Great Product Managers Steal - The Hardest Easy Job in Tech

We've all heard the (wrongly?) Picasso-attributed quote, "Good artists copy; great artists steal." And there is a similar quote around coding circles, "Great developers are lazy." However, this refers to the common practice of reusing code that someone else has already written. Well, the same holds true for product managers.

Now, before the trolls gather, I want to explain. I do not condone the use of wget as a tool of the trade. However, I do believe that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Also, inspiration is often derived from the collective conscious; that great site you used to do X, seeped into your latest instantiation of the feature you're working on. Which is to say, others can also be inspired, by the same things you were, to draw the same conclusion that you did. But, not all stealing is equal. So, now that that's out of the way, here's how I steal.

Product managers are problem solvers and lucky for us, if you have a wide enough lens, there are very few new problems. For example, MapReduce looks like something implemented in the Linux Kernel, which looks like a classic queuing problem. Now, this is easier said then done. As a product manager you are constantly looking to competitors, best of breed companies, and hockey-sticking startups to try to determine how you can bring some of that to your product / company. And if you aren't, it certainly doesn't help that your 'business counterparts' are. But, does implementing a me-too search engine make you Google. In actuality, it probably makes you more Cuil than cool. So, be careful where you steal from, because it might not work for your business.

Personally, I prefer to steal from as close to home as possible. Now, what does that mean? Currently, I work for Best Buy; a company in the middle of a great retail turnaround. Now, every analyst and pundit thought we were long-for dead; the nerdy kid who loses his lunch day after day to the elusive interwebz; a part of the new world of retail we just don't understand...

So, steal from close to home? You can't be at Best Buy long without hearing the story of Dick Schulze, our founder, and the company's entrepreneurial roots. And if you're lucky, you can find Dick on-campus and ask him about it yourself. The gist is retail is a simple business. When an entrepreneur worked in a single store everyday, he was able to deliver an experience that allowed him to build what you know today as Best Buy. As a product manager for Best Buy, that's where I choose to steal from. Dick's customers back then, are my customers now (more or less). The company culture from then, is the company culture now (more or less). Rather than trying to turn Best Buy into Amazon, I rather turn Best Buy into Best Buy, just a modern version of past glory days. In the current era, that means web, mobile web, apps, omni-channel experiences (where the web and the store meet), in-store analytics, complex algorithms and the like. But, we can't focus on new applications of new technology in an old space. We have to focus on customer problems, which tend to be old, core problems that are incrementally different because the world has changed. For example, customers have always wanted competitive prices and a great in-store experience. But, now, the bar is higher than it has ever been. And since everything old becomes new again, I prefer to look back and see what worked in the past and use it as the inspiration to go forward.

As product managers, we have to discover what delights and what solves actual customer problems and scale that to the world we live in today, with an eye on where we might be tomorrow.

Now that you've seen what makes it easy, let me introduce you to what makes it hard. The world has changed. The customer is more sophisticated than ever and is ever becoming harder and harder to impress. In most cases, the customer knows more about a particular item than an employee. If I want to buy a blue dinglehopper, 30 seconds of internet research makes me as, if not more, knowledgable than the sales person. And the advantage of being able to get something now, by going to a store, is quickly waning. After all, how many things do we actually need RIGHT NOW? And if you are Best Buy, it's really hard. Why? Because our solutions have to work for more than 100,000 Blue Shirts, in more than 1100 stores, selling hundreds of thousands to millions of products, to more than 250 million annual visitors.

So, when you steal, steal solutions to customers' problems and ALWAYS start with the biggest problem. Nothing hurts more when you deliver a product only to find out that Your Solution Is Not My Problem

What Sprouts Farmers Market Can Teach You About Social

In a world where everyone is offering some widget, gizmo or gimmick that promises to give you Facebook-like viral growth / visibility, I see a lot of social done wrong. While working for startups, I sought out these solutions to help 'get the word out' and in my current role, not a day goes by where someone doesn't try to sell me some social service that'll fix all our problems. So, I feel very comfortable saying that most of the market focuses on how to enable social sharing...in hopes that people will just share whatever content it's attached to. Now, how many of you have added sharing widgets to your website?  How did that work out for you?

Today was different. In the most unexpected of places, I had an experience that I'm going to share with you and, hopefully, you'll see why I was so excited to get home and blog about it.

