Perfect is the enemy of done. Start small, learn fast, and grow smart. 1. Prioritize learning over efficiency 2. Get personal with early users 3. Release fast, polish later 4. Focus on core value 5. Embrace manual processes 6. Adapt quickly to feedback 7. Scale only after validation From "Do things that don't scale" - YC Startup Wisdom by Paul Graham
Made the no 2 mistake. Now I have to rework to get back on track 🥺
Hey, startup superstars and software wizards! ... ... Ever feel like your development process is more like trying to sprint through a swamp than cruising down the information superhighway? That's where Agile methodology swoops in like a superhero, ready to save the day (and your sanity). First off, Agile is like your friendly neighborhood coffee shop. It's all about being welcoming, adaptable, and making sure you get exactly what you ordered, even if you change your mind about wanting oat milk halfway through. This methodology ensures that your software development process is as flexible as a gymnast, capable of bending and twisting to meet the ever-changing demands of the market. Picture this: You've got an idea. It's big, it's bold, it's...half-baked. No problem! With Agile, you bake it in stages, getting feedback as you go. This way, you're not presenting a finished cake only to find out your customer is gluten intolerant. It’s all about those bite-sized pieces of progress, making sure every step is digestible for your team and your users. Now, let's talk teamwork. Agile turns your squad into the Avengers of software development. Collaboration is the name of the game, and with daily stand-ups, everyone stays in the loop. Issues are caught faster than a speeding bullet, and solutions are more creative than a Picasso painting. But here's the real kicker: Agile helps you fail fast and learn faster. In the startup world, that’s worth its weight in Bitcoin. You'll pivot quicker than a cat chasing a laser pointer, ensuring that when you do hit the jackpot, it's with a product that's truly worth its salt. Feeling intrigued? Ready to transform your startup's approach to software development? Leap over to www.solutionvalley.com and discover how Agile can be your secret weapon for success. Let's make software development feel less like rocket science and more like rock 'n' roll. #webdevelopment #appdevelopmenttips #businessowner #itoutsourcing #technologynews #InnovationLeadership #solutionvalley #AI #powertools #uiuxdesign #designinspiration #learningstyles #startupstories #EntrepreneurshipJourney #FoundersDay
Life is too short to burn ourselves out by running from one sprint to the next with frameworks like SCRUM. Building software requires a more sustainable pace, with time to think and evolve our implementations. Shape Up is a framework that can help us achieve this. If you're planning to develop a tech startup, check out the Shape Up framework. It can help you make your design and development team much happier, which will lead to better results: https://lnkd.in/dYkJ4-5K #productdevelopment #productmanagement #softwaredevelopment
Six books that have had a profound impact on where I am now: 📚 Lean Startup by Eric Ries 📚 Inspired by Marty Cagan 📚 Sooner Safer Happier by Jonathan Smart et al 📚 The Phoenix Project by Gene Kim et al 📚 Forever Employable by Jeff Gothelf 📚 Trillion Dollar Coach by Eric Schmidt et al There are many others I’ve read (or mainly listened to!) and I am sure there will be others yet to be read which impact my future — but these stand out today. 🚀 Back in the late 2000’s I knew there must be a better way to create software or test ideas — Lean Startup and Inspired helped solidify those concepts and spark further enthusiasm. ⚡️ Similarly I was craving better ways to deliver and execute software development. New ideas came in and out of my world with various buzzwords and concepts, but The Phoenix Project and Sooner Safer Happier helped cut through the agile and devops chaff to crystallise a better way. ✨ People and teams have always been at the heart of what I do — be that bringing together software development teams 2008/09 or latterly building product and strategy teams, I am passionate about investing in the individual and bringing out that talent they have inside. I’ve not always done it perfectly, but any success is due in no small part to books such as Trillion Dollar Coach and Forever Employable. Which books have had the most profound impact on where you are today? What do you recommend I read next? #worldbookday #readtosucceed #bookrecommendations Image description: Cover images for each of the books mentioned above: Lean Startup by Eric Rees; Inspired by Marty Cagan; Sooner Safer Happier by Jonathan Smart et al; The Phoenix Project by Gene Kim et al; Forever Employable by Jeff Gothelf; Trillion Dollar Coach by Eric Schmidt et al
Freelancer | Frontend Dev | Salesforce Commerce Cloud Developer (SFCC) | React | Nextjs | Immediate Joiner | Open to work |
