lu-izms

Some thoughts I’ve formed pre-launch from working on a consumer mobile product

I want to preface this post with a disclaimer:
The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily make them correct in any way shape or form. I think that’s how it goes in the commercials :). I am just starting out with product and am learning everyday. I’m about as far from an expert as there is and I’d love to hear feedback in the comments disagreeing or agreeing with my thoughts. I love to learn, so I hope to hear your feedback…

I think that suffices as an intro. Now on to the goods.

1. Define your parameters   

When I first began tackling product challenges head on I was all over the map. “Oh this might be cool, or that might be awesome.” I would sketch it out and stand back with a smile over what I had come up with. But lucky for me, I get to work with some pretty smart people, and they would help bring me back down to earth.

“Cool” and “awesome” are great, but 9 times out of 10 are a much more complicated experience then what’s necessary. Not to mention they are often solutions that assume exactly what users want at each and every turn, which is a surefire way to get yourself in trouble. So, don’t be fooled into thinking you’re supposed to know the answer to every question.

Finding the balance between creativity and necessary is a difficult challenge to overcome.  When building product, you strive with every ounce of effort to make a beautiful, unique, and delightful solution…but in the end you MUST be willing to scrap good and even great ideas for the most simple, elegant solutions. And that is no easy task for a perfectionist like me.  

I don’t believe this means you have to stifle your creativity. As passed down to me from Diego, I believe it’s good practice to come up with as many creative solutions as you can possibly think of to test the boundaries of what’s possible. But only doing so in relation to testing your core assumptions. And that’s where the parameters come in.

When I begin sketching I like to make a written list of every single thing to keep in mind before I even put the pencil to pad and keep it in front of me at all times:
“Make something that is actually useful to the user”, “Keep simple”, “Don’t restrict.”

Even things as vague as these statements act as great reminders for me when coming up with solutions. Whenever I sense myself getting a little crazy, I simply look back at these statements and my thoughts focus in again.

2. Build the product you as a user would love and want…but realize every user has different needs and wants.

Another thing I started doing in the beginning was I wanted to relate everything back to myself. “Well I would use it this way and I would use it that way”. While, I do believe that is a necessary step in the process (for reasons I’ll talk about next), it’s far too single minded. I have a tendency due to my not too distant past as a complete and utter normal to consider myself in coordination with the thoughts of the typical user — but the truth is, whether that is accurate or not doesn’t mean I know what EVERY user wants anymore than anyone else does.

There is an excellent example of this in Kevin Rose’s foundation interview with Kevin Systrom from Instagram. At about 25:40 Rose asks how much the popular tab on Instagram is even used/utilized as an important feature. I’ve heard opinions all across the board on this…some say they never use it and think it’s a complete waste and others said they use it all the time. Systrom’s answer is clear..it may have been the key factor of their success in the beginning. It showed people right away that Instagram was up and functioning on its own as a network and other people were already out there paving the way, which at that time was thought doubtful by most. 

This shows how dangerous it is to form opinions on your product based on your individual experience as well as making comparisons between products. Every product is different, no use case is equal.

3. When prototyping the experience go through it step by step by step like you would as the user

This sounds obvious, but it tends to be one of the hardest things for me to remember. Every step of an experience has its own unique challenges and they all compound on one another. The obvious answer to this is getting back to the beginning… the simpler the better.

But when a tricky design, UX, or UI challenge occurs, I’ve many times caught myself trying to make solutions that only solve the problem at hand, which typically means the problem was only solved visually and didn’t take into account the process of getting to that point at all. “Oh this doesn’t look great, so I think we should do this” only to find out now there is now a major ux problem occurring because I forgot to put myself in the shoes of the user and go through the full step by step process.

Taking a step back and tapping in to how I would be feeling and reacting intuitively step by step by step has gone a long way in changing the way I think about product challenges. Don’t overthink, don’t over complicate…truly imagine yourself using the product and what your gut reactions would be and you will be off to a good start.

And that’s all for now, hoping to have many more updates of product lessons I’ve learned soon.

An Incredible Experience and a New Journey: My Time at Techstars NYC

Sometime around three months ago I moved to New York City with two bags, no place to stay, and one awesome opportunity. That opportunity was Techstars NYC. Up to that point of my life I’d never even stepped foot in New York City… and as for my place to stay, let’s just say I’m still working on that.