After picking up my son, we stopped at Sprouts Farmers Market in Hemet, CA (It's where I live, don't judge me). Now, my son Joey has autism and April 2nd was World Autism Awareness Day. He was proudly sporting his newly acquired Build-A-Bear Autism Speaks Bear, just like he is in the picture below.

During checkout, I was reaching for my wallet, when Joey told our cashier Yesenia that this was his bear, he cleverly named it "Autism" and that he had autism.  She warmly smiled and commented that she liked his bear.  Then, Joey noticed  that Yesenia's name tag / lanyard had a blue puzzle piece pin on it, much like the one on his bears' t-shirt.  Now, for any of you that don't know, the blue puzzle piece is Autism Speaks's logo.  Honestly, I'm not exactly sure why, but, Joey got SUPER EXCITED.  Then, Yesenia told us how Sprouts supports Autism through Autism Speaks and how, during their recent fundraiser, there were puzzle pieces like the one she had all over the store.  To which Joey replied, "I can paint puzzle pieces all over the store too!" In all honesty, I think he took her explanation as permission and might have even asked her for paint to start drawing on the windows in the front of the store. She smiled and, cool as a cucumber, rolled with Joey, without batting an eye. And then it happened. Yesenia asked Joey if he wanted her pin.  I'm not even sure she finished her offer before Joey said sure. At this point, I was in tears. Then, after almost handing it to him, she realized it was probably better to give it to me, which was very thoughtful.  Especially since she pretended not to notice me crying. 

As a parent of a child on the spectrum, you never know what your child is going to do or say, especially in public. But, it's stop phasing you pretty early on. However, you remain VERY sensitive to how other people react to your child's quirky behaviors, especially when you are in a public place, late in the day, when the meds are clearly wearing off. Oftentimes, people react poorly and the only saving grace is that despite the lack of sensitivity, understanding and patience in the world, your child really doesn't understand how terrible the people interacting with them are treating them. Needless to say, Yesenia small act of kindness was an example exactly what to do and I was very impressed.

Instantly, I wanted to take out my phone blow up my Facebook stream, letting everyone know what happened...but what one-liner would do this story justice?  So, I came home, snapped some photos on my phone, sent them to my email account and wrote a blog post.  Seems like a lot of effort, but well worth it for this moment. 

As a former Disney intern, I know Disney spend tons of resources drilling this type of customer service into their cast members, under the guise of creating "magic" and they are world-class at it. But, I wasn't at Disney. I was at the grocery store, with my son, in tears, because Yesenia decided she wanted to do something special to make Joey's day and create an experience that this parent and grocery-purchasing customer will never forget. And now I'm sharing this story, on their behalf, because I was so moved that I want everyone to know about what happened to me today and who was responsible for the experience. And that's the key.

The key to social is moving people so much that they feel compelled to share the experience with anyone that'll listen.  Whether it's something funny / clever, emotionally meaningful, visually stunning or cat-related, there are many ways to move people. Social isn't about a button or widget; it's about creating moments worth sharing.

They did, so I did. 

The Magic Words of Early-Stage Startups

There is nothing like putting your product out there for the first time, especially if it's your first product. Whether it's good or bad is irrelevant. As a entrepreneur, especially a first-timer, you're convinced you are on the cusp of changing the world.  That's how I felt when I started the now defunct Browsemob, (God rest its soul). The whole world was going to name-their-own price, while shopping on any e-commerce website, using our bookmarklet tool.  And who knows, someday the world still might.

I sent hundreds of emails, hit up events / conferences, cold called and sometimes just showed up to try to convince potential investors, potential advisors, potential clients...basically, anyone I could get a hold of that could possibly further the cause, that Browsemob was the future and this was their chance to be a part of it.  It was a truly magical time, filled with ups and downs.

Honestly, most people ignore you, grin fuck or never reply.  But, the experience taught me the magic words of early startups, which I'll share with you.  Whether you are talking to a potential investor, advisor, customer, employee (paid or unpaid), co-founder, random person you bump into at a bar, whomever...when you hear them, you know you've reach the optimal outcome.

Now, before I tell you what they are, I feel obliged to tell you that you have to have a refined, coherent spiel, which only comes with practice. Also, when pitching your product, you can't lead with an obvious ask for the magic words, otherwise they won't come or they will come, but it'll be disingenuous.  And now, the words..."What can I do to help?"

