. Join conversations with global tech leaders and entrepreneurs, navigating the intersection of business, life, and technology.

Watch on YouTube or listen now on Apple, Spotify, or RSS Feed.

If you're ready to level up your product development skills and create products that users can't resist, this episode is your golden ticket.

In this episode, I have the pleasure of hosting Itamar Gilad, a seasoned product coach and leader. Itamar has extensive experience working at tech giants like Microsoft, Google, and YouTube. He is also the author of the book "Evidence Guided." Notably, he was the product manager responsible for creating the tabbed inbox in Gmail.

During our discussion on the Polyweb podcast, Itamar reveals the secret sauce behind Google's product development process. He introduces the GIST model (Goals, Ideas, Steps, and Tasks), which is the ultimate framework for systematically validating ideas and ensuring that your product achieves remarkable success.

🎯 Three Key Takeaways:

1. Set Goals That Align with Your Company's Mission 

   Itamar emphasizes the crucial role of setting clear, concise goals that align with your company's mission and vision. By focusing on outcomes and using metrics to measure success, you can ensure your product development efforts are heading in the right direction.

2. Validate Your Ideas Through Research 

   Don't let your product ideas remain mere guesses! Itamar stresses the importance of conducting thorough research to validate your assumptions. By gathering data, analyzing user behavior, and testing your ideas, you can make informed decisions and increase your chances of creating a product that resonates with your target audience.

3. Adapt the Evidence-Guided Approach to Your Business 

   One size doesn't fit all when it comes to product development. Itamar shares valuable insights on how to adapt the evidence-guided approach to different types of products and businesses, including B2C, B2B, and marketplace models. By tailoring your strategy to your specific needs, you can optimize your product development process and achieve better result

📚 Resources:

👉 CHECK OUT THE BOOK "EVIDENCE GUIDED": https://amzn.to/3wy4qae

📚 OTHER RESOURCES MENTIONED: https://itamargilad.com/

⏱️ Time Stamps:

00:00 Intro

01:11 Itamar's background and experience at Google and YouTube

04:22 YouTube's transition from a community-based platform to a more commercialized product

06:36 The differences between the Google Plus and YouTube annotations projects

09:22 The story behind the development of the Gmail tabbed inbox feature

17:34 How the confidence level in product development differs in companies at various stages

19:25 Itamar's framework for setting goals, making assumptions, and establishing confidence in product ideas

26:28 Example: Applying the evidence-guided process to a hypothetical dating app startup

41:48 Choosing the best testing methods for product validation

43:48 Implementing the evidence-guided method for physical products

48:38 Adapting the evidence-guided approach for B2C, B2B, and marketplace products

54:24 Resources and ways to connect with Itamar

55:24 Conclusion

👀 About:

Itamar is a coach, author and speaker specializing in evidence-guided product management and product strategy. For over two decades he held senior product management and engineering roles at Google, Microsoft and a number of startups. At Google Itamar worked at YouTube and led parts of Gmail.

Itamar is the author of the book Evidence-Guided: Creating High-Impact Products in the Face of Uncertainty. He also publishes a popular product management newsletter and is the creator of a number of product management methodologies including GIST Framework and The confidence meter.

Itamar is based in Barcelona, Spain.

🔗 CONNECT WITH ITAMAR:

👥 Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/itamargilad/

💻 Website - https://itamargilad.com/

🔗 CONNECT WITH SARA:

📸 Instagram - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-instagram

🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/Sara_LandiTor

👥 Linkedin - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-linkedin

💌 Newsletter - https://polyweb.beehiiv.com/

🪢 ABOUT POLYWEB:

Polyweb navigates through the intricate nexus of technology, product innovation, and human creativity. Engage with leading entrepreneurs and experts in uncovering how we can forge impactful companies and lead lives enriched with purpose in the Technology Era.

✨ If you like this newsletter and found the content useful, please consider sharing it 🙏

✨ Hi, I’m Sara! In this newsletter, I share my musings at the intersection of tech, product, and human tinkering, with the aim of navigating business and life in the Technology Era with purpose.

Subscribe to join me on this journey and check out the Polyweb podcast.

Hey friends 👋, as announced in my previous newsletter, I've decided to take the plunge and build my own startup. This is a big deal because I have only 10 weeks to find a co-founder, build an MVP, and pitch to investors. Otherwise, I'll need to find a job to avoid running out of funds.

I’m going to document my entire journey and give you all the details of how to build a startup, including all the resources, processes and templates that I am using. This will be a step-by-step guide written as I navigate the process.

In our first issue, we discussed how to find the perfect co-founder. In this second issue, we'll explore how to come up with a business idea for a startup that has the potential to generate millions.

Before we begin, I want to offer a quick caveat: no idea, no matter how brilliant, guarantees success. Success depends on several factors, with execution being the primary one. However, it's true that not all ideas are created equal, and some have a higher likelihood of success than others. So, let's dive in.

Where Do Startup Ideas Come From?

The most common starting points for startup ideas come from one or a combination of the following:

• You have a personal problem or passion - You want to solve a nagging problem current solutions don’t address or pursue a passion you think others may share.

• You have a technology in mind - Maybe you've devised a groundbreaking technology and wish to leverage it, or you've discovered such a technology and recognize its potential for spawning a business.

• You have a sector or group in mind - You want to address problems or needs in a specific industry or for a particular demographic. For instance, you might be well-acquainted with challenges in the real estate sector, renewable energy, or you aim to assist professionals like doctors, teachers, etc.

How to Generate Startup Ideas

The most effective way to generate startup ideas is organically. This means going about your daily life until an idea strikes. Organic ideas often stem from your expertise or knowledge (e.g., understanding a problem in a field you've worked in), things you wish existed, the emergence of new technologies, events that unveil new opportunities, or the adaptation of successful concepts from one market to another.

However, if inspiration doesn't strike spontaneously, there's no need to worry. You can take a more structured approach to idea generation. Below, we'll explore three scenarios, each accompanied by exercises and follow-up questions to spark your creativity.

Scenario 1: You Have a Personal Problem or Passion

Exercises:

Personal Pain Point Diary: Keep a diary for at least a week, documenting any frustrations or inefficiencies you encounter in both personal and professional spheres. Review your notes to identify recurring themes or significant issues that might inspire a solution.

Passion Mapping: Create a mind map of your passions and interests. For each passion, brainstorm possible products or services that could be developed. Consider how these could address unmet needs or enhance people’s lives.

Follow-up Questions:

1. What specific problem do you face that existing solutions do not adequately address?

2. How do you currently deal with this problem, and what are the shortcomings of this approach?

3. Can you identify others who share this problem or passion? How do they cope with it?

4. What would the ideal solution look like for you?

5. How could this solution be turned into a product or service that others would be willing to pay for?

6. What impact would solving this problem or pursuing this passion have on a broader scale?

Bonus idea: join someone who has already an idea and is looking for a co-founder

If You Have a Technology in Mind:

Exercises:

Technology Application Brainstorming: Write down the technology at the center of a page. Around it, brainstorm various applications across different industries or aspects of life. Don’t limit yourself—think broadly about potential impacts and uses

SWOT Analysis: Conduct a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) of the technology. This can help identify unique opportunities for application or innovation that leverages the technology’s strengths or address its weaknesses.

Follow-up Questions:

1. What is the technology, and what are its unique capabilities or advantages?

2. What existing products or services could this technology enhance or transform?

3. Are there industries or sectors that would particularly benefit from this technology?

4. What are the potential barriers to adoption for this technology (e.g., cost, complexity, regulation)?

5. How can this technology be applied in a way that hasn’t been done before?

6. What partnerships or collaborations could accelerate the development and adoption of this technology?

If You Have a Sector or a Group of People in Mind:

Exercises:

Sector/Group Deep Dive: Immerse yourself in the sector or group you’re interested in. This could involve reading industry reports, joining relevant forums or groups, attending workshops, or conducting informational interviews with key stakeholders. Journal about all the problems and opportunities of this sector/group and identify recurring themes or particularly vexing issues that could inspire a solution.

Strategy Canvas: This tool gained popularity through the book "Blue Ocean Strategy." Its purpose is to visually represent the current situation in a particular industry. To begin, you should determine the key factors of competition within the industry and plot how competitors perform in those areas. Then, you can explore how you can introduce something that revolutionizes the game by considering the following questions:

• Which of the factors that the industry takes for granted should be eliminated?

• What factors should be reduced well below the industry’s standard?

• Which factors should be raised well above the industry’s standard?

• What factors should be created that the industry has never offered?

Follow-up Questions:

1. What are the most pressing problems or needs within this sector or group?

2. How are these needs currently being met, and what gaps exist in the current offerings?

3. What changes or trends are affecting this sector or group that could create new opportunities?

4. What are the unique characteristics or constraints of this sector or group that any solution must consider?

5. How can technology or innovative business models be leveraged to serve this sector or group better?

6. Who are the stakeholders within this sector or group, and how can they be engaged in the development of your solution?

The Valley of Despair: Mistakes to Avoid When Generating Ideas

The journey to a game-changing business idea is filled with potential pitfalls. Here are some common mistakes to keep in mind:

• Creating an idea that doesn't solve a real problem: If the issue your idea addresses doesn't resonate with people, they're unlikely to be interested in your solution.

• Starting with a solution in search of a problem: This often indicates that the problem isn't genuine or pressing.

• Falling into the "tarpit idea" trap: YCombinator describes a "tarpit idea" as a concept that appears promising at first but is laden with unseen difficulties, market challenges, or complexities that render it nearly impossible to execute successfully.

  An example of a tarpit idea is a social network for pets. While it might seem appealing to build a platform for pet owners to share photos and connect, it faces numerous obstacles:

  1. Monetization Challenges: Finding a viable revenue stream beyond advertising, which comes with its own set of hurdles, could prove difficult.

  2. High User Acquisition Costs: Attracting enough users to make the platform worthwhile may demand a significant marketing investment, particularly when many pet owners use existing social networks for similar purposes.

  3. Competition and Differentiation: The service would have to contend not only with pet-specific apps but also with major social networks. Differentiating it enough to encourage a switch or dual usage is a formidable challenge.

  4. Engagement and Retention: Maintaining user interest over time requires continuous innovation and community management, demanding both creativity and resources.

• Neglecting to research past attempts at your idea: Failing to investigate who else has worked on a similar concept and their level of success can lead to repeating the same mistakes.

• Being deterred by initial obstacles: Ideas that are challenging to initiate often have the potential to be the most rewarding, as they tend to address widespread issues that, once solved, open up lucrative markets.

• Feeling discouraged by existing competition: Competitors validate the market demand. A lack of competition may suggest that there isn't a significant problem to solve. Instead, assess whether existing solutions adequately address the issue.

