Shownotes
Lubna Hameed
Bio
Lubna Hameed is a fractional design leader who helps early-stage startups go from blank brief to product market fit without accumulating creative debt. As the co-founder of The Company Advice, she leads design across product and web in partnership with marketing from day one—keeping the message and the experience in sync.
Her work spans user flows, information architecture, UX writing, and polished UI—all grounded in fast learning, intentional structure, and measurable impact. Previously Director of Design at Particle Health, Lubna built the design function from zero to one and shipped web and mobile experiences across complex healthcare workflows.
She’s known for her “designer who loves data” mindset, her no fluff approach to discovery, and her belief that design isn't just how it looks—it’s how it works, converts, and earns trust.
Summary
The central theme of this podcast episode revolves around the critical understanding that early-stage startup founders often fall prey to the debilitating misconception that their product must attain a state of perfection prior to its launch. Lubna Hameed, an esteemed expert in guiding startups from inception to product-market fit, articulates the imperative that readiness should not be equated with flawlessness, but rather with the clarity of objectives and the willingness to learn from iterative processes. Drawing from her extensive experience as the founder of Advice, she emphasizes the detrimental effects of delaying launches in pursuit of an ideal product, which frequently results in missed opportunities and wasted resources. We delve into the necessity of integrating design and marketing from the outset, highlighting that these functions must collaborate closely to ensure a cohesive user experience. This episode is essential for founders who are contemplating their next steps in navigating the tumultuous waters of startup development, particularly those grappling with the question of when their product is truly ready for the market.
Notes
The dialogue between Jothy Rosenberg and Lubna Hameed delves into the challenges that early-stage startup founders encounter, particularly the common pitfall of striving for perfection before launching a product. Hameed emphasizes that many founders erroneously believe that they must await a flawless product before entering the market, which can ultimately derail their startup aspirations and hinder potential growth. Instead, she advocates for a mindset centered on iterative learning: the notion that each launch, irrespective of its perceived completeness, serves as a crucial opportunity for gathering invaluable user feedback and insights. The conversation elucidates the significance of clarity regarding the target audience, the problems being addressed, and the metrics of success. Hameed's insights are rooted in her extensive experience in working alongside various startups, where she has observed firsthand the transformative power of launching minimally viable products and utilizing the ensuing data to inform future iterations. This episode serves as a clarion call for founders to embrace the learning process inherent within the launch experience, rather than being paralyzed by the fear of imperfection.
Takeaways
- The fundamental principle for startup founders is that they must prioritize learning over achieving a state of completion when launching their products.
- Perfectionism acts as a significant barrier to progress; one should focus on iterative development rather than waiting for an ideal product.
- Integrating marketing and design from the outset is crucial; these functions must collaborate closely to ensure a cohesive user experience.
- Founders should engage directly with users to gather insights about their needs before developing features, avoiding the pitfalls of assumption-driven design.
- A critical mistake many founders make is delaying product launches in pursuit of perfection, which ultimately hinders their potential for growth and learning.
- Understanding the user’s journey is paramount; this insight should shape the product’s design and development to meet actual user needs effectively.
- LinkedIn (personal)
- The Company Advice | LinkedIn
- The Company Advice | Fractional Marketing + Design Support for Startups
- Who Says You Can't Startup | Full Bundle | Incorrigible Entrepreneur - The online course for startup founders
- Jothy's TEDx talk - On why those with disabilities tend to overachieve
- Our YouTube channel
- Designing Successful Startups — Jothy Rosenberg | Author | Speaker | Podcaster - Site with all podcasts
- Tech Startup Toolkit book
- Please leave us a review
Transcripts
Hello.
Speaker B:Please meet today's guest, Lubna Hamid.
Speaker A:It's iterative, it's step by step.
Speaker A:It's not about being finished.
Speaker A:You're never going to be finished.
Speaker A:Like, if you're doing your job right, you're always going to be going and iterating and launching and doing new things.
Speaker A:So it's really just about how do we learn from this?
Speaker B:What if I told you that most early stage founders are making the same critical mistake and it's costing them their series A?
Speaker B:They're waiting, waiting for their product to be perfect, waiting for one more feature, waiting until they're ready.
Speaker B:But here's the truth.
Speaker B:You're never ready.
Speaker B:And that waiting, it's killing your startup.
Speaker B:Today's guest knows this intimately.
Speaker B:Lubna Hamid is the founder of the company Advice, and she spent years in the trenches of early stage startups as head of design with working alongside founders trying to get from blank sheet to product market fit.