Those six words mean that you have done your job pitching an idea, that's not quite a business yet, but one day could be.  It means you crossed the credibility threshold and have at least 1 shot at getting someone to do you some sort of kindness, based on whatever it is you've just shown them; for entrepreneurs the world over, they've led to first customers, round leaders, introductions to co-founders / early employees, high-profile advisors and so much more.

So, get out there and hustle.  And when you hear, "What can I do to help?" smile, think of me & don't screw up the ask :-)

Teaching Myself Python - Part 1

I've always wanted to be a better coder. However, it's in direct opposition with my passion, which is to be an entrepreneur. The problem is, I only learned how to code in order to build something interesting enough to convince a better coder to work along side me, for nothing but a mutual dream (and some stock, not yet worth anything to speak of). But, one can only sit beside great coders for so long, without being drawn back in.

Previously, I've experimented with a few languages, but my core development has been in PHP, with my theoretical background coming from high school AP classes, which at the time, were taught in C++ (if that doesn't date me : P ).  But, for the purposes of this blog series, I'm 'learning' Python.

The good news is, I've started already.  The purpose of blogging about it is to share my experience and plans, as well as get encouragement and guidance.  Hopefully, you all will keep me honest and on course.

Now, why Python?  I wish there was a deep, meaningful reason. But, there's not. I'm learning Python because it's concise and powerful...and all the coolest kids I know do it. However, I did read a Quora post, What are some signs that someone is an inexperienced Python programmer? that helped spark a memory.  This question, and responses, showed me how powerful Python is, in terms of saying a lot with very little code; it reminded me of the power of recursion.  As mentioned, I come from a for(int x = 0, x=string.length(), x++){ if(conditional)...} kinda world...so, if I keep at it, I'll have to write a lot less code.  Less code makes the base easier to maintain and easier to read (all good things).  Plus, it has it's own command line shell.

So, the plan.  I'm doing LPTHW (on lesson 39 atm), Python Challenge (Challenge 4) & I'm replicating the programs found on Python.org SimplePrograms, varying them slightly (On program 8).  I'm also using Python to write the middleware on a side project, failrecovery.com (though i'm working on this with a friend).

If you all have any thoughts on my plan, words of wisdom or additional resources, feel free to leave me a comment.

With me luck.

So, I Built The MVP, Now What?

In my previous post, Where Ideas Come From, I talked about an idea that came to me.  Without re-hatching the post, I was left with this idea that every social complaint is should be an actionable customer-service ticket, and making it public could put some social pressure on brands to pay attention.

So, I built it.  You can check out failrecovery.com and let me know what you think in the comments below.  The MVP is truly simple.  We have a small number companies to choose from and a list of top, most complained about companies.  I posted it on HN, sent out a few tweets and posted on my social networks.  So far, traffic is pretty abysmal.  Don't people care which companies ignore their social media complaints?  Don't companies care about knowing how many people are pissed off at them on Twitter?  I think they do.  So, now what?  Why isn't the traffic coming hands over fist?

Obviously, we have made ourselves relevant.  It's that age old question, "How are you going to get users?"  The way I see it, we only have a few options that really make sense.  One, we can increase the number of companies we are collecting information on, or two, we can directly create some way to motivate the customer or the company to engage with the site.  But, only one of those options has any chance of getting us users.

One thing that previous projects have taught me is NOT to work on creating a pretty website or extensive backend stuff / re-writes...when you don't have something people want to use, don't polish the turd; find a way to make them care.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, go with the option that has a chance at making your product more relevant to your users.

Where Ideas Come From

I remember interviewing for a position and I was asked, in reference to a startup project I was working on full-time, "That's a GREAT idea.  How do I know it's not going to hit in 1 month and you're going to leave?"  To which I answered, "You don't.  But, it's not about finding the right idea.  Once you start looking at the world through an entrepreneurial lens, you see them everywhere."

Everyone has problems.  But, entrepreneurs can quickly identify which ones are general enough to make a business out of and which ones are too niche.  They also see minimum viable products that provide value and don't take a ton of time / effort / money to build.

That brings me something that happened a few weeks ago.  I don't recall what I was doing, but I got a text message stating something like, "You just won $1000 gift card to walmart, click-thru to this url (which had walmart in the name) to redeem your prize."  I whois looked-up the domain and found that it was owned by some sort of hosting / advertising company and this was clearly some sort of lead-gen scam or worse.  I put together a 140 character response and took to my twitter account.  I sent tweets of a possible scam to various @walmart accounts and heard nothing.  I was so shocked, not because I didn't hear back (though that made me upset), but because I never considered how a company that big would ever manage my message, regardless of how important it was.  