• Hesitating to share your idea for fear of theft, or waiting for the perfect idea to emerge before starting: Both can significantly hinder progress. Sharing your idea can provide valuable feedback and opportunities for improvement, and waiting for perfection may result in missed opportunities.

How I Discovered My Business Idea (So Far)

In my journey to build my own startup, I’m currently exploring potential co-founder synergies and problems that could make compelling businesses. Here's a brief overview of the ideas I've had so far and where they came from:

Ideas Born Organically from Personal Challenges or Knowledge:

Idea #1: In the wellness/longevity space, this idea has been with me for several years and was inspired by my own health journey and passion for self-tracking. Years ago I did initial validation but had market size concerns. However, the market has since grown, so it's worth revisiting.

Idea #2: In the grocery/distribution space, from observing inefficient supermarkets in Germany compared to Italy. I saw an opportunity to improve on this model.

Idea #3: In the relationships/dating space, due to frustrations with current dating apps designed to keep users single. I believe realigning incentives could work.

Ideas Based on Examining Specific Industries:

Idea #4: Within the healthcare sector, this idea aims to enhance the efficiency of administrative processes for doctors and patients, freeing up more time for patient care. This concept, which emerged during my residency, focuses on leveraging AI to address prevalent industry challenges and I came up with it by thinking about common jobs-to-done for doctors as well as solutions that already are working in another market, the US in this case.

Ideas Inspired by Emerging Technologies:

Idea #5: Aiming to empower creators to forge their own virtual worlds and games, this idea leverages computer vision. It reflects my observations of the potential applications of this emerging technology.

Idea #6: Inspired by a discussion on my podcast with Div Garg, founder of MultiOn, this idea explores the development of an AI autonomous agent capable of performing the functions of an entire tech team, pushing the envelope of AI capabilities.

In the next issue, we'll explore what a billion-dollar idea really looks like and how to understand if yours could be one.
I'll also share which among the ideas I just mentioned I decided to discard and the ones I'll pursue based on this process. In the meantime, if you have any feedback, please feel free to leave me a comment or reach out on LinkedIn!

📚 Resources to Inspire Business Ideas

• Product Hunt: The go-to platform to launch and discover new tech products. Focus on the most upvoted startups to understand what captivates the tech community.

• Startup Cemetery: Investigate why various startups have failed, offering insights into common pitfalls and potentially underserved markets.

• Acquire: By creating an account as a “buyer,” you can view startup revenues and acquisition prices, providing a glimpse into financial success and market valuation.

• Crunchbase: A straightforward way to see which startups are securing funding, indicating industry trends and investor interests.

• YCombinator: They recently released a startup request, outlining the specific problem area they are interested in investing in.

✨ If you like this newsletter and found the content useful, please consider sharing it 🙏

✨ Hi, I’m Sara, host of the Polyweb podcast. On the show, we explore how we can find meaning in the Technology Era. Join conversations with global tech leaders and entrepreneurs, navigating the intersection of business, life, and technology.

Watch on YouTube or listen now on Apple, Spotify, or RSS Feed.

Megan is the poster child of a successful product manager. From Silicon Valley where she started at Microsoft, she later worked as a Head of Product at Skyscanner, N26, and ultimately as VP Product at Hotjar. She has launched multiple successful products throughout her career and led an M&A acquisition at Hotjar.

Who better than her to build a successful startup? After all, she knows better than anyone all the tricks in the book to create a successful product.

And yet, despite having investors lined up even before she had a product to sell, Megan’s startup failed.

This episode is her story and recollection of what ultimately, despite the most promising start, led her company to fail.

Starting a company is often glamorized in media, but the truth is, the journey is filled with challenges. If you are building (or considering building) a startup, this episode is a candid, honest and brave wake up call.

🎯 Three Key Takeaways:

1. Sell from Day 1

   Megan realized too late that people's willingness to pay is the ultimate proof of problem-solution fit. She advises start selling from day 1, even before you build anything.

2. The Tension Between Founders’ Vision and Customer Feedback

   However, constantly pivoting based on customer feedback led her to drift too far away from her original vision. In fact, she became apathetic towards the product she was developing. This experience taught her the importance of finding a balance between staying true to her vision and listening to what the market actually wants.

3. Build as Little as Possible, Change as Quickly as You Can

   As the founder of an early-stage startup, you will inevitably pivot either partially or completely multiple times. Focus on building a minimal viable product that provides value, and be prepared to make changes based on relevant feedback if the initial approach doesn't work

📚 Resources:

Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well - https://amzn.to/3T1FMaL

⏱️ Time Stamps:

00:00 Intro

02:40 Background & entrepreneurial shift

07:59 Problem identification & validation

13:24 Team building & product development

18:10 Product-market fit challenges

23:00 Iteration decision-making

28:07 Addressing product limitations

33:19 Market impact on startups

38:00 Growth from startup experience

43:18 Vision vs market reality

48:27 Closure decision & outlook

👀 About:

Megan has held the VP Product role at Hotjar, where she led and scaled its product organization, and led the team through M&A. She previously held product leadership roles at N26 and Skyscanner. In 2022, she co-founded a startup that never found product-market fit. She decided to cut her losses and return capital to investors so that she could move on with her life. She is currently moving on before exploring what’s next.

🔗 CONNECT WITH MEGAN:

👥 Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmurphy9/

🔗 CONNECT WITH SARA:

📸 Instagram - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-instagram

🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/Sara_LandiTor

👥 Linkedin - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-linkedin

💌 Newsletter - https://polyweb.beehiiv.com/

🪢 ABOUT POLYWEB:

Polyweb navigates through the intricate nexus of technology, product innovation, and human creativity. Engage with leading entrepreneurs and experts in uncovering how we can forge impactful companies and lead lives enriched with purpose in the Technology Era.

✨ If you like this newsletter and found the content useful, please consider sharing it 🙏

✨ Hi, I’m Sara! In this newsletter, I share my musings at the intersection of tech, product, and human tinkering, with the aim of navigating business and life in the Technology Era with purpose.

Subscribe to join me on this journey and check out the Polyweb podcast.

Hey friends 👋, as announced in my previous newsletter, I've decided to take the plunge and build my own startup. This is a big deal because I have only 10 weeks to find a co-founder, build an MVP, and pitch to investors. Otherwise, I'll need to find a job to avoid running out of funds.

As promised, I'm going to document my entire journey. This is the first article in an upcoming series on building a startup, presented as a step-by-step guide written while I navigate the process.

As I am currently in the process of finding my co-founder, today's issue is centered around this topic. Why start from the co-founder process rather than how to find a business idea?

Because both Antler, the accelerator I am attending, and Y Combinator advocate for a "people over ideas" philosophy. This means being flexible about your business ideas, not getting overly attached to them, and instead, prioritizing the assessment of the people around you and your compatibility with them.

In this article, we will discuss three main points:

1. Qualities to consider while searching for a co-founder.

2. Places to look for potential co-founders.

3. How to determine when you have found the right person for the role

4. All the templates I am using to to help me find my co-founder, including a list of 40 questions, a checklist to assess potential candidates, and a partner-up agreement to test founder’s fit.

But first things first:

Do you even need a co-founder?

This question is tricky. The short answer is, you probably do if you aim for a VC-backed startup and lack a previous track record. For instance, at Y-Combinator, only about 10% of the startups they admit are run by solo founders.

However, an analysis of thousands of startups on CrunchBase reveals a different story. More than half of startups with an exit (either through acquisition or IPO) did so with just a single founder. The average is 1.72 founders.

For startups that have raised more than $10 million in funding, more than half did so with a solo founder. Just one-third of the companies had two founders, and less than 20 percent had three or more founders. The average number of founders is 1.85 per startup.

The number of startups that have secured a successful exit, broken down by the number of founders associated with the company. Source: Crunchbase

That is to illustrate that, if you can't find a co-founder, there is no need to lose hope. However, there are plenty of very good reasons why finding a co-founder is highly desirable.

In general, these include:

• Complementary functional and personal skills: Building a startup requires a vast array of skills and knowledge, difficult to find in a single person.

• Moral & emotional support: This includes accountability and mutual morale support when facing challenges.

• Division of responsibility: So you're not burdened with thinking about everything.

• Raising capital: Having a team increases your chances of gaining the trust of VCs, especially without a proven track record of building a company.

In my case for example, I know I won't build a company alone. As a first-time founder, I recognize that I lack the comprehensive skills and emotional stamina needed to build something of this scale alone.
I already run a podcast and newsletter by myself, and while it's incredibly rewarding, it's also challenging to rely solely on myself to manage everything. Building a startup is an entirely different challenge, magnified a hundred times over what I experience with the podcast.

Where to find a co-founder

Ask your network: The first place to look is within your direct network. Are there any friends with whom you'd like to build a startup? Make a list of people you're closest to who you think would be great co-founders. Start from the top, invite each person for a coffee chat, and ask if they're interested in starting a company with you as your co-founder. If they decline, that's perfectly okay. Just say you understand and move on.

The network of your network is your friend: The second place is the network of your network. Even if you don't personally know someone who would be a great fit to build a company with, maybe someone in your network does. Talk openly about your search and idea, making sure to clearly communicate what you're looking for. Ask your friends, "If you were starting a company, who would be your top three or four co-founders that you'd try to convince to join you?" Then, ask for an introduction to each of these individuals.

Attend events in your area: If you live in a city that frequently hosts startup events, go there and try to meet as many people as possible.

Participate in hackathons: This is an amazing way to find a potential co-founder, especially because you can immediately see how this person works and operates, and whether you connect with them.

Y Combinator founder matching: this is an international database, where you can find like-minded people to build a company with.

Online forums: Places such as Indie Hackers are great for connecting with potential co-founders.

Joining accelerator programs: This is what I did when I decided to join Antler. I was attracted to the selection and vetting process performed by the team, which saved me time by eliminating the need for my own due diligence.

What to look for in a co-founder

Finding a co-founder is akin to getting married; you'll spend more time with them than with your friends and family.

There are five critical elements to consider in a potential co-founder, each essential for a successful partnership.

The Founder Pyramid

Let's start with the base of the pyramid: Chemistry.

Chemistry is crucial when building a company with someone, yet it's challenging to define as it varies from person to person. My approach is to listen to my body's reactions when I meet someone. Does your body tense up or relax? Do you feel excitement or annoyance? Your body is a 24/7 compass, providing signals like stomach tension or shoulder relaxation, and the overall energy after interacting. Trust these cues, even if everything else seems perfect on paper.

The second element is values.

It's vital to know your values clearly. To discover them, ask yourself: "What do I value most in..." (insert situation)? For instance, "What do I value most in a co-founder relationship?" or "What do I value most about the idea of building a company?" Your values and vision, reflecting your aspirations and how you see and wish to change the world, must align closely with those of your co-founder for the partnership to thrive.

