All too often I hear people say that their businesses can’t fail because they are too smart to let that happen. That’s then argued alongside the assumption that their marketing expertise allows for more traffic from SEO or higher conversions due to their experience with conversion rate optimization.
I hate to break it to you, but even the smartest of optimizations don’t always equal success.
I’ve copied an excerpt from Sam Altman below. He sums this realization up best in his book, Before Growth.
Edited excerpt from Before Growth by Sam Altman:
Startups that don’t first figure out a product some users love also seem to rarely develop the sense of mission that the best companies have.
Notes:
(1) There’s so much literature about optimization and speed of iteration, it’s possible to forget that great companies are built from truly great products.
(2) Great product teams have three skills sets: user centricity — focus on a Job To Be Done that is important to a large number of people; vision — for a product which addresses that Job To Be Done in a way that users love; and speed — commitment to rapid testing, optimization and feedback loops.
(3) Cf. (i) The three steps to building a great company, and why most startups fail on the first step, (ii) Cosmetic changes to your product won’t fix low user engagement and retention and (iii) Don’t be satisfied with sales, seek love.