… I've let millions of better ideas fade from memory without a second thought. Because I've learned that operating a successful business is an entirely different world from building a cool thing. The idea is the easy part. Everything after it is the actual work.
Original discussionAsk HN: How do you handle marketing as a solo technical founder?112 source comments · at importI've shipped multiple products over the past few years. Every single one followed the same pattern: build, post, get 12 likes from friends, a bit of organic traction, then nothing. Back to coding a new thing. I know I need marketing help but giving equity to someone I met online feels like a huge risk. At the same time hiring a paid marketer when you have zero revenue feels just as scary. And I'm not dancing on TikTok, that's for sure. Have any of you actually taken on a marketing co-founder? What made you say yes to that person specifically? Was it their track record, the way they pitched, a trial period first?
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"The idea is the easy part" is something I knew deep down but was too afraid to admit to myself. It's easier to keep building than to confront that everything after it is the actual work. Took me years and a few dead products to really accept that. I feel like Im in the process of swallowing that pill.
Full original>There was a great article on here a while back about VHS and Betamax. While Betamax was better by nearly every metric, it lost. Not every measure. It could hold like half the recording as a VHS. The “killer app” for video tapes was being able to record live TV when you weren’t home with timers on the players. VHS could record more without any intervention. It also meant most movies could be watched all the way through without interruption. People didn’t care about the ever so slightly better quality of Betamax. They cared about getting their moneys worth and not being interrupted. That’s why VHS won.
Full original> There was a great article on here a while back about VHS and Betamax. While Betamax was better by nearly every metric, it lost. There is some nuance here. Manufacturers didn't know if people preferred shorter, higher quality (Beta) or longer, less quality (VHS). That's partly why there were two formats. Most people like to say VHS "won" but what it really won was the consumer market. Beta won the professional TV news market because it turns out news stations had a high demand for short, high quality video storage. I point this out only to say that winning isn't a one dimensional/binary outcome. You can "lose" in one market but still be very profitable in another market.
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