I’ve been reading the Steve Jobs’ biography, and what’s been most interesting is truly understanding how maniacal he was about getting every last detail right–time and money be damned. No detail was too small for him to care about–even down to the color of the factory walls that no customer would ever see. Although comparing a computer manufacturer to an internet start-up doesn’t really make a lot of sense, it’s still interesting to compare Jobs’ overall philosophy to what we now call the “lean” approach to product development with its focus on creating a “minimum viable product” with which to test a market. The point is, for Steve Jobs, the product was art. He didn’t justify every decision by proving it would make a significant difference in the success of the product. Sometimes the product bombed and lost a lot of money. But as we all know, sometimes the product soared and changed the world.
JotJournal is no Apple. I started this company with a small bit of money and a couple of talented people who were willing to help me out on the cheap on the side of their day jobs. I’m proud of what we’ve built. It think it achieves the core of what I set out to achieve: a super simple way to pull your Facebook content into an elegant, diary-like keepsake.
But “running lean” is hard. For what I’m trying to do with JotJournal, it’s the only method that makes sense. But for what it’s worth, here are my lessons learned:
Minimum viable products will break your heart. JotJournal is a good product. The layouts work. The design is sweet. The finished products are really high quality. But there many things I want to add to and improve about the experience. When you have precious few resources to spend, every decision to improve on your MVP rests on whether or not it will “move the needle” in a significant way. I get this. Adding this or that small improvement will not make a dramatic difference in sales. But it’s hard to know that the vision that’s in your head hasn’t fully come to life in the product. Don’t underestimate how difficult it is to live with this fact.
Don’t go it alone. I talked smack in earlier blog posts about how going it alone was fine, the right decision for me, etc. Well, I was wrong. Going it alone is very tough. It’s incredibly emotional to put something you thought of and made out there in front of the world. It’s hard to keep pushing through the obstacles that are constantly in your path. It’s easy to get down, and when you do, you need someone to pick you up. Having someone who is in it with you is invaluable.
Your customers make it all worth it. It’s obvious, but true. When somebody loves what you’ve done, it is the best feeling in the world. It’s just different when it’s a product that sprang from your own head, not something somebody else paid you to make. When a customer gets the magic and writes to me or posts something nice on our Facebook page, it makes my day. Knowing that I’ve brought someone joy trumps every frustrating moment. In fact I’ll never forget it. (So thank you!)
So I’m ending 2011 a bit wiser than when I started. There are good things on the horizon. I know what feature is next, because I’ve asked and my customers have told me. It’s a way to make a JotJournal with older stuff from your Facebook stream while maintaining the “one click” ease of the creation process. In fact we’ve got it half built, and just need some blood sweat and tears to get it over the finish line. I know better than ever before what it takes, and we’ll get there. I’m also bringing in some help so I’m not on my own–more on that later.
Thank you to everyone who has supported JotJournal over the past year, from customers to the friends and family who’ve helped me out along the way. I look forward to continuing the journey!
