@lenny.. I can’t thank you enough for putting this together.. I have been looking for exactly this kind of playbook.. as I also aspire to build a B2B SaaS startup.. this is like Bible to me.. thanks a ton .. 🙏..
You mention that consumer-facing startups wander in the dark for 2 to 4 years. Similarly, it feels like that when startups pivot it's because they have the right tech at the right time. In both cases you've solved a problem that don't exist yet and what gives you the ability to reach the market on time is that you had the tech ready.
The approach explained by Figma is IMHO the one that involves the less luck: pick what is emerging now, figure what it will enable in the future, do it and let the future catch up with you.
Note that Retool is a clone of a Palantir product called Slate. Retool cofounder Anthony Guo was an engineering intern on that team at Palantir, prior to cofounding Retool.
Related: The earliest quotes from 99 of the world's top founders explaining (1) the initial problem they set out to solve and (2) for what target customer → https://opinionx.co/99-problems
Great work Lenny! This is really useful not only for new founders (and those that advise or invest in startups), but also existing entrepreneurs that need to pivot. As you wrote in the article, many stories are actually *big pivot* stories.
If I can add something to the topic: in my experience, an additional element that's often a key ingredient to success is this: "You're customer number one". Probably an extension of "You're excited about it". Meaning:
* You are intimately familiar with that problem
* It drives you nuts that there's no good solution for it
* You can't wait to build it
* When you do, you're the first, very heavy user, and that drives a fantastic, internal feedback loop
Looking forward to the next chapters of this series!
Great content, I love this newsletter. Sorry to post this here, but I think I double-subscribed with my personal email and my former work email. I need to unsubscribe from my former workplace's email - is there someone who can help me do this? Is there a customer support line? Thank you!
@lenny.. I can’t thank you enough for putting this together.. I have been looking for exactly this kind of playbook.. as I also aspire to build a B2B SaaS startup.. this is like Bible to me.. thanks a ton .. 🙏..
So many inspiring and interesting stories in this post, amazing work Lenny!
So many more to come!
You mention that consumer-facing startups wander in the dark for 2 to 4 years. Similarly, it feels like that when startups pivot it's because they have the right tech at the right time. In both cases you've solved a problem that don't exist yet and what gives you the ability to reach the market on time is that you had the tech ready.
The approach explained by Figma is IMHO the one that involves the less luck: pick what is emerging now, figure what it will enable in the future, do it and let the future catch up with you.
Loved the stories Lenny, great work! Looking forward to others in the series. 😊
Note that Retool is a clone of a Palantir product called Slate. Retool cofounder Anthony Guo was an engineering intern on that team at Palantir, prior to cofounding Retool.
Related: The earliest quotes from 99 of the world's top founders explaining (1) the initial problem they set out to solve and (2) for what target customer → https://opinionx.co/99-problems
Great work Lenny! This is really useful not only for new founders (and those that advise or invest in startups), but also existing entrepreneurs that need to pivot. As you wrote in the article, many stories are actually *big pivot* stories.
If I can add something to the topic: in my experience, an additional element that's often a key ingredient to success is this: "You're customer number one". Probably an extension of "You're excited about it". Meaning:
* You are intimately familiar with that problem
* It drives you nuts that there's no good solution for it
* You can't wait to build it
* When you do, you're the first, very heavy user, and that drives a fantastic, internal feedback loop
Looking forward to the next chapters of this series!
Very true for some of the companies, but not all as it turns out. We'll see more stories of this in the coming posts!
Good insights!
Great content, I love this newsletter. Sorry to post this here, but I think I double-subscribed with my personal email and my former work email. I need to unsubscribe from my former workplace's email - is there someone who can help me do this? Is there a customer support line? Thank you!
Yes! Email lindsay@lennyrachitsky.com and let her know this, she'll take care of you.
Wonder if the author has ever kickstarted and scaled a business himself. Or does he just write about doing it?
I have!
So good. Waiting impatiently for the next in the series to drop.
A miracle in education and training, which has become the most popular
Good stuff Lenny! Love these examples.
This is so good. I can’t wait to share with our team.
Great list. Thanks Lenny.
Time well spent reading this letter. So informative right?