(This article is part of the MicroConf 2015 Recap. Want to explore more talks from the event? Go back to the Recap Hub)

Main Concept

• As an entrepreneur, you have an obligation to create things that are important. 
• The journey is the important part. Not the end. Focusing on the journey and the experience — not the end — helps reduce the stress of the entrepreneurial journey. 
• Price 20% higher than expected so you can offer a discount to them

Talk Recap

Question #1: “Validating WPEngine — How do you recommend validating a product?”

• Before he had the idea for WPEngine, he validated that by explaining what the product did…
  • but then respond back with separate feedback on how / what the product should be
• It’s important to run down a full view of the product, reveal what the price is, and go through how you invalidate an idea — finding objections

Question #2: “How do you ask about price?”

• If people aren’t flinching at the price, that’s a good sign that it could be bigger

Question #3: “There’s some thoughts that you should collect cash up front to validate”

• Do that!
• Cash that check. Take money in square!
• Crowd funding is a great way to raise the money
  • But it isn’t actually validation
  • It isn’t a distribution system that you can repeat
  • So those early adopters may not be a market that you can reapeat

Question #4: “What if someone has something they’re building that’s too complicated to describe?”

• “I don’t believe in that”
  • Google can describe what they do
• If you can’t describe it in a short phrase, then you haven’t fully thought through what you’re selling
• You’re going to have to put headlines and buttons on your site — you’ll need a phrase that describes what you are doing
• The job of validation is finding out if the person you’re talking to is the right target person
• Google is a good example
  • “Organize the world’s information”
  • …but they make money selling ads
  • So although ads are the business, the mission is to organize information, and that power (that information) is what they monetize

Question #5: “Hypothetical: You have a situation, but it isn’t working as well as you want. How do you know when to quit vs push forward? “

• Appointment Reminder is a perfect example
  • Growing — but slowly and painfully
• Seth Godin wrote the book The Dip
  • …you’ll read it and still say “I don’t know what to do!”
• There’s no clear formula to follow
• What patrick / jacob said is a good metric: is this something that I want to continue doing for my life?
• Being an entrepreneur is never a good financial choice
  • But financially everything is going to be slower than you want, marketing will take longer and harder
  • …because that’s life. Building software or remodeling your kitchen, that’s how it goes.

Question #6: “What tells you that you’ve hit product/market fit?”

• There’s a struggle where as a consultant the turning point is when you’re just scrambling as a consultant between project and raising your rates
• For a product, usually you can see the metrics and that tells you when you’re starting to grow
• At the end of the day, there’s no good explanation / signal that shows

Question #7: “What were you doing before you hit product/market fit?”

• It’s important to watch what you’re customers are buying — and how they’re buying.
• It’s important to understand your customers buying criteria — how do they buy? What are their purchasing / pricing requirements?

Question #8: “When does it make sense to move up in price points in the market? What would you change as you move up in your price points?”

• Depends on the type of company you want to build
• Always good to push prices up as you can
• One company, selling products for $300/year
  • Asked: Who are your customers?
  • Tested changing pricing from annually to monthly
  • 0 change
• One company selling a product optimizing Facebook ads
  • A/B test selling the product $30/hour
  • …no change in sales
  • …..so you continue testing raising the price
• People are scared “What if my customers do X or Y”
  • Freeze their prices.
  • Work with them.
  • Talk with them.

Question #9: “What drives you to keep showing up after a few successful exits?”

• The selfish answer is that I enjoy seeing the original idea move forward
• The fact that we can provide opportunity for the right type of attitude to succeed
• The fact that we can provide a company that matches up with how we want to help people succeed
• Similarly, we’re here to help our customers succeed in their businesses
• As an entrepreneur, you have an obligation to create things that are important.

Smart Bear Live

Company #1: Anders Pierson — TimeBlock.com

• Questions: Who is the target market?
  • Small to mid-sized development companies
• Questions: What is going to kill the business (most likely)?
  • Lack of money
• Questions: What’s preventing you from getting to revenue quickly?
  • Not enough people knowing about the product
• Questions: How many people know about your product right now?
  • ~25 companies
• Questions: How much are people paying you?
  • $49/user/month
• Questions: What’s the next step to launching?
  • I don’t have the app yet
• Questions: Why not sell the other 25 on the spreadsheet version?
  • They have different expectations
• Questions: How can you extend the runway?
  • Start selling to the people you’re already promoting the product to.
  • Over-price and then offer a 20% discount, so they feel like they’re getting a deal.

Company #2: James Kennedy — procurementexpress.com

• Question: How do we get in front of CFOs of a company of the right size to promote an app?
  • Even at 80-100 person companies, there are other people in the company that are internal and are able to advocate for this product.
  • Similarly, find the EA (executive assistant) in the system and start advocating to them to purchase this product
• Primary Point: The CFO might not be the ultimate decision maker within the company. 

Share This Recap

Links to Speaker’s Websites

• Website / Blog: A Smart Beart
• Twitter: @asmartbear
• Product: WPEngine

Share This Recap

(This article is part of the MicroConf 2015 Recap. Want to explore more talks from the event? Go back to the Recap Hub)