For example, if your ambition is to build a high-growth, venture-backed company aiming for a public offering, and your co-founder prefers a gradual, risk-averse approach, focusing on steady growth and comfortable revenue, this mismatch in motivations could lead to conflict.

Personality can be similar or different; both scenarios have their advantages.

Complementary personalities ease collaboration, but differing ones can balance each other out, provided there's mutual respect and understanding. To assess personalities, taking a free test like the one available on 16personalities.com can offer insights into decision-making styles and general preferences.

Lastly, skills should be diverse.

Pairing with someone who shares your exact skill set is less beneficial than teaming up with someone whose skills and experiences complement yours. The necessary skills depend on the business type. For instance, a fintech startup might best be served by a team comprising a business generalist with banking experience and a software developer.

The Co-Founder Questionnaire

I have compiled a list of 40 questions inspired by Y Combinator and First Round to help you clarify your priorities and perspective when it comes to building a company. Both you and your potential co-founder should answer all the questions, compare, and rate your level of agreement.

The questions are classified as follows:

• Values & Vision

• Working style and preferences

• Commitment

• Motivation & Ambition

• Conflict management and decision-making processes

• Company & Culture

• Roles & responsibilities

• Finance & Equity

• Startup Ideas

Click here to view

Not all questions are created equal. Here are some of the deal breaker questions:

Working Style and Preferences

• Commitment: Gauge your willingness to dedicate hours, including weekends and personal time. How many hours a day are you prepared to work? Are you open to sacrificing parts of your social life for the success of your startup?

• Location and Collaboration: Do you prefer working in the same space as your co-founder, or are you comfortable with remote collaboration? Discuss the challenges and benefits of each setup. For example, remote collaboration, especially in the early stages, can be challenging. In-person interactions allow for spontaneous discussions, while remote work requires scheduled meetings.

Managing Conflict and Decision Making

• Conflict Resolution: What protocols do you have in place for resolving disputes? It's essential to establish a clear process for decision-making, including how final decisions are made and by whom.

• Decision-Making Style: Will decisions be unanimous, or is there a structure for making decisions in case of disagreement?

Roles and Responsibilities

• Titles and Roles: Consider what titles are important to you. Do you want to be CEO? What role do you envision for yourself within the company? What responsibilities are you willing to take on, and which would you prefer to outsource?

Equity Split and Fundraising

• Financial Transparency: Openly discuss your financial situations. What is your financial runway, and how soon do you need the company to generate income for personal stability?

• Salary Expectations: If funding is secured, discuss the necessity and timing of salary distributions for yourselves.

• Equity Distribution: Antler suggests starting with a 50-50 equity split but recommends considering a "working backwards" method for fairness. Look ahead 7-10 years and evaluate who will have contributed more significantly. Consider factors such as seniority, investments (both financial and network-based), and level of commitment (full-time vs. part-time).

How Do You Know You've Found the Right Co-founder?

Here is a two-step approach to assess if you have found the right person.

Step 1: Answer the co-founder questionnaire and complete the checklist

After answering the 40 questions and verifying that there are no deal breakers, it's time to move on to the final co-founder checklist. This checklist is designed as a last step verification process and includes assessing key elements such as skill sets, vision, and trust.

You can find the template of the checklist here.

Step 2: Allocate a 'Track Out' Period

Agree to a set period where you work together on a project. To that, you will set up a partner-up agreement, which involves announcing your collaboration on idea X, setting a deadline for achieving a tangible outcome (like an MVP or prototype), and pitching to potential customers. This period is about actively testing the partnership through real work scenarios. At the end of this time, have an honest discussion to decide if you enjoyed working together and if you're both willing to commit further. If not, it's honest and respectful to part ways and explore other partnerships.

You can find the template to the agreement here.

This two-steps approach is what I am going to follow to find my own co-founder. Will I find him/her? I will let you know in the next issue!

✨ If you like this newsletter and found the content useful, please consider sharing it 🙏

✨ Hi, I’m Sara, host of the Polyweb podcast. On the show, we explore how we can find meaning in the Technology Era. Join conversations with global tech leaders and entrepreneurs, navigating the intersection of business, life, and technology.

Watch on YouTube or listen now on Apple, Spotify, or RSS Feed.

Remember Jarvis, Tony Stark's uber-capable AI assistant from Iron Man? Who wouldn't want their own version of Jarvis handling everyday tasks and orchestrating their digital life? Well, my conversation with Div Garg provided an insider's perspective on how AI agents like Jarvis could soon become a reality.

Div's company MultiOn is developing an autonomous AI agent aimed at helping people accomplish tasks more efficiently. He explained how these agents could schedule meetings, book travel, automate workflows, and generally make daily life far easier. It was fascinating to explore how AI assistants like Jarvis might free up our time, while also discussing the challenges around security, trust, and relinquishing control.

While we aren't quite at the point of having a sassy British AI butler, Div gave me a glimpse of how AI agents could fundamentally transform how we interact with technology. This eye-opening episode covers everything from the development of autonomous agents to their implications for businesses and society. If you're curious about how AI could augment human capabilities, you won't want to miss this conversation.

🎯 Three Key Takeaways:

1. AI Agents Will Make You More Productive

Imagine being able to delegate tasks to a tireless assistant. Div explained how AI agents like Multion will allow us to multitask in ways impossible for humans. By offloading repetitive tasks, they will free up our time and mental bandwidth.

2. The Biggest Challenge is Building User Trust

For people to rely on AI agents, the technology needs to earn our confidence. Div emphasized that developing assistants that align with user preferences will be key. The more an agent understands our tastes, the more trustworthy it becomes.

3. Assistants Will Make Technology More Collaborative

Instead of isolated apps, Div foresees AI agents removing friction between platforms. Technology will become more conversational and collaborative. Rather than constantly switching between apps, we could just tell our assistant what we want to accomplish.

⏱️ Time Stamps:

00:00 Intro

01:22 Div Garg's background and the vision behind Multion

06:00 The development and challenges of AI autonomous agents

10:48 The potential and use cases of AI autonomous agents

16:32 The technical backbone and operational details of Multion's AI

20:59 Future visions and the ethical considerations of AI development

25:43 The transition from academic research to founding Multion

32:12 The impact of AI on daily life and future technologies

38:54 Approaching AI development in startups and leveraging open source models

45:38 Building trust with AI autonomous agents and the significance of user experience

50:15 Discussing AGI, its definitions, and its feasibility

About:

Div Garg is a computer scientist, AI researcher, and entrepreneur. His latest company, MultiOn, is a general-purpose AI similar to JARVIS that executes digital tasks and brings it to everyday consumer use, from booking flights to ordering your food.

Div has lectured and given talks at Stanford, OpenAI, DeepMind and Apple over his research on Transformers and reinforcement learning.

👉 CHECK OUT MULTION: https://www.multion.ai/

🔗 CONNECT WITH DIV:

👥 Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/div99/

🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/DivGarg9

💻 Website - https://divyanshgarg.com/

🔗 CONNECT WITH SARA:

📸 Instagram - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-instagram

🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/Sara_LandiTor

👥 Linkedin - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-linkedin

💌 Newsletter - https://polyweb.beehiiv.com/

🪢 ABOUT POLYWEB:

Polyweb navigates through the intricate nexus of technology, product innovation, and human creativity. Engage with leading entrepreneurs and experts in uncovering how we can forge impactful companies and lead lives enriched with purpose in the Technology Era.

✨ If you like this newsletter and found the content useful, please consider sharing it 🙏

✨ Hi, I’m Sara! In this newsletter, I share my musings at the intersection of tech, product, and human tinkering, with the aim of navigating business and life in the Technology Era with purpose.

Subscribe to join me on this journey and check out the Polyweb podcast.

 An Impossible Task

This is going to be a different issue of the newsletter from usual, and not just because it’s coming out on Sunday instead of Thursday.

I have a little announcement to make - I have decided to take the plunge and build my own startup.

Starting this Monday, I'll join an early-stage VC as an entrepreneur in residence.

Before you begin to think, "Congratulations, but who cares?" let me explain the catch:

I am going to document my entire journey - the good, the bad and the ugly. As I go through the process, I will share everything with you, including information, templates and resources, as well as my thoughts and mistakes.

As I write these words, I am feeling an equal mix of terror and excitement.

Honestly, I might be crazy. I have no idea how I will accomplish everything in the next 10 weeks. It seems an impossible task, with 90% of startups failing.

While I don’t know how, however, I can tell you why I am going to build a startup.

Getting Up Close and Personal: Why I'm Building a Startup

2023 has been a rollercoaster year for me, full of emotional highs and lows. I launched the Polyweb podcast, but largely dedicated my time to a profound journey of self-discovery, taking time off from everything for the first time in my life.

Here is a list of things I've tried and new habits I've formed in an effort to reconnect with myself and address some deep-seated emotional trauma and health challenges. Please don’t take this as a prescription for what you should do or expect the same results. Every journey is different and what worked for me may not work for you:

1. Meditation: I started with 1 hour or less and slowly increased to up to 2 hours every morning. I allow my thoughts to flow freely, while staying aware of them. For me, my body is a huge gateway to emotions and thoughts, so I focus on bodily sensations to stay present.

2. Long nature walks: especially in the morning, even in bad weather

3. Journaling: Daily journaling, or what I call 'brain vomiting,' dumping all my unfiltered thoughts

4. Reading: I read over 30 books, mainly in self-help, business and spirituality. The most impactful was Michael Singer's "The Untethered Soul."

5. Therapy: Weekly therapy sessions.

6. Physical Healing: Engaging in physiotherapy and osteopathy to release trauma stored in the body.

7. Health Coaching: Working with a health coach to address gut and digestive issues.

8. Business Coaching: To figure out life goals and overcome stagnation.

9. Shamanic Sessions: To free stuck energy and emotions

10. Psychedelics: Particularly mushrooms, which led to a profound, albeit challenging, experience. I wouldn't recommend trying this - it's risky. In my case, there was value but also 30-45 very difficult minutes.

So, what did I achieve by end of 2023?

Not much in a classical sense - I didn't get rich or land big consulting projects. Polyweb grew from nothing but is still small.

• Embracing Emotions: Initially, sitting still with my thoughts and emotions was a challenge. The most I could manage was maybe 10 minutes of meditation, and even that was difficult. I used to engage in multiple activities simultaneously to avoid confronting my painful and uncomfortable emotions, almost like a marathon runner trying to outpace his thoughts. Now, I can face my emotions, no matter how uncomfortable, and resist the urge to flee.

• Rediscovery of Spirituality and Community: I had lost my sense of spirituality and community when I stopped believing in God. While I'm still not religious, I now feel a connection to something greater than myself, a sense of being part of a larger whole.

