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Last week, I wrote about the key goals & milestones for the $0-$1M journey.
This week, I write about why metrics are counterproductive, contradicting myself in RECORD time.
What gives?
Metrics are counterproductive, until they aren’t.
In the 0-1 stage, we are desperate for metrics. Why? Because this stage is fucking difficult and ambiguous.
To cut through the existential ambiguity, we think we need metrics. Metrics feel scientific. They’re a safety blanket for book-smart overachievers.
“If,” I tell myself, “we just get to 40% of customers being very disappointed if we took away our software, THEN we will have product-market fit and my dad will finally tell me he’s proud of me.”
This is, of course, total bullshit.
Metrics tell you less than nothing in the 0-1 stage. Because what matters early on is figuring out your ONE “hell yes” customer case study. The case study that only you can deliver, that you can replicate.
This case study is a story, a causal story:
Why did ONE PERSON have to change?
What did success look like to them?
What options did they consider?
How did you fit into their world and help them accomplish their goal?
Why are they renewing / expanding with you? What did they REALLY buy?
When you focus on metrics, you miss the N=1 causal story, which means you know nothing. If you don’t deeply understand why ONE customer buys, how on earth could you make sense of any metric?
So, smart person: Earn the right to care about metrics. Get your N=1 replicable case study right by earning 5 “hell yes” customers (and remember, “hell yes” comes POST-sale)… THEN you can think about metrics.
-Rob
Housekeeping…
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Founder Sprint 4 launched this week, and I am still alive! If you’re interested in learning more / applying for Founder Sprint 5 (starts in Sept) - early adopter pricing is live & application is live too. Click HERE for a video walkthrough from yours truly.
Thank you for those slides. They are pure gold, it's the first time I've read a totally different approach. The entire teaching market about innovation is flooded with the same content. Your approach resonates a lot and it seems to me that it has an extraordinary value... you have surpassed strategyzer that was my top1 of theoretical guide, simply thank you for this enormous work has given me a lot, I am going to try to put it into practice in B2C, I want to launch myself alone I got tired of the corporate world after 15 now working there and I want to develop my own path. I'm Florencia Maneiro, a new follower you from Argentina.