"The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries 💡 "We must learn what customers really want, not what they say they want or what we think they should want." - Eric Ries 🔥 Key Takeaways: • Embrace the Build-Measure-Learn feedback loop ➡️ Build a MVP (Minimum Viable Product) ➡️ Measure customer response ➡️ Learn from the data ➡️ Iterate or Pivot • Validated Learning over Vanity Metrics 🚫 Don't get blinded by superficial metrics like registered users, downloads etc. ✅ Focus on validated learning about customers' real needs • Small Batches > Big Upfront Investments 🏭 Avoid huge upfront investments in planning, assets etc. 🚀 Release small batches quickly, test assumptions, and adapt • Pivot or Persevere? 🔄 If customers don't respond as expected, be willing to pivot 🛡 If there's real value, persevere through the struggle The core idea? 👂 Listen to your customers through action, not words ⚡️ Be agile, adapt quickly based on real data Which lean startup principle resonates most with you? Let's discuss in the comments! 💬
It's always fun to put principles into practice in the real world! One of our favorite concepts is the idea of an MVP (as popularized in the Lean Startup philosophy). A minimum viable product was meant to be used as a way to quickly learn and avoid pouring unnecessary time / money resources into something that customers didn't want. It’s not polished and will usually have very limited functionality, but that’s the point: test a hypothesis to see if it’s worth continuing or learn something that could push you in a new direction. My friends and I have created an MVP called Bird's Eye Plan, which is an app that is meant to provide a simple and high level timeline view of a project’s length and remaining days. As someone who likes to see things visualized I find a lot of value in something like this and I think it could help people avoid surprises on longer projects (along with a number of other potential uses). This is the hypothesis we are going to be testing and iterating on. If you want to try out our MVP visit www.birdseyeplan.com and follow @birdseyeplan on instagram to see the latest updates based on the feedback we’re gathering. If you have any ideas or feedback reach out to us at birdseyeplan@gmail.com!
Co-Founder & CFO at rather.chat | Leveraging WhatsApp & AI (think ChatGPT) to transform customer experiences | Actuary Turned Startup Founder | Passionate Triathlete | Devoted Dad
One of the most challenging aspects of leading a startup is navigating diametrically opposed forces: urgency and patience. In the startup world, you're often caught in a whirlwind of activity - pushing limits, setting ambitious goals, and moving at a breakneck pace to stay ahead of the curve. It's a frantic dance of doing a million things at once, where speed seems like your greatest ally. However, there's another side to this dynamic energy: the inevitable slowdowns. Whether it's waiting for client decisions, adapting to market changes, or simply encountering the natural ebb and flow of business cycles, these moments demand a completely different skill - patience. Balancing these opposing forces is more of an art than a science. It involves staying agile yet grounded, ready to sprint when the path clears, and composed when faced with delays. At rather.chat, we focus on putting the right processes in place, and then trusting the process. How do you keep your teams motivated and ready to pivot between these extremes of pace? P.S. Thanks, Llama 3, for the image!
Result-driven product manager | Researching how small B2B teams create value💡Follow me to get tips and tricks to deliver value faster
🌟 Embarking on a startup journey is an exhilarating adventure, filled with opportunities and innovation. In this vibrant landscape, the Scrum framework emerges as a beacon of agility and efficiency, guiding teams to achieve their highest potential. 💡 Snippet of Wisdom Remember, structure is not the adversary of agility but a foundation that nurtures innovation and adaptability. Embracing change is about evolving with a clear vision and strategy, not succumbing to chaos. 🔍 Let's Reflect How are you fostering a people-centric approach in your startup? Are your teams empowered to grow and learn continuously? I invite you to join me in a deep dive where we debunk myths and lay a solid foundation for implementing Scrum in the startup realm. Discover actionable insights and strategies to steer your startup towards a path of success. 📖 Dive Deeper Ready to elevate your startup's journey with Scrum? Uncover expert insights and actionable strategies in the full article. Explore the full story here => https://buff.ly/3r8QBwJ . #StartupJourney #ScrumFramework #AgileMindset #Innovation #ContinuousLearning #PeopleCentric #BusinessGrowth
Excellent post on the impact that getting automated deployment in place can have on productivity. Setting up automated CI/CD isn't "feathering the nest" it's "putting down railroad tracks"... although these days, thanks to tooling from the likes of Vercel and GitHub it is nothing like as difficult or time consuming to set up.