To quickly and quite frankly, unjustly, summarize Techstars NYC…it was simply a one of a kind opportunity in my eyes from the start and a no brainer to be involved with. I had no doubt in my mind it was the place I wanted to be, which was the driving force behind me working extremely hard to get here (a post I plan to write about when I finally get the chance). And was an opportunity that I was granted thanks to David Tisch and Adam Rothenberg, and I couldn’t be any more grateful to them for the opportunity to take part in such an awesome experience. They ran an incredible program. 

I plan to elaborate on this much more at a time when I have a few more hours of sleep under my belt, but in one sentence…it was everything I expected and much, much more.

So, as I sit here 3 months or so from showing up absolutely clueless to what I was getting myself into… sleep deprived, on the eve of demo day, and surrounded by just as many crazy people as me (which I love btw), I can say I honestly feel I’ve found something special here in New York. I can only speak for the people I’ve been surrounded by, but it’s been a pleasure to be around so many truly amazing and talented people for the last 3 months.

As for my next step, I couldn’t be more humbled to say, starting friday, I’ve accepted a position with one of those amazing Techstars NYC startups…Bondsy.

From day 1 of the program, I’ve had the extremely fortunate opportunity to cross paths with a solo founder that made my experience an unforgettable one. It took no longer than our first conversation to know Diego was exactly the type of person I set out to work with when I moved here cluelessly 3 months before. As a solo founder, this guy has truly inspired me with his ridiculous work ethic and detailed approach to everything he does. He’s pushed me to be better and I feel very fortunate after these 3 months of spending nearly every hour of the day together (and I mean that literally) to say he’s not only taught me a great deal but someone I consider a great friend.

I couldn’t be more excited to join the Bondsy team and begin on this journey to hopefully build something people will love, as much as I’ve loved working on this product.

Tomorrow will mark a monumental day in every start-up at Techstars NYC’s lives, and I’m extremely grateful to have the chance to be there to support them all. They’re all going to absolutely crush demo day and go on to build some ridiculously game changing businesses. And I sincerely mean that. So, stay tuned!

Don’t Rely on Humble

For most of my life I’ve lived under the assumption that if I stayed true to being the most selfless, humble person, I could possibly be, I would stand out in my own right for doing so.

Always reflecting praise, never patting myself on the back, cringing at the thought of a brag. Old fashioned hard work. That’s what I’m about.

I truly hope that those closest to me could say that I’ve lived up to that standard I’ve set for myself…

But, somewhere along the line I realized…humble, only goes so far.

Taking a step back…this is a hard reality to accept. Being truly humble is like believing in good karma.  At your very core there is a belief instilled in you, that if… and only if, you stay humble, under all circumstances, that the natural order of things should go your way and reward you for your selfless hard work.

…If only that were the case.

The truth of the matter is, nothing is this simple. And unfortunately operating under these assumptions will get you in just as much trouble as it will good fortune. Humble is an amazing thing to be, but it’s not enough to set you apart…plain and simple. And I will be the first to say, I’ve made this mistake many times in my life and paid the price every time.

Take a look at your life…are you where you want to be? Are you anywhere close to where you want to go? …If you are, then ask yourself, did you get there by being humble and hoping for the best? Or did you get there by taking the bull by the horns and controlling your destiny?

I still have such a long way to go before I will be anywhere close to where I want to be.

And each and everyday I am grateful for the opportunity to take one step closer in getting there…but to answer my own question — the results are clear, every important step I’ve taken in my life has been because I showed people why I deserved to be considered, to be accepted, to be taken noticed to.

If you want people to want to get to know you, you have to first show them why they should. If you think you deserve recognition, odds are you will have to go out of your way to show people why you deserve it.

I’m not saying there is no value in being humble, I’m saying, it’s only one part of the equation. So, don’t be afraid to be over the top. Be the most over the top you that you can possible be. Show the world who you are. And do so by staying true to yourself.

…for me it always seemed, some level of loud and arrogant must be the other half of the equation. Problem was, that’s just not me…

My days will always be a failure if I’ve heard myself speak more then I did others.

It’s a personal choice…I don’t consider myself shy or introverted. I just have an inherent belief that you can learn from everyone you come across and you miss out on opportunities to do so when you’re talking most of the time.

I enjoy learning from others and collecting my thoughts. And when I speak I speak with a purpose. I believe this is how I personally add my best value. This is why I love to write. I love to think through my thoughts and express them in a well put together manner. I enjoy expressing myself through my writing, so I write.

The point is, there are so many ways to show the world what you bring to the table. But being humble is only a part of it. And unfortunately it’s not a forcing function to others. So, don’t rely on it…do it because it’s the right thing to do. But understand, it won’t take you all the way.

