We're running so fast

Maybe this is a San Francisco thing, but we are all running so hard and so fast. I’ve been in tech for what feels like a thousand years and I’ve never seen this much innovation, uncertainty, drama, confusion, and opportunity colliding as our industry remakes itself once again.

Every one of the hundreds (thousands?) of startups launching now has to decide what to build, how, and for whom. And then maybe revise that decision in a few weeks when the fundamental technology underlying their assumptions changes again. I first heard this from Sudhee Chilappagari at Battery Ventures: Product/market fit isn’t one and done anymore. It’s a muscle! EXACTLY!

But you know what never changes? People, especially your prospective customers, have thorny problems. They need help!

I once met a founder who said he never talked to customers. RED FLAG!! I met another who, when I asked, “What are your customers’ biggest problems?” started telling me about his software’s download speed. I said, “Uh no, in their businesses.” He said, “Oh, I’ve never thought of that.” We did not meet again.

A business that survives doesn’t build technology for technology’s sake. We build technology that people need.

But this is a newsletter about communication. If you want to reach the prospective customers who need your solution, what should you do? You should tell real stories. About real people whose real businesses have real problems that you can solve. Outcomes! Always outcomes!

If you are truly devoted to solving your customers’ thorniest problems, they can tell. And we can tell when we hear you talk about your business.

The entire world may be shifting around us every few weeks these days, but care for and commitment to customers are evergreen.