Helping CTOs, startups & scaleups accelerate • CTO coach • fractional CTO • strategy workshops
What every CTO should know about CI/CD (and why every CEO needs to support this) When I first stepped into the role of CTO over a decade ago, I faced a tough decision. Our team was small, resources were tight, and the pressure to deliver was immense. Instead of diving headfirst into feature development, I chose to focus on something seemingly mundane: setting up a fully automated CI/CD pipeline. What is CI/CD? CI/CD stands for continuous integration and continuous deployment. It automates the process of building, testing, and releasing code to production. It sounds technical, but its impact is profound. At first, my co-founder and CEO was puzzled. He saw me spending weeks on what he jokingly called 'feathering the nest.' He wondered why I wasn't prioritizing immediate feature development, especially when our startup was under pressure to deliver new functionality quickly. He couldn't see the immediate value in dedicating so much time to setting up an automated process. But soon, he realized the value. Our ability to deliver high-quality features quickly and consistently transformed our pace and efficiency. Why is CI/CD critical? Think of CI/CD as the backbone of your development process. Without it, you're stuck in a cycle of manual processes that slow everything down. Here’s how manual steps can become bottlenecks: 🚩 If you can't release to production many times a day, your CI/CD likely lacks full automation. 🚩 If a specific person needs to authorize a step, you're not optimized. 🚩 If engineers can't fix a bug and deploy updates within an hour, they'll be cautious and slower, fearing they might release buggy code. The solution: 1. Fully automate your CI/CD pipeline. 2. Ensure every engineer can trigger a production release once their change is approved. 3. If needed, get external help to set it up. 4. Once it's running, maintaining it is straightforward. Takeaway: 🔹 CI/CD isn't just a technical setup; it's a strategic advantage. 🔹 It allows your team to move fast without breaking things, turning your startup into a well-oiled machine. CEOs, support your CTOs in this effort, and watch your startup accelerate. P.S. If you liked this post, ♻️ reshare & 🔔 follow me, Adam Horner, for more tips on life as a CTO.
A quick story about getting started with CI/CD...
Helping CTOs, startups & scaleups accelerate • CTO coach • fractional CTO • strategy workshops
What every CTO should know about CI/CD (and why every CEO needs to support this) When I first stepped into the role of CTO over a decade ago, I faced a tough decision. Our team was small, resources were tight, and the pressure to deliver was immense. Instead of diving headfirst into feature development, I chose to focus on something seemingly mundane: setting up a fully automated CI/CD pipeline. What is CI/CD? CI/CD stands for continuous integration and continuous deployment. It automates the process of building, testing, and releasing code to production. It sounds technical, but its impact is profound. At first, my co-founder and CEO was puzzled. He saw me spending weeks on what he jokingly called 'feathering the nest.' He wondered why I wasn't prioritizing immediate feature development, especially when our startup was under pressure to deliver new functionality quickly. He couldn't see the immediate value in dedicating so much time to setting up an automated process. But soon, he realized the value. Our ability to deliver high-quality features quickly and consistently transformed our pace and efficiency. Why is CI/CD critical? Think of CI/CD as the backbone of your development process. Without it, you're stuck in a cycle of manual processes that slow everything down. Here’s how manual steps can become bottlenecks: 🚩 If you can't release to production many times a day, your CI/CD likely lacks full automation. 🚩 If a specific person needs to authorize a step, you're not optimized. 🚩 If engineers can't fix a bug and deploy updates within an hour, they'll be cautious and slower, fearing they might release buggy code. The solution: 1. Fully automate your CI/CD pipeline. 2. Ensure every engineer can trigger a production release once their change is approved. 3. If needed, get external help to set it up. 4. Once it's running, maintaining it is straightforward. Takeaway: 🔹 CI/CD isn't just a technical setup; it's a strategic advantage. 🔹 It allows your team to move fast without breaking things, turning your startup into a well-oiled machine. CEOs, support your CTOs in this effort, and watch your startup accelerate. P.S. If you liked this post, ♻️ reshare & 🔔 follow me, Adam Horner, for more tips on life as a CTO.
Ansel Founder | AI Supply Chain Planning | ODF, Inspect Element, Bowtie, Snapask
1moevery day 😢