Top 3 Lessons from Launch Scale 2016 — Focus, Focus, Focus
Execution. What Works. Your Users.
Focus on…Execution. Execution. Execution.
Both jason and Gary Vaynerchuk have been beating this drum for a LONG time and I bet if you surveyed 1,000 successful people in tech (and business in general for that matter) on their #1 lesson or takeaway that this would be the answer on the top of the Family Feud “survey-says” style list.
(Side note: How awesome would a tech-based Family Feud be? jason and LAUNCH portfolio Founders vs. Sam Altman and YC founders? Jason M. Lemkin and SaaStr founders vs Chris Sacca, Matt Mazzeo, and Lowercase Founders? Sign me up for that show Steve Harvey!)
During the last session of the day Jason interviewed his good friend and seasoned veteran entrepreneur and investor Yossi Vardi. Jason asked him what he has learned from 45 years in the business and this was his answer.
Ideas are nothing, execution is everything! — Yossi Vardi
He also recommended every founder print out Teddy Roosevelt’s famous Man in the Arena quote and post it above your desk.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
That spirit is what will keep you focused on grinding and executing through the inevitable dips a founder faces, like the one Jamie Siminofff talked about when the original Ring doorbell, the Doorbot, was just a 2 star product on Amazon (Ring is now 4-stars and one of the best rated tech on Amazon btw).
In the end all that matters is what you were able to execute.
2. Focus on… finding what works and stay focused on it!
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Jason M. Lemkin’s presentation, in which he somehow synthesized over 3,000 pieces of content he’s published into the top 4.5 points, was excellent. The point that struck me the most was #2, to focus on what is working that got you to 100 customers and grow that to 1,000 customers. It should be what you’ve figured out that works just 10x over. Don’t get “creative” and look for other verticals/segments/spaces to try and sell in. Focus on what works and double down on that with incremental improvement.
3. Focus on… your User’s Pain.
Jodi Sherman Jahic gave a great presentation on accelerating the adoption curve. Her #1 point was to focus on your user’s pain.
It’s a lot easier to sell a painkiller than it is to sell a vitamin. — Jodi Jahic
Before you offer a platform or suite of solutions, focus on the one main solution that is a painkiller for your users. Focus on your users and if you don’t know your users pain inside and out, you should be out there talking to them right now!
Overall Launch Scale day 1 was jam-packed with awesome speakers sharing actionable advice on how to scale your startup. Hats off to jason and his team for all their hard work putting it together for the startup community!