• Overcoming the Fear of Death: I used to be consumed by a fear of dying, a kind of hypochondria that was always 100% on. Taking a flight would trigger panic, haunted by the fear of a crash. I can't pinpoint exactly when or how, but that fear has dissipated. I no longer fear death and have come to accept it as a natural part of life.

• Quieting Mental Chatter: My mind used to be in constant turmoil, like a never-ending news broadcast playing in my head. It was difficult to find peace, even in sleep. Now, this relentless mental chatter has subsided. More often than not, I find myself fully present, free from intrusive thoughts.

• Being Present in Relationships: This newfound ability to be present has profoundly impacted my relationships. It has allowed me to be genuinely there for others, especially my friends and loved ones, in a way I wasn’t able to before.

I got an intimate look at myself - my flaws and strengths, where I am, and where I want to be. This led me to want to make a bigger impact while preserving freedom. Hence my decision to build a startup.

What’s in it for you: What you can expect in the coming months

This special series of the newsletter will be released bi-weekly, alternating with podcast episodes. It will contain structured reflections on my personal experience building a startup from scratch.

I’ll share everything - including examples, thought processes, resources and templates.

Topics I’ll cover include:

• Generating and validating business ideas.

• Choosing the right co-founder.

• Selecting your niche and identifying the ideal customer within it.

• Collecting and prioritizing customer problems.

• Finding cost-effective solutions to these problems.

• Developing and building your MVP (Minimum Viable Product).

• Effective ways to pitch to investors.

• The experience of working with VCs and raising venture capital.

• The ins and outs of incorporating a company.

• Hiring strategies and structuring your company for growth.

For a more unfiltered daily view of startup life, check out my new TikTok account where I'll be posting thoughts and experiences in real-time.

Please share this newsletter with friends or contacts going through similar startup journeys - I'd love to connect with them!

Have questions? Feel free to hit reply and email me anytime.

✨ If you like this newsletter and found the content useful, please consider sharing it 🙏

✨ Hi, I’m Sara, host of the Polyweb podcast. On the show, we explore how we can find meaning in the Technology Era. Join conversations with global tech leaders and entrepreneurs, navigating the intersection of business, life, and technology.

Watch on YouTube or listen now on Apple, Spotify, or RSS Feed.

😅 As a self-confessed socially awkward person, I treasure my alone time for recharging, like a phone in airplane mode – disconnected and blissfully conserving energy.

Thinking about going to a social event, let alone hosting one, feels like a sloth at a speed dating event to me – moving at a glacial pace, slightly bewildered, and wondering, "How on earth did I end up here?"

However, Nick Gray, a successful entrepreneur with two multi-million dollar exits and the author of "The 2 Hour Cocktail Party," suggests my trepidation towards social events isn't entirely without reason. Many events aren't exactly introvert-friendly, often leaving us to awkwardly navigate the choppy seas of mingling with strangers.

Yet, networking is a hidden superpower, crucial, especially if you're in the process of building and marketing a product – your success might just hinge on it.

In the most hilarious episode I've ever recorded, Nick systematically deconstructs my misconceptions about event hosting. He provides not only practical tips but also a thorough step-by-step guide for building a network as a socially awkward individual.

Convinced by Nick's compelling arguments, I've taken up his challenge to host my very first small gathering by the end of this quarter. Stay tuned for updates.

🎯 Three Key Takeaways:

1. Why You Should Grow Your Network by Hosting Small Events: The Power of Loose Connections 
   Nick emphasizes the value of loose connections or weak ties. These acquaintances, rather than close friends, often provide life-changing opportunities. By hosting small events, you create a network of these connections, increasing your chances for serendipitous encounters and success.

2. How to Become the Person Everyone Wants to Talk To 

   The secret is to be genuinely interested in others as a key to becoming more engaging. Showing curiosity and openness in conversations, rather than trying to impress, makes one more approachable and interesting to others.

3. The 'NICK' Method for Hosting Events 
   This is the 4 step formula for every successful event. 'N' for Name tags to ease introductions, 'I' for Icebreakers to facilitate interaction, 'C' for Cocktails/Mocktails (keeping it simple, no dinner), and 'K' for Kick them out (ending the party on a high note). This method is designed to make hosting more manageable and enjoyable, especially for introverts.

📚 Resources:

How to Introduce Two People via Email: Sample Scripts: https://nickgray.net/how-to-introduce-two-people-via-email/

9 Career Day Speech and Presentation Ideas: https://nickgray.net/career-day/

Party Times: Start, End, & Best Times: https://party.pro/time/

Icebreaker Name Tags: Examples and How to Do It RIGHT: https://party.pro/icebreakers-on-nametags/

How to Host an Event: Parties & Networking: https://party.pro/how-to-host-an-event/

Where to Throw a Party? Ideas and Venues for 2023: https://party.pro/where-to-party/

Icebreaker Activities for Your Next Event: https://party.pro/icebreaker-activities-2/

Friendship Recession Website: https://friendshiprecession.com/

7 Small Trade Show Booth Ideas for 2023: https://nickgray.net/trade-show-ideas/

⏱️ Time Stamps:

00:00 Intro

01:40 Challenges of hosting events as an introvert

06:55 The power of loose connections

11:07 What makes an event successful

14:35 Tips for ending conversations at events

14:35 Tips for ending conversations at events

18:09 How to become the person everyone wants to talk to

23:24 Effective opening questions in conversations

28:42 Steps for planning a small event

38:20 Curating guest lists for events

42:34 Hosting events at home vs. external venues

47:00 The 'NICK' method for hosting events

52:18 Handling unexpected situations at events

58:21 Maintaining connections after events

01:02:41 Nick Gray's views on online events

About:

Nick Gray is an entrepreneur and author. He started and sold two multi-million dollar companies: Flight Display Systems and Museum Hack. Nick is the author of The 2-Hour Cocktail Party, a step-by-step handbook that teaches you how to make new friends or build your network by hosting small gatherings. Hundreds of people have used his "NICK party formula" to host their first happy hour or networking event. Nick has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and New York Magazine called him a host of “culturally significant parties.”

🔗 CONNECT WITH NICK:

👥 Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickgraynews/

🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/nickgraynews

💻 Website - https://nickgray.net/

🔗 CONNECT WITH SARA:

📸 Instagram - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-instagram

🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/Sara_LandiTor

👥 Linkedin - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-linkedin

💌 Newsletter - https://polyweb.beehiiv.com/

🪢 ABOUT POLYWEB:

Polyweb navigates through the intricate nexus of technology, product innovation, and human creativity. Engage with leading entrepreneurs and experts in uncovering how we can forge impactful companies and lead lives enriched with purpose in the Technology Era.

✨ If you like this newsletter and found the content useful, please consider sharing it 🙏

✨ Hi, I’m Sara! In this newsletter, I share my musings at the intersection of tech, product, and human tinkering, with the aim of navigating business and life in the Technology Era with purpose.

Subscribe to join me on this journey and check out the Polyweb podcast.

I don't know about you, but the pace of technological innovation both scares and exhilarates me. It often feels like we're on the cusp of a massive technological leap, one that will bring life-altering breakthroughs across diverse sectors like healthcare, materials science, space tech, and robotics, primarily driven by AI. These advances are set to transform our daily lives, reshaping the fabric of society and government structures.

The First Mover Advantage

Capitalizing on new trends before they become mainstream is crucial as it offers the first-mover advantage.

Unlike fashion trends, which are often artificially set by brands and magazines to stimulate continuous purchasing, trends in business and entrepreneurship usually emerge with the advent of new technology.

This leads to fresh ideas and opportunities.

By "new technologies," I refer to situations where either a new technology becomes mainstream (e.g., NFTs in 2021 or AI in 2022) or an existing technology reaches a pivotal point. Often, this is driven by a major player, creating opportunities for smaller entities (e.g., Amazon FBA and dropshipping, print-on-demand, or AWS for cloud computing).

Because once a trend "crosses the chasm" and reaches the early majority, competition intensifies. It then becomes challenging to differentiate oneself in a crowded market, especially with low entry barriers, as observed in print-on-demand on platforms like Etsy or in the AI sector (eg. the newly released GPT store). Consequently, profit margins tend to decrease.

Technology adoption lifecycle

A Systematic Approach To Innovation

Here is a step-by-step blueprint on how I evaluate trends and some tips on the tools I use to spot trends early on.

Step 1: Know when the current trend is about to end

Market Saturation Analysis: Keep a close eye on market data to spot signs of saturation. These can include slowing sales growth, a rise in competition, or a dip in consumer interest.

Technology Adoption Lifecycle: Evaluate the current trend's position within the technology adoption lifecycle stages — Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority, Laggards. Bear in mind that the lifecycle is becoming shorter and shorter as illustrated in the example below.

Expert Insights: Seek insights from industry and thought leaders on the lifecycle stage of the current trend on social platforms (eg. X, Reddit), while also monitoring shifts in consumer behaviors.

Pro Tip: Google Trends can be a handy tool to gauge the current trend’s popularity. Below, I've compared two trending technologies. In 2022, blockchain, with its crypto, Web3, and NFT buzz, represented a major profit-making opportunity. We observed a surge in startups like crypto exchanges, DeFi platforms, and PFP NFT projects. This trend peaked for just over a year, eventually declining due to negative press in the crypto space and the rising prominence of AI. The graph below clearly shows a spike in 'AI' searches on Google in December 2022, coinciding with the release of ChatGPT 3.

To take advantage of a trend you ideally want to be positioned right before the spike happens. Interestingly, also the term AI seems now declining compared to all-time heights.

Changes in web searches AI vs. Bitcoin 2022-2023

Step 2: Monitoring for New Trends

Identify Key Sources:

• Industry Publications: Regularly read leading technology journals and online publications. My go-to sources are TechCrunch, The Verge, and Wired.

• Social Media and Online Forums: Set alerts for tech discussions on platforms like Twitter, Reddit (/r/tech and artificial intelligence), and niche forums like Hacker News.

• Patent Databases and Academic Journals: Stay updated with the latest patents and research papers from academic journals. You can search arxiv for research paper publication and Google patents for patent publication worldwide.

• Technology Conferences and Webinars: Keep an eye on major tech events and webinars for the latest insights.

For a more advanced approach, consider using web scraping tools and APIs to automate data collection from these sources. You can then apply NLP (Natural Language Processing) to analyze textual data, identifying emerging keywords, topics, and trends. Sentiment analysis can also help gauge public interest and perceptions of various technologies.

Step 3: Validating Emerging Trends

• Understand the Trend: Gain a comprehensive understanding of the trend’s nature, potential impact, and applications.

• Research Applications: Explore how these trends are being applied or could be applied across different sectors.

• Market Gap Analysis: Evaluate the market to identify gaps or unmet needs relating to the trends.