I thought about the idea for a while and this past weekend, I started building failrecovery.com.  I don't know whether or not this will turn into anything, but that's where my inspiration came from.  So my advice to anyone looking for an idea is to become an observer.  Keep your eyes open, talk to your friends, co-workers, whoever.  Eventually, if you are paying attention and channeling your inner-entrepreneur, and idea will come out of nowhere, like a phishing / link-bait scam.

Is This Offer Fair - The Real Risk of Joining A Startup

It's no secret, startups are sexy again.  I've been getting calls from friends and helping them evaluate offers.  Since I just finished reading Mark Suster's TechCrunch article on dilution, which you should also read,  I'm writing this post to illustrate my POV on equity, as an entrepreneur-who one day hopes to be hiring and divvying it out.

My framework is loose, but valid in explaining non-investor risk among *venture-backed startup* operators (in both actual and perceived terms), so here goes.

*Venture-back startups are, by definition, companies that have to have to return 10X or better to be considered successful*

Founders:

The greatest risk applies to the founding team.  They have left real jobs, are working unpaid (for some period of time), get to draw a significantly less than market rate salary upon raising a seed round, don't have cash on-hand to cover salaries and operational expenses for more than 3-6 months (if lucky) and are compensated for their risk with more lottery tickets, so long as they stay around and keep hitting milestone.  If you don't get passed the seed stage and go broke, the experience gained is only incrementally valuable to a handful of companies in the market at large.

Employees hired after the first priced round:

This area is dicey, because you need top talent and can't pay premium prices.  As a founder, I couldn't hire someone that early without telling them upfront how many months I can guarantee their below-market salary;  the longer I can pay them, the less risk.  There is a resume risk b/c the startup is (usually) unknown and unproven and there is an opportunity cost, which incrementally tick up the amount of risk the first (few) hires are assuming, which has to be fairly compensated.  However, most early hires are exposed to valuable experience and are assuming titles that garner both respect and greater consideration / compensation if & when they leave the startup venture, not to mention they get veteran consideration in the startup community if they choose to move on to their own venture.  And oh yeah, institutional investors are really quick to snatch up these guys and move them to other portfolio companies.

Admittedly so, quantifying and rewarding these hires is tricky.  However, generally they are brought on for comparable, if not higher, equity to the packages received by seasoned / experienced, VP-level post A / B round...which sounds like a decent benchmark for fair.


Engineer 6+ or anyone that comes in after a $3-5 A round:

Effectively, you have no significant risk, besides a below-market rate salary risk, if you are getting paid below market rate at all.  And, since your equity is priced, you know you are being compensated for the gap and an average bonus as soon as you do the math on the equity offer...but you are also getting a better work environment, solving problems you are passionate about and greater marketability later.  So, I'm not sure what the bitching is about?

Most of the posts I see or personal inquiries I get seem to revolve around perceive risk and not real risk, since most people fall into that 6+ or post $3-5 A round category.  Just because the company may not be around, you will most likely have a job for 12-18 months (minimum).  You are not entitled to get rich, a big nest egg, or anything in return (beyond the aforementioned non-monetary compensation). In the likely event that you're not apart of a home run, you worked at a really cool small business.  Newsflash, if my argument doesn't convince you a startup is worth joining, don't do it.

For everyone that is joining a company at or around series B level...that's not a startup.

Here's the good news, if the company hits the home run that it promised it would when it accepted VC money, everyone gets paid more then they were actually worth...that's the whole point.  Equity is gravy...the sooner you get it, the better off you'll be.

If you have ever seriously entertained a thought like, "If I can get a bigger piece, in the event of a not so hot exit, I'll still get PAID", while negotiating with as engineer 6+ / $3-$5 mil A round, don't make the leap. You just don't get it and the mentality won't help the team that's extending you an offer.

As you saw from the infographic in the aforementioned article, deals aren't usually optimized for not-so-hot exits...and they shouldn't be.  But then again, equity is designed to motivate for the BIG EXIT.  In the event of a fire-side sale or flat exit, you'll be lucky to be made whole in-cash, but the experience gained will ease the pain.  But then again, you knew going in what the risks were.