Is your humble side telling you to disagree with this post yet?

Don’t let it. Let go of the contradicting thoughts that tell you it’s not ok to brag about yourself once in awhile. Allow yourself to stand out. And most importantly, give people the chance… to in return, give you what you deserve.

Take the Time to Stand Out

I have a theory. 

…it’s that we, as a society, are losing a sense of uniqueness.

Take a look around.

Right now being hipster isn’t even cool because there are so many hipsters…doesn’t this defeat the purpose?

We all want to appear smart so we say what every other person we find smart says, we write whatever they write, we read whatever they read.

We go only places others tell us to go…we do things only others tell us to do.

We don’t speak freely, we speak with the fear of judgement looming in our heads.  

Maybe that’s not what you want to hear, maybe it’s exactly what you want to hear…or maybe I’m completely full of shit. But I bet you I’m right. Because I’m not out to point fingers, I’m just as guilty as anyone..and that’s how I know I’m right.

You see what I did there?

I took a stance. With conviction. Sure it may not be novel or world changing, but it displayed which side of the fence I stand on and that to me means everything. Because when push comes to shove people need to know where you stand, and most importantly …you need to know where you stand.

The truth is, standing out…has never been more of a challenge.

We are living through a time where individual content quite literally is bursting through the seams. I can’t even keep up with the amount of quality content that comes through my twitter stream everyday and I know I’m not the only one.  

This is a great thing.

You think I give two shits about my follow/follower ratio on twitter? …I don’t. And I hope you don’t either. I use twitter to follow and engage with people I can learn from. Young or old. Novice or Amateur. It makes no difference.

And it’s in taking that content that comes in and using it to form our own opinions that we really give back value amongst the clutter.

Every single time I sit down to write a post, I truly think hard whether or not I’m saying something that’s already been said.  And because odds are at this point, nearly everything we all write has been …it’s not about what you say, but how you say it. How you present the facts. How you choose to design… your own expression.

Because after all, we are all designers, we are all craftsmen, we are all artists of our own lives…but the reality is, standing out takes effort. Being unique takes sifting through all the clutter and coming out on the other side fresh and currently the world we live in does not help to facilitate that.

In my own life I know the main things I stand for:

1) Being wildly ambitious, taking risks, conquering my inner fears
2) Doing the impossible…achieving what others tell me can’t be done
3) Surrounding myself with constant forms of inspiration + motivation
4) In order to dedicate myself 150% to the ridiculous amount of work/learning/sacrifice I know it takes to achieve the goals I’ve set
5) And to do my best to be an example for others to do the same

I plan to continue on this theme because that’s who I am through and through. If this all sounds a little Rocky Balboa..ish, that’s because it probably is. But being unique isn’t going out of your way to be something you’re not…being unique is going out of your way to be what you are, and at my core, this is me.

So, take the time to stand out because you deserve to…

“Remind yourself. Nobody is built like you, you design yourself.”

Efficient Discussions

There are a lot of discussions that take place when building a startup.

Product…adoption…design…pitch/vision….monetization…strategy…community management, the list goes on and on.

The collective outcome of these discussions can make or break a startup.  

To be able to fluidly move in and out of startup discussions is an activity I’m starting to appreciate more and more. In mentor/investor/advisor meetings, in team meetings, in everyday interactions…these are all moments where shaving off minutes of fluff provides a huge efficiency boost. And a big win for a startup.  

For example — When it comes to speaking during a discussion: not getting through your points quickly, not expressing yourself accurately, not being fluid from the start = the attention of your audience lost. Probably for good.

For those participating in the discussion, their role is of equal importance. As is the case when building a startup …typically less is more.

The job of the participant/s is to always push the discussion forward and never backward. If you notice, in a good discussion, a speaker is prompted with pointed questions and details. *Depending on the discussion, disagreeing/pushing is value adding. It is the participants job to balance: disagreeing effectively | and enabling a bad discussion by not speaking up [*added thanks to Will:)]. And that all starts by listening.

Somewhere along the line I believe the value of simply listening (and I mean truly listening) was forgotten and replaced by the urge to be heard. But it’s speaking only when there is value to be added that keeps the discussion engine running smooth.

Discussions are no time for ego…nor anyone’s breakout moment to prove how smart they are.  These are moments to tell a story, to communicate a strategy, to build team confidence… to collaborate.

And luckily, with time, this is something that’s within every startups grasp of controlling.