Product & Startup Builder

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Opportunity Cost Is Not Soft Or Abstract - It's Expensive

Added on by Chris Saad.

Opportunity Cost might be hard to measure, but it is not a theory or a soft abstract idea.

On Google it is defined as "the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen.

The example they give is "idle cash balances represent an opportunity cost in terms of lost interest"

So, in simple terms, the money you leave in savings cost you whatever additional profits you could have made by investing it more cleverly in stocks or property etc.

Opportunity cost, however, is not just found in clearly defined scenarios where you can measure the alternative route retrospectively and do a calculation to figure out how much you lost. It's also felt in an infinite number of small decisions and procrastinations you might make every day.

Pushing a meeting to tomorrow. Passing on some hard work due to laziness or emotionality. Not following up with someone when they offer to introduce you to someone that could be helpful. Not following up when an introduction is made. Not taking or making a key investment. Staying in a small town when a different geography might suit your needs better.

On and on

I've been guilty of this many times. Most weeks. In fact.

My constant struggle, though, is to recognize the countless opportunities to optimize my costs and maximize my effective execution through life.

Originally Posted On Facebook

The Goal Is To Win The "Best Business Award"

Added on by Chris Saad.

The goal is not to win the “best technology” award. The goal is to win the “best business” award.

More often than not, a more effective sales and marketing operation with a simpler/easier to use product will beat the most comprehensive/powerful technology.

If you’re struggling to build your business around technology that most people don’t understand or can’t digest then consider going back to a blank piece of paper and building something very simple that is easy to understand and adopt. Even if that thing is not necessarily new or novel. Then expand from there.

Let’s call this the “gateway drug strategy”

Originally Posted On Facebook

It’s Not Enough To Have An Idea...

Added on by Chris Saad.

  • It’s not enough to have an idea

  • It’s not enough to give it a name

  • It’s not enough to tell your friends

  • It’s not enough to dabble or do research

  • It’s not enough to build a pitch deck that clearly explains the problem, solution, market, business model, etc

  • It’s not enough to build consensus with key craftspeople (engineers, designers, sales, marketing)

  • It’s not enough to build a clear and easy to use user interface/user experience

  • It’s not enough to build a prototype

  • It’s not enough to build an minimum viable product

  • It’s not enough to ship it

  • It’s not enough to market it

You have to do ALL of those things - and much, much more. Consistently and effectively. And then iterate, iterate, iterate

Originally Posted On Facebook

When Is Advice Mandatory vs. Optional?

Added on by Chris Saad.

Founders sometimes ask me if some piece of conventional wisdom they've heard or the advice that I'm giving is "necessary" or "mandatory".

I always try to explain that almost all of the tactics and advice I'm sharing can only increase the probabilities of success. It can't guarantee it. There's also always a chance you can succeed without following any given piece of "best practice" advice.

That being said, if you start bending or breaking too many of these guidelines you really start to diminish your chances of success.

Funny enough, many of the lessons I share day-to-day were not learned from a book or from someone else giving me the advice - I had to learn them the hard way by ignoring the advice in the first place (thinking I had a better way) and finding out I was wrong.