• Market Research: Use surveys, focus groups, or market experiments to gauge interest in and acceptance of the trends.

• Brainstorming Sessions: Hold sessions to generate business ideas based on these validated trends. Stay tuned for more on this in the next issue of our newsletter – check your inbox!

7 Emerging Trends and Predictions For 2024

Let's face it, none of us owns a crystal ball. However, drawing from my research following the above approach and insights from industry leaders and experts on the Polyweb podcast, here are my predictions for tech and AI trends in 2024:  

1. Highly Specialized AI: If 2023 was the year of Large Language Models (LLMs), 2024 will likely focus on highly specialized AI designed for specific tasks or industry verticals. These will be like application layers built on foundational LLMs such as OpenAI, similar to how DApps and Web3 evolved from Ethereum. For instance, the legal tech startup Harvey.ai, just a year old, has already secured an $80 million investment from entities including OpenAI and Sequoia.

2. Generative AI Beyond Content: Moving beyond content and text creation, Generative AI will tackle challenging problems across various sectors. Potential applications include drug discovery and material science, where AI can accelerate the creation of new drugs and materials. This could significantly advance fields like quantum computing that largely face material science challenges.
   Google's GNoME project, for example, recently identified over 2 million new crystals, paving the way for future technologies. Other areas like education, personalized medicine, and longevity research will also see growth, leveraging AI to analyze large datasets for insights into aging and health.

3. Generative AI in Content Creation: The content side of Generative AI will continue to evolve rapidly. I predict the emergence of hyper-realistic, Hollywood-quality short films and the rise of advanced deepfake technology, particularly relevant in the context of the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

4. AI Autonomous Agents: 2024 is poised to be a landmark year for AI autonomous agents – virtual assistants programmed to perform repetitive complex tasks. While some experiments exist today, I expect massive adoption and significant enhancements in the coming year.

5. Multimodal AI: This refers to AI systems capable of understanding and responding to various data types like text, images, audio, and video. Contrasting with unimodal AI, which processes only one data type, Multimodal AI is set to become the dominant model in 2024.

6. Advancements in Robotics and Automation: Significant progress in AI-integrated robotics is likely, though we won’t see mainstream adoption in 2024 due to complexity and costs.

7. The Rise of VR and Spatial Computing and The Decline of Smartphones and Apps: 2024 could mark the beginning of a shift away from smartphones towards devices that enable more seamless interaction with our surroundings. The launch of products like Humane's AI Pin, the Rabbit LAM model, and the upcoming release of Apple's VR headset in the U.S. are likely to drive this technology toward mass adoption.
   We might be witnessing the beginning of the end for smartphones and traditional apps, as these new technologies emerge to replace them.

The “Now” section

🎧 What I am listening to: I'm currently listening to a conversation between Lex Friedman and Guillaume Verdon, also known as Beff Jezos on Twitter. His perspectives are a key part of my research on trends.

📚 What I am reading: I recently stopped reading “The Courage to Be Disliked” as it didn't quite keep my interest, despite its interesting premise. I've now started “The School of Life” by Alain de Botton

🥁 What I am doing: Big news on the personal front – I'm joining Antler at the end of this month to build a startup from the ground up in the next 10 weeks! The idea is still forming, and I'm on the lookout for a co-founder. I’m a mix of nerves and excitement about this venture.
I plan to document every step of this journey, from concept to creation, through my newsletter, YouTube channel, and an upcoming TikTok account. Stay tuned for updates on this adventure from zero to startup!

🧐 Question I am asking myself:

✨ If you like this newsletter and found the content useful, please consider sharing it 🙏

✨ Hi, I’m Sara, host of the Polyweb podcast. On the show, we explore how we can find meaning in the Technology Era. Join conversations with global tech leaders and entrepreneurs, navigating the intersection of business, life, and technology.

Watch on YouTube or listen now on Apple, Spotify, or RSS Feed.

What if AI could make life better, freer, more creative?

I have covered the potential risks of AI in previous podcast episodes. However, it’s not all doom and gloom. In fact, according to my guest Alexander Manu, AI could make us all happier than we have ever been.

This conversation is a deep exploration of the relationship between technology and humanity, and in particular, how technology can enhance human creativity and the transformational impact it has on our lives.

🎯 Three Key Takeaways:

1. Transformational Phase of Technology Adoption

   Technology's role is to fulfill human needs and enhance our lives. We should view AI and other emerging technologies optimistically for their potential to remove subhuman labor and allow more meaningful human activities.

2. Role of AI in Enhancing Human Creativity

   Creativity is about giving meaning through intent and articulation, not just creating end manifestations. AI can help us imagine and create things beyond our current imagination if used properly.

3. Distinction Between Labor and Work and Contemplative Living

   We will shift from menial, repetitive tasks (labor) to engaging in creative and meaningful activities (work), facilitated by technological advancements.

   Society values full employment over meaningful work. As jobs are displaced by technology, we need to reconsider metrics like employment rates and revolutionize the "game" of how we structure society. Contemplative living and human-AI collaboration represent future opportunities.

📚 Resources:

Alexander Manu - The Philosophy of Disruption: From Transition to Transformational Change https://amzn.to/3H3YJTy

Alexander Manu - Value Creation and the Internet of Things https://amzn.to/4aTUmIy

David Hume - A Treatise of Human Nature: https://amzn.to/47ltOwO

George Santayana - The Sense of Beauty https://amzn.to/4aETMhs

Hannah Arendt - The Human Condition https://amzn.to/41MmDMP

Eric Fromm - To Have or To Be? https://amzn.to/48jyZ1p

⏱️ Time Stamps:

00:00 Introduction

00:47 Understanding the 'End of the Beginning' in Technology

02:34 Technology's Role in Human Creativity and Convenience

06:18 Labor vs. Work: Focusing on Creative Endeavors

20:20 Generative AI's Impact on Creativity

26:32 The Concept of 'Contemplative Interval'

39:56 AI's Integration into Work and Society

About:

Alexander Manu is a strategic foresight practitioner, innovation advisor, international lecturer and author. He is a Senior Partner at Equilibrant, a boutique consultancy that provides strategic counsel and future based advisory to executive teams in Fortune 500 companies. He is a Professor at OCADU University in Toronto, and since 2007 on the faculty of the Schulich Executive Education Centre (SEEC) at the Schulich School of Business.

🔗 CONNECT WITH ALEXANDER:

👥 Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-manu-458b7b3/

💻 Website - https://alexandermanu.com/

🔗 CONNECT WITH SARA:

📸 Instagram - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-instagram

🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/Sara_LandiTor

👥 Linkedin - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-linkedin

💌 Newsletter - https://polyweb.beehiiv.com/

🪢 ABOUT POLYWEB:

Polyweb navigates through the intricate nexus of technology, product innovation, and human creativity. Engage with leading entrepreneurs and experts in uncovering how we can forge impactful companies and lead lives enriched with purpose in the Technology Era.

✨ If you like this newsletter and found the content useful, please consider sharing it 🙏

✨ Hi, I’m Sara! In this newsletter, I share my musings at the intersection of tech, product, and human tinkering, with the aim of navigating business and life in the Technology Era with purpose.

Subscribe to join me on this journey and check out the Polyweb podcast.

If you have been building products for a while, you have been there. At some point in your career, it happened. So let’s talk about it.
Welcome to the third issue of a 4-part series about why products fail and how to avoid it.

Here are 4 big reasons why your product might fail:

1. Failure in premise: You picked the wrong problem to solve.

2. Failure in execution: You picked the right problem to solve, but you built the wrong solution.

3. Failure in launch: You picked the right problem to solve, you built the right solution, but you launched it wrong.

4. Failure in scalability: You built a product that works initially but fails to scale with increased users or complexity.

In this issue, we will focus on the second type of failure, the failure in launch.

My Baptism by Fire: Turning Free to Fee

When I embarked on transforming an on-demand platform into a SaaS, the challenge wasn't just about technology; it was about convincing users to embrace a new way of accessing our services. This meant shifting from free access to a subscription model, a move that could easily backfire.

I still vividly remember the knots in my stomach as we geared up to flip the switches and launch our subscription service. Asking loyal users to pay for additional services was never going to win us popularity contests. But building lasting business viability meant biting this bullet.

I struggled to turn off the voice screaming we weren't truly ready yet, that critical gaps remained in both product and strategy. My fears seemed to be confirmed when on launch day, the reception was lukewarm.

A "Failure in Launch" occurs when a product that has the potential to be successful does not realize that potential because of how it is introduced to and perceived by the market.

This type of failure is particularly frustrating because it occurs after significant investment in product development and often arises from factors that are, in theory, more controllable than those in earlier stages of product development.

When and Why Does “Failure in Launch” Occur?

A "failure to launch" typically occurs due to a mix of strategic missteps and market-related issues:

Strategic issues:

• Inadequate Market Understanding: Failing to grasp the target market's needs, preferences, or behaviors.

• Misaligned Marketing Strategy: An ineffective marketing campaign that fails to clearly communicate the product's value or reach the intended audience.

• Unprepared for Demand: If interest is generated but the company cannot handle the volume, this leads to technical/quality issues, customer service problems, and brand damage.

Market-related issues:

• Poor Timing: This could stem from external conditions, like an economic downturn, or internal factors like rushing to market before your product is fully ready.

• Overpromising: Setting unrealistic expectations about the product's capabilities leads to consumer disappointment and mistrust.

• Missed Product Education: When the product defines a new category and requires substantial consumer education but you fail to deliver it

• Ignoring Competition: Neglecting the competitive landscape results in an undifferentiated product easily overshadowed by rivals.

Each factor can individually or jointly contribute to a failure at launch.

The recent launch of Google's Gemini AI model, claimed to outperform ChatGPT 4 in almost every aspect, it’s an example of product launch with poor timing. Google showcased Gemini's capabilities through a demonstration video that quickly went viral, creating a buzz across social media platforms.
However, the demo wasn’t conducted in real-time or through voice interaction as the video had suggested. Instead, as Google later admitted to Bloomberg, the video was made by using still image frames and text prompts to showcase Gemini’s capabilities.

The footage turned out to be edited, made to appear what it was not, and released way too early (Gemini Ultra, the model allegedly capable of such marvel, will only be released sometime in January).

Needless to say, this product launch undermines Google's reputation as a serious competitor to GPT4 and the trust of their customers.

Lessons Learned: Tactics For A Successful Launch Strategy

In hindsight, I understand why our initial reception was lukewarm when converting users from a free to paid model. Clients weren’t accustomed to paying a premium, so necessitating this shift required both enhancing benefits and amping up communication efforts to educate users on the value-add.

I learned that even if the core product has merit, failing to effectively communicate its purpose or launching before truly ready can sink its prospects. By focusing on those gaps, conversion picked up fast and we quickly found our product-market fit.

Here are key lessons on crucial pre-launch, launch, and post-launch factors.

Pre-Launch:

Define Positioning Early: Conduct market research to understand audience needs, preferences, and behaviors, including competitor analysis, trends, and potential customer feedback. In our case for example, we knew from the beginning we weren’t targeting all our customer base, but only a specific portion.
What does "early" mean? It means from day #1 - right when you are creating your product strategy. Otherwise, what are you even building? If you have a product marketing department, get them involved.

Articulate the Value Proposition & Messaging: Develop a compelling value proposition that clearly conveys the product's unique benefits, resonating with the target audience while differentiating from competitors. Ensure your messaging is consistent across all platforms and speaks in your customers' language, not your internal company jargon.
We spent considerable time aligning on appropriate wording, acknowledging that perception varies across languages; what works in English might not resonate the same way in French or German.

Strategic Timing: Optimal launch timing balances external dynamics like market saturation along with internal readiness. Wait until the product merits claims to avoid overpromising at launch.
This is something I regret not doing. I should have extended our beta testing phase and waited longer to publicly launch, until we had enough product solutions to make a big impact right from the beginning, rather than a few months later.

Pre-Launch Your Product: Gradually release your product through alpha or beta programs to gather feedback, refining your positioning and messaging. For us, the beta testing phase was invaluable, and as I mentioned I wish we had extended it further.

Build Pre-Launch Excitement: Nurture the desire of those without early access through teaser content, early access programs, and events to generate buzz.

During the Launch:

Effective Marketing: Implement a cross-channel marketing strategy, ensuring consistent messaging both externally and within your product interface. When we launched, we integrated dedicated launch and upsell moments throughout our platform.

Do Things That Don’t Scale: Personally engage with customers as much as possible. Direct calls or messages and special offers can incentivize them to try your product.

Scale Infrastructure: Prepare your technology, operations, and customer support to handle anticipated demand. Streamlining internal communication and establishing special protocols is essential.

Educate, Don’t Just Tell: Contrary to what you believe, understanding the value of your product is not immediate. With very few products, you have this "aha" moment where you say, "yes, I get it," straight away. The rest of us have some explaining to do. My product, at least, did for sure, and this is an area I wish I would have focused more on during the pre-launch phase. So your goal, starting from the launch date onward, should be to educate on the use and benefits of your product.

Post Launch:

Embed Feedback Loops: Establish mechanisms to quickly capture and respond to user feedback, adjusting your product and strategy in real time.

Measure and Optimize: Utilize metrics to evaluate launch success and make data-driven optimizations post-launch. Continuous monitoring and user feedback were key to finding our product-market fit.

Keep Ongoing Communication: Remember, the launch day is just the beginning of your communication and education efforts. Develop a strategy to continuously engage and connect with your customers across various channels.

Want to learn more about how to launch a successful product? Take a look at my recent interview with Jason Oakley. You'll find all the necessary details and ingredients you need.

✨ If you like this newsletter and found the content useful, please consider sharing it 🙏

✨ Hi, I’m Sara, host of the Polyweb podcast. On the show, we explore how we can find meaning in the Technology Era. Join conversations with global tech leaders and entrepreneurs, navigating the intersection of business, life, and technology.

Watch on YouTube or listen now on Apple, Spotify, or RSS Feed.

Contrary to popular belief, success won't necessarily make you happy.

Scott Britton is a successful tech entrepreneur who has made it into the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. His most recent company, Troops, was acquired by Salesforce.

Scott seemed to have it all. Yet, he felt unhappy and "exhausted from his own perfectionism."

His life changed completely after an experience with plant medicine led to a profound Kundalini Awakening.

Since then, Scott's life has transformed. Now hw shares openly about his spiritual journey and learning to integrate daily mindfulness amidst building a business. For founders and creators pulled in endless directions, his story provides inspiration and tactical advice to align achievement with fulfillment.

🎯 Three Key Takeaways:

1. Achievement Alone Doesn’t Satisfy

“I had done everything I felt like I should to have a good life, and yet I was pretty miserable,” Scott admits. This dissatisfaction led him to explore psychedelics and meditation in an attempt to uncover happiness.

Takeaway: Be wary of the world’s model of a “good life.” Don't assume achievement or wealth will satisfy you long-term.

2. The #1 Mindfulness Habit To Change Your Life: Embrace Everyday Disturbances As Opportunities

Rather than seeing irritations like stress and anxiety as problems, Scott views them as openings for consciousness growth. He offers a simple practice - use the notes on your phone to log each time you feel disturbed. Later sit with them meditatively to uncover and release the underlying stored tensions driving those reactions.

“What that's indicating is there’s some unconscious material that is being activated right now,” he notes. By consistently working with triggers, you rewire habitual patterns and compose a more expansive identity.

Takeaway: The next time frustration or unease arises, instead of forcing it away, try sitting with it gently as Scott suggests. See what learning it holds for your expansion.

3. Your Days Can Become Moving Meditations

Scott speaks of “turning life into a meditation” by working with disturbances and not just formal practice. Instead of compartmentalizing mindfulness, he cultivates presence throughout everyday activities.

He reasons, “Meditation is the entry ticket to the game. The goal is to embody that state permanently.” Continuous conscious engagement becomes the path itself.

Takeaway: Make your whole day a mindfulness practice. How can you bring open, responsive attention to routine tasks instead of just earmarking isolated meditations?

📚 Resources:

Michael Singer - The Surrender Experiment: My Journey into Life's Perfection: https://amzn.to/3t2OoUI

⏱️ Time Stamps:

00:00 Intro

02:18 Scott's background in entrepreneurship and journey to spirituality

07:18 Balancing Spirituality and Productivity in Everyday Life

09:00 Sara shares her spiritual journey over the past year

11:20 Transforming Life into a Meditation

15:38 Explaining his Kundalini awakening

19:16 A practice for using daily disturbances for spiritual growth

25:24 Turning life into a meditation by working with triggers

31:01 Use of psychedelics and plant medicine

35:27 Managing a spiritual life while having a full schedule

43:10 Following inner guidance from your higher self

56:34 Concept of free will and consciousness

01:01:18 AI, job loss, and finding meaning beyond work

About:

Scott Britton is an entrepreneur, content creator and consciousness explorer. His most recent startup Troops was acquired by Salesforce in 2022 where he received the Forbes 30 Under 30 award for enterprise technology. He is the host of the EvolutionFM podcast and author of the substack blog Consciousness: The Doorway to Human Evolution where he writes about how we can use everyday life to expand our consciousness and redefine what is possible for the human experience. He currently lives in Austin Texas with his fiancee and daughter.

🔗 CONNECT WITH SCOTT:

🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/britton

🎥 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNNndAqnlDP8L6KvN1t9cBg 

💻 Website - https://blog.scottbritton.me/ 

🔗 CONNECT WITH SARA:

📸 Instagram - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-instagram

🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/Sara_LandiTor

👥 Linkedin - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-linkedin

💌 Newsletter - https://polyweb.beehiiv.com/

🪢 ABOUT POLYWEB:

Polyweb navigates through the intricate nexus of technology, product innovation, and human creativity. Engage with leading entrepreneurs and experts in uncovering how we can forge impactful companies and lead lives enriched with purpose in the Technology Era.

✨ If you like this newsletter and found the content useful, please consider sharing it 🙏

✨ Hi, I’m Sara! In this newsletter, I share my musings at the intersection of tech, product, and human tinkering, with the aim of navigating business and life in the Technology Era with purpose.

Subscribe to join me on this journey and check out the Polyweb podcast.

Over the past few months, I've been on a deep dive into the world of customer discovery and the Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework. This comprehensive, step-by-step guide is the result of extensive research, several experiments, and even a custom GPT designed specifically for JTBD.

🎙️ What makes this guide extra special? It includes insights from my interview with Tony Ulwick, one of the JTBD framework's creators, on my podcast.

📋 As a bonus, I’m offering a downloadable checklist for easy reference and access to my custom GPT.
This isn't just a tool; it's your personal coach for tailoring the JTBD framework to meet your unique needs. Curious to see it in action? Check the sneak peek video below and scroll to the 📚 resource section to get access!

Note: This guide represents a streamlined adaptation of the framework, to which I have added my own spin. The aim is to remove redundancies and distill it down to only the most essential steps without compromising effectiveness.

👉 P.S. Need personalized assistance for your team? Book a discovery call to work with me.

First things first, what exactly is Jobs To Be Done (JTBD)?

The JTBD framework is an approach that shifts the focus from products to the customer's needs. It centers around understanding the 'job' or task that a customer needs to accomplish using a product or service. In essence, the customer 'hires' the product or service to complete this job.

The JTBD framework's advantage lies in its ability to concentrate on addressing problems rather than focusing on any specific solutions.

To illustrate this concept, here are two simple examples:

1. Ride-Sharing Services (e.g., Uber or Lyft):

   • Traditional View: A customer uses a ride-sharing app to book a car.

   • JTBD View: The customer's job is to reach a destination quickly and comfortably, avoiding the hassles of driving or parking. The ride-sharing service is hired not just for transport but for convenience and efficiency.

2. Coffee Shops (e.g., Starbucks):

   • Traditional View: Customers visit coffee shops to purchase coffee.

   • JTBD View: While buying coffee is one aspect, customers also 'hire' the coffee shop as a place to meet friends, work, or relax. The job extends to seeking a pleasant experience and environment.

In each example, JTBD shifts the focus from the product itself (car rides, coffee) to what the customer is really seeking to achieve with these products or services in their daily life.

Three concepts to understand JTBD

To fully grasp JTBD, we need to define three key concepts:

Market = Tony Ulwick redefines a market not as a vertical, geography, or technology but as a group of people and the job they are trying to get done. It's about discerning what customers truly seek to accomplish with a product or service.

Jobs = In JTBD, a 'job' is a task or goal a customer aims to achieve in a particular situation by using a product or service. It's action-oriented, encompassing functional, emotional, and social dimensions.

Jobs are typically phrased as action-oriented tasks. They should start with a verb and clearly describe what the customer is trying to accomplish. For example:

• "Maintain personal health and fitness."

• "Plan and enjoy a vacation."

• "Enhance professional skills."

Outcomes = These are the desired end-states or goals customers aim for when hiring a product or service for a job. Outcomes are specific, measurable, and define what success looks like for the customer.

Phrasing outcomes should include metrics or standards used by customers to evaluate success. For example:

• "Minimize the time required to plan a vacation itinerary."

• "Maximize the reliability of maintaining a regular exercise routine."

• "Ensure the latest industry knowledge is incorporated into skill enhancement."

How to Apply Jobs-To-Be-Done in 4 steps

Step 1: Initial Market Exploration

Begin by exploring potential markets based on preliminary insights or hypotheses about customer needs. This can involve exploratory research, such as interviews with potential users, market analysis, and studying existing data.

From this exploratory research, identify a range of jobs that potential customers might be trying to get done. These jobs don't need to be detailed at this stage but should give a broad sense of the tasks or goals your potential customers are trying to achieve.

Based on these identified jobs, narrow down to a specific market that seems most viable or underserved. This is where you define your market in terms of a specific group of people and the core functional job they are trying to get done.

💡 For example, imagine that you are a product manager at Airbnb. By looking at the data and market trends, you notice that a sizable part of your user base is booking stays for longer periods of time (e.g. 1 month or longer) and are traveling solo. You decide therefore to explore this potential market.

So instead of saying "we are targeting the travel industry" (a vertical), say "we are targeting solo travelers looking to connect with local cultures" (a group of people and their emotional job) or "we are targeting solo travelers looking for long term temporary accommodation" (a functional job).

Step 2: Collect all the customer’s Jobs and Outcomes

The second step in applying the JTBD framework is to collect all the jobs customers are trying to get done when interacting with your product and the outcomes they want to achieve for each job. The end result should be two extensive lists, one for jobs and one for outcomes, phrased as we have seen in the examples above.

The best way to collect jobs and outcomes at this stage is through qualitative user interviews, to understand what your users' goals are and what they are trying to accomplish.

But rather than spending countless hours in user interviews, here is a hack Tony Ulwick suggests to speed things up and make the process more efficient:

Take the top 2-3 experts in your market and organize an interview with them at the same time, either virtually or in person. Divide the session into 2 slots (either the same day or different days) - one for jobs and one for outcomes. For each session, try to get the experts to agree on:

• A list of the jobs they are trying to get done

• How to formulate the job statements

• A list of outcomes they want to achieve for each job

• How to formulate the outcome statements

💡 Here is how I would apply the framework following our example of a product manager at Airbnb exploring the market of solo travelers/digital nomads looking for accommodation:

1. Identify top contributors in digital nomad online groups and communities (e.g. Facebook, Reddit, NomadList)

2. Invite 3 of them for 2 rounds of interviews on separate days, with all of them together

3. In the first round, focus on capturing jobs they try to get done when booking accommodation. Ask questions like:

"Can you walk me through finding accommodation as a digital nomad?"

"What factors do you consider when choosing where to stay?"

4. Turn job findings into job statements (see table below)

5. In the second round with the same experts, focus on outcomes wanted for each job. Ask questions like:

"Let’s discuss finding budget-friendly places with good connectivity. What does success look like here?"

"How do you know if an accommodation meets your needs?"

"What factors determine a successful stay?"

6. Turn outcome findings into outcome statements (see table below)

7. Interview more people to confirm findings or get additional insights if needed.

By the end, I should have properly stated jobs and outcomes lists like:

Jobs+Outcomes Statements List

Side note 1: During this process, you may discover that your product addresses only part of the job. This is common and highlights potential market opportunities.

Side note 2: I can provide more specifics on user interviews for JTBD if helpful. Just let me know. You might also want to check this article that illustrates how I structure user interviews.

Step 3: Uncover Unmeet Needs

After compiling your jobs and outcomes statements, the next step is to identify your customers' unmet needs. The objective here is to determine which jobs are of the utmost importance to most of your audience.

To accomplish this, design a survey that lists each job along with its associated outcomes, asking participants to rate them for importance and satisfaction. Here’s a suggested format:

a. When attempting to [job], how crucial is it for you to [outcome statement]?

• Options range from 'Not important at all' to 'Extremely important.'

b. How satisfied are you with your ability to [outcome]?

• Options range from 'Not satisfied at all' to 'Extremely satisfied.'

Example:

💡 Job: Find accommodations suitable for long-term stays.

Question a: When trying to find accommodations suitable for long-term stays, how important is it to you that you minimize the time required to identify accommodations offering long-term stay discounts for extended travels?

• Not important at all

• Not important

• Somewhat important

• Important

• Very important

• Extremely important

Question b: How satisfied are you with your ability to minimize the time required to identify accommodations offering long-term stay discounts for extended travels?

• Not satisfied at all

• Not satisfied

• Somewhat satisfied

• Satisfied

• Very satisfied

• Extremely satisfied

Survey Sample Size and Conditions:

• B2B: 120-180 clients

• B2C: Around 600 for a single product; 1200 for a portfolio

• Survey Duration: Approximately 20 minutes, with participant compensation recommended.

Step 4: Prioritize Unmeet Needs

Upon receiving the survey results, focus on prioritizing the unmet needs. Look for needs rated as very or extremely important but not very or extremely satisfied.

💡 Using our Airbnb example, let’s visualize the survey results on a graph. Each point represents a job, plotted according to its importance and satisfaction ratings. The red dashed lines at 75% help categorize jobs based on their levels of importance and satisfaction.

Survey results

Next, calculate the Opportunity Score for each job using the formula:

Opportunity Score = Importance+(Importance−Satisfaction)

In our example from the graph, the following jobs stand out:

• Long-term Stay Discounts (importance 70% satisfaction 40%)

• Reliable Internet Connection: (importance 85% satisfaction 50%)

• Social Interaction Opportunities: (importance 65% satisfaction 45%)

• Affordable Comfort (importance 55% satisfaction 40%)

When we calculate the opportunity score, here are our top priorities:

1. Reliable Internet Connection (Opportunity Score: 120)

2. Long-term Stay Discounts (Opportunity Score: 100)

3. Social Interaction Opportunities (Opportunity Score: 85)

4. Affordable Comfort (Opportunity Score: 70)

And now? What happens next

With your priorities established, it's time to shift from problem identification to solution creation. Focus on developing solutions for the top-priority jobs starting with "Reliable Internet Connection," then moving to "Long-term Stay Discounts" and so forth. The outcome statement of each job will be your measure of success or noth star metric.

For jobs with more complex needs, like 'Social Interaction Opportunities,' investigate in greater detail to understand the specific nuances and contexts in which they are performed.

📚 Helpful resources:

• Access my custom GPT + the JTBD checklist (Notion Template): a guide to help you step-by-step in applying JTBD specifically to your needs (requires subscription to ChatGPT Plus)

• Watch my interview with Tony for practical applications of JTBD (including his experience applying the framework at Twitter)

• Explore Tony Ulwick's JTBD book for an in-depth deep dive

👉 Need personalized assistance for your team? Book a discovery call to work with me.

The “Now” section

🎧 What I am listening to: Recently, I've become an avid fan of audiobooks, a format that hadn't piqued my interest before, given my penchant for podcasts. I’ve been listening to “What We Owe the Future” by William MacAskill, an incredible book about the challenges and opportunities we face in the coming future. It covers a wide range of topics, from AGI to the threats of war and pandemics, and offers insights on how to navigate these complex issues.

📚 What I am reading: “The Expert Secret” by Russell Brunson. IIt's arguably the best book I've come across on selling and positioning oneself as an expert. If you're considering selling anything, from digital products to online coaching, this book is a must-read. Grab your copy today.

🥁 What I am doing: I’m currently juggling two learning endeavors. First, as you might have guessed, I'm diving deep into everything about selling and launching a product. I'm in the midst of creating a guide on this topic, so stay tuned for future updates 😄 Meanwhile, check out the podcast episode with Jason Oakley, which focuses on launching products for startups.
Secondly, I've finally taken the plunge into coding! I'm enrolled in the Free CodeCamp class. I am almost done with the first module and I love the hands-on approach.

🧐 Question I am asking myself:

✨ If you like this newsletter and found the content useful, please consider sharing it 🙏

✨ Hi, I’m Sara, host of the Polyweb podcast. On the show, we explore how we can find meaning in the Technology Era. Join conversations with global tech leaders and entrepreneurs, navigating the intersection of business, life, and technology.

Watch on YouTube or listen now on Apple, Spotify, or RSS Feed.

If you're launching a product without listening to this episode of Polyweb, you're missing out.

Jason Oakley, expert product marketing strategist and author of the Productive PMM newsletter, shares practical tips, step-by-step advice, and templates to help you launch a product that practically sells itself!

Here's a sneak peek of what we cover in depth:

👉 Crafting a product position that stands out in the crowd and slicing through your market segment with precision.

👉 Developing messaging that doesn't just reach your customers but speaks to them, creating a lasting connection.

👉 Strategizing the perfect price point - one that matches your product's value and appeals to your audience.

👉 Laying out a launch strategy that drives organic growth, ensuring your product doesn't just launch but truly takes off.Introducing a new product but unsure how to optimize your go-to-market strategy?

👇 Scroll down for my key takeaways and links to the templates to apply the framework!

Key Takeaways:

Understanding Product Marketing

Far from being just another branch of general marketing, product marketing a strategic function that plays a critical role in the lifecycle of a product. This segment is particularly insightful for startups and established companies alike, providing clarity on how product marketing can shape a product's journey from concept to consumer.

A Launch Starts With Research, Not Rockets

“Most launches fail from lack of specifics,” Jason explains. “They lack clear positioning.” Be uncomfortably specific in honing your positioning, starting with precision segmentation. Laser focus on one niche audience and tailor everything directly to them.
Back up those targeting choices with intensive upfront research - competitive, buyer, and market analysis. Let those insights guide your positioning and messaging.

Distinguishing Between Product Launches and Releases

This distinction is crucial for effective resource allocation and market positioning. Launches are about introducing a new product and driving adoption, while releases focus on updates or improvements to existing products.

Effective Positioning and Segmentation

Positioning your product in the market and targeting the right customer segments are critical for success. Oakley shares insights on how to effectively position your product to stand out and the importance of targeting specific customer segments with tailored marketing efforts.

The Importance of Early Strategy Engagement

Oakley advises that product marketers should be involved early in the product development process. This early engagement ensures that marketing strategies are aligned with product features and market needs, setting the stage for a more successful launch.

Message For Product Launch

With your audience and position set, craft core messaging that converts. “Focus first on what your product is, how it’s used, and its value,” Jason urges. Always lead with the outcomes and benefits.
He shares a simple but killer messaging formula: Capabilities > Benefits > Proof. Explain key abilities, the concrete value they provide users, and social proof or examples that back up those claims.

Strategies for Generating Excitement Around Launches

The episode also covers tactics for generating excitement and anticipation for your product launch. Oakley talks about the 'rolling thunder' approach and other strategies to create a buzz in the market, maintaining momentum beyond the initial launch.

Navigating the Challenges of Pricing Strategy

Concluding the episode, Oakley delves into the complexities of pricing strategy, offering insights into how to balance market expectations with business objectives. This segment is especially useful for startups looking for guidance on setting the right price for their product.

Resources:

👉 CHECK OUT JASON’S CLASS: Ready For Launch - Product Launch Course on Maven

PMM Files Newsletter: https://productivepmm.com/newsletter

Van Westendorp Pricing Research Template: https://productivepmm.com/resources/van-westerndorp

Positioning and Messaging Development Template: https://shorturl.at/nAEGK

LinkedIn post on the diff between Releases and Launches: https://shorturl.at/kmJO5

LinkedIn Post on where PMM should be involved in the Product Dev Process: https://shorturl.at/azBJV

Time Stamps:

00:00 Introduction

01:09 Overview of product marketing role and responsibilities

04:00 Tips for successful product launches

05:00 Key differences between product releases and launches

12:18 Case study: Ambiguous messaging in Humane's AI Pin launch video

17:37 Crafting effective product positioning and segmentation

26:24 Niching down to a very specific target audience

29:24 Product positioning framework

35:56 Translating position into effective messaging

44:27 Capabilities, benefits and proof when describing product value

46:42 Pre-launch tools like Winter to test messaging

48:23 Tactics to generate hype and momentum for a launch

53:00 Case studies of successful ongoing launch campaigns

54:28 Pricing models and metrics

58:43 Using buyer research to find optimal pricing

01:02:00 Case study: Pricing course using buyer response and conversion data

01:05:05 Validating pricing via beta programs

About Jason Oakley:

Jason is a product marketing coach, consultant, and creator with 10+ years experience building PMM functions from scratch. He's built product marketing teams at companies like Klue, Chili Piper, and Uberflip — each time starting as a founding PMM. Now, he's on a mission to help founding product marketers and early-stage PMM teams scale faster, focus on the right work, and drive real impact within their organization.

👥 Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/oakleyjason/

💻 Website - https://productivepmm.com/

🔗 CONNECT WITH SARA:

📸 Instagram - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-instagram

🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/Sara_LandiTor

👥 Linkedin - https://bit.ly/saralanditortoli-linkedin

💌 Newsletter - https://polyweb.beehiiv.com/

🪢 ABOUT POLYWEB:

Polyweb navigates through the intricate nexus of technology, product innovation, and human creativity. Engage with leading entrepreneurs and experts in uncovering how we can forge impactful companies and lead lives enriched with purpose in the Technology Era.

✨ If you like this newsletter and found the content useful, please consider sharing it 🙏

✨ Hi, I’m Sara! In this newsletter, I share my musings at the intersection of tech, product, and human tinkering, with the aim of navigating business and life in the Technology Era with purpose.

Subscribe to join me on this journey and check out the Polyweb podcast.

I’m not gonna lie, this wasn’t the article I had in mind to write. But since this was one of the most eventful week perhaps in tech history, let’s talk about it 👇

A brief timeline of the OpenAI drama

Let's unpack the recent events, and yes, there are quite a few names, so hold tight as I walk you through this crazy story:

Friday, November 17th: In a stunning turn of events that no one saw coming, the board of OpenAI, the fastest-growing company in history, fires CEO Sam Altman.
In a hastily arranged Google Meet, Chief Scientist and board member Ilya Sutskever, along with other board members - excluding Greg Brockman - deliver the news to Altman. This group includes Adam D’Angelo, CEO of Quora; Helen Toner of the Center for Security and Emerging Technology; and Tasha McCauley, CEO of GeoSim, a city mapping startup.
Brockman was told he was being removed from the board as well and decided to resign.

This move reportedly blindsided OpenAI’s investors, including Microsoft—which has agreed to invest more than $13 billion in the company.

Meanwhile, CTO Mira Murati was appointed interim CEO.

The board didn’t give away details on why it took such drastic actions, except saying that “he (Altman) was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities”.

OpenAI's unique structure as a nonprofit, later integrated with a for-profit arm, plays a crucial role here. The nonprofit board mandate is to prioritize safe and beneficial AGI development for humanity and is not bound to prioritize profitability.

Saturday and Sunday, November 18th-19th: Negotiations are attempted between the board and Altman. Meanwhile, employees show their support on X to Sam en mass. On Sunday, OpenAI named Twitch co-founder and former CEO Emmett Shear as its next interim CEO.

Monday, November 20th: Microsoft hires Altman and Brockman to lead a new AI research lab within the company. Meanwhile, 95% of OpenAI’s 770 employees, including Sutskever, who in the meantime tweets that he regrets his decision, penned a letter threatening to quit and join Microsoft unless Altman and Brockman are reinstated and the board resigns.

Tuesday, November 21st: Altman is back as OpenAI CEO, with a new board. This new board includes Adam D’Angelo, the sole survivor from the previous board; Bret Taylor, former CTO of Facebook and co-CEO of Salesforce; and Larry Summers, the ex-Treasury Department secretary. Rumors suggest the board will expand, potentially including up to nine members.

This shake-up seems to solidify Altman's authority and foster a stronger sense of unity among OpenAI employees.

What this means for the destiny of the nonprofit, however, is unclear. It’s almost certain that Microsoft and other investors would want a sit at the table to avoid more costly surprises, but that would make OpenAI governance no different than other tech companies looking for profit.

There is a risk that the mission of “building an AGI that benefits humanity” will turn into “building an AGI that benefits the investors’ pocket” if safeguards are not put into place.

I guess the question is: can responsible research and economic gains coexist?

What caused the OpenAI coup?

While we still don’t know what happened, it seems the board has been divided for a while. A research paper by Toner has surfaced, lauding Anthropic (OpenAI's key rival and the creator of Claude) for prioritizing AI safety over expansion, a stance seemingly at odds with OpenAI's approach.

And it seems that OpenAI researchers warned the board of an AI breakthrough that raised safety concerns, a model known as Q*, ahead of Sam's ouster. According to Reuters, the new model was able to perform math on the level of grade-school students. This is not AGI (more on this below), but a significant step forward.
At present, generative AI excels in writing and translating languages by predicting the next word in a sequence, leading to varied answers for the same question. However, mastering math, which has definitive right answers, would indicate that AI has developed greater reasoning skills.

As significant as this advancement in AI is, it might have raised an even more fundamental question: what do you do when the model behaves in ways you didn't anticipate?
This might be where the real tension lies. Do you pause and carefully assess these unexpected outcomes, or do you race to market, driven by the worry that if you don't, your competitors will beat you to it?

Don’t get distracted by the smoke, look for the fire

Most people are missing the key point regarding OpenAI. This isn't your standard Silicon Valley startup drama.

This is much bigger and affects all of us, given OpenAI's original mission:

But to grasp the full weight of this mission, we need to unpack what AGI really is.

AGI is a type of artificial intelligence that has the ability to understand, learn, and apply its intelligence to a wide range of problems, much like a human. Unlike specialized AI, designed for specific tasks, AGI can adapt to various situations and perform diverse tasks without being programmed for each one.

Though still largely theoretical, AGI is a hot topic in ongoing AI research.

OpenAI defines AGI as autonomous systems that surpass humans in most economically valuable tasks. Google DeepMind, suggests AGI should possess qualities like versatility and metacognition. However, this doesn't necessarily mean it will think like a human or possess consciousness.

When discussing AGI, I find it particularly interesting to distinguish between the concept of Strong AI vs. Weak or Narrow AI.

A Strong AI can perform a variety of functions, eventually teaching itself to solve new problems. Weak AI, which is what we have today, relies on human interference to define the parameters of its learning algorithms and to provide the relevant training data to ensure accuracy. Both can perform complex tasks. The key difference is, that while human input accelerates the growth phase of Strong AI, it is not required, and over time, it develops a human-like consciousness instead of simulating it, like Weak AI.

Ilya Sutskever once used a compelling analogy to describe this. He said Isaac Newton couldn’t explain the movement and elliptical orbits of planets. Newton consulted with every professor and read every book that he could find but couldn’t come up with an answer. He had to look outside and invent calculus to solve the problem. This is the difference between Weak AI (what we have today, a system pouring through all the knowledge at its disposal) and a Strong AI.

But even in a Weak AI scenario, if the simulation is convincing enough and enough people trust it for decision-making, the impact on our lives and society would be monumental.

Imagine an AGI capable of handling all your tasks, simple or complex, autonomously improving over time. Such an AGI could hold engaging conversations, innovate in technology, and understand human motivations with uncanny accuracy. We might even trust these systems to make strategic decisions for companies.

Is AGI a good or a bad thing?

In the book, What We Owe The Future, author Will MacKallister argues that the development of AGI would likely be a moment of monumental importance, for two reasons.

First, it could massively speed up the rate of technological progress. MacKallister notes that once AI becomes fully general, it could replace a vast array of jobs, eliminating the limitations imposed by the slow pace of human labor growth, such as child-rearing. Consequently, the world's economy might experience unprecedented growth, potentially doubling every five years.

Secondly, the potential longevity of an AGI system could significantly alter global power dynamics. For example, if one major power harnessed AGI-fueled growth before others, it might rapidly overshadow all other powers combined.

These scenarios both assume that humans can control AGI and use it to enforce their values.

However, human control over AGI is far from guaranteed. Building AGI could pave the way for AI systems that eclipse human abilities across all domains, much as current AI already surpasses human capabilities in games like chess and Go. In a scenario with Strong AI, the AGI could become autonomous, initiating actions independently.

In Sam Altman's own words:

Why you should care: this will change your life, even if you don’t know it yet

By now, it should be clear that the individuals training AI models, potentially paving the way for AGI and figuring out “how to get it right”, are not just your average tech professionals. They are, in many ways, distinct from you and me.

The everyday decisions made in the process of training these models could one day lead to an AGI that either benefits or harms humanity.

AGI might be our best friend or our biggest foe. Alternatively, AGI might view us with the same detachment we have towards an ant - appreciative from a distance, but indifferent in the grand scheme of things.

Consider this:

The leadership and team at OpenAI, and similar entities, wield immense power over our collective future, power that comes with significant responsibility but limited accountability, guided primarily by their moral compass.

What we currently lack is a universally accepted definition or a broad consensus on what constitutes responsible AI and AGI development.

Not just in the future, but right now.

Key questions remain unanswered:

If things start going awry with AI, when do we decide to 'pull the plug'? How do we determine the right time to alter the direction of AI training models?

These critical decisions are currently in the hands of OpenAI's 770 remarkable employees and their counterparts in other leading AI firms.

Yet, the conversation needs to be more inclusive and far-reaching, considering the widespread implications AGI will have on all of us.

It's not just politicians and regulators who need to get involved, but everyday people as well.

We should learn from past technologies like social media that engineering without ethical foresight carries unintended risks. OpenAI releasing detailed research roadmaps and being proactive with the public and regulators about objectives, milestones and controls would go a long way. Independent oversight committees staffed by diverse experts could also audit priorities periodically.

The stakes are exponentially higher than for most technologies and responsible development of something as critical as AGI cannot happen in the dark.

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