Speaker B:She's seen the patterns, she knows what works and what doesn't.
Speaker B:And she's built her entire company around helping founders navigate that treacherous journey from idea to validated product without wasting time, money or momentum.
Speaker B:In this episode, we're diving into the uncomfortable truth about when your product is actually ready to launch, why perfection will destroy your startup, and how design and marketing must work together from day one or you're already behind.
Speaker B:If you're pre product market fit and wondering if you should launch, this conversation might just save your company.
Speaker B:I'm Jothy Rosenberg.
Speaker B:Let's dive in.
Speaker B:Hello, Lubna, how are you?
Speaker A:Good, I'm great.
Speaker A:Hi Jathy.
Speaker A:Thanks so much for having me today.
Speaker B:Very happy to have you here.
Speaker B:I always set context for people by having the first question be where are you originally from and where do you live now?
Speaker A:Well, I am a born and bred New Yorker, so between Queens and Long Island, I spent most of my adult life actually in New York City itself, but most recently moved out to North Jersey, but like right outside the city.
Speaker B:Okay, excellent.
Speaker B:So one of the things that you talk about and that you've, you do is you're trying to help early stage startups founders go from like a blank sheet to product market fit and do it without kind of taking lots of detours, wasting effort on things that don't work out.
Speaker B:And, and of course underneath everything I just said is not wasting any money because that these are, this is a stage where people really are fragile and the company's fragile and they can't afford any wasted effort because, you know, as you said in your.
Speaker B:In something you wrote to me, product market fit is the gate from where they are to being able to raise a Series A, and so therefore, the amount of financing they've got is pretty small.
Speaker B:So, so what I.
Speaker B:What I wanted, I guess, again, this is sort of setting context is where did you get the experience and expertise to help founders with this, with this stage?
Speaker A:Yeah, that's a great question, actually, and maybe I'll give you a little bit of my origin story to kind of provide all that context.
Speaker A:So, you know, back in the day, when I started in design in general, it was, you know, when it was still graphic design, so just to kind of date myself a little bit.
Speaker A:So that's how long ago I started in design.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:But, you know, over the years, I've kind of evolved, kind of landed in product design.
Speaker A:And the funny part is that, you know, I was never really a big app person, so I didn't really use them much.
Speaker A:I held onto my iPhone4s for, like, way longer than anyone really should.
Speaker A:I just wasn't interested in downloading every new app, being glued to my phone.
Speaker A:And, you know, it's not really exactly the origin story you'd expect in tech, but, you know, that's.
Speaker A:That's kind of where I started.
Speaker A:But once I finally upgraded and really started using apps and then started designing them, I kept noticing the same thing.
Speaker A:Like, I would get stuck in a flow, I would get confused, I would get frustrated, and just, like, eventually abandon what I was trying to do.
Speaker A:And I realized that if I'm getting stuck, then other people are as well.
Speaker A:So what can I do to make a difference here?
Speaker A:Like, what can I do through design to really impact people's experience?
Speaker A:And that's how I really kind of found my happy place in design.
Speaker B:Well, I may be shortening, and you'll have to correct me, I may be shortening the series of events, but.
Speaker B:But this whole revelation, I guess, led you to create your startup, which is called the company advice.
Speaker A:Yes, exactly.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Okay, well, tell us what was the moment and reason that you.
Speaker B:You started this?
Speaker B:I mean, you could.
Speaker B:You could have like, just been sort of offering, you know, putting up a shingle and offering some services, but you created a company and a brand, and that's a pretty.
Speaker B:You know, that that name is.
Speaker B:It's good because it says.
Speaker B:It says it all.
Speaker B:It's so funny that.
Speaker B:That some of us really overcomplicate the naming thing and the.
Speaker B:Anyway, you did it.
Speaker B:You did it straightforward and simple.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:So anyway, that moment where you said, boy, does this thing I'm doing is a, is a need and I'm going to formalize it and I'm going to get out there and do this as a company.
Speaker B:When did that happen and what was the ah, moment?
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean I think I spent many years working in startups so I was either head of design, director of design, kind of working in the trenches, everybody working through all those problems you see founders having.
Speaker A:And over the years I realized, you know, there are a lot of early stage startups that need that sort of foundational design expertise and they either are so early on they don't even realize they need it or they just can't afford that level of expertise.
Speaker A:So they end up hiring junior designers to try to kind of make do, but they're missing that like strategic foundation that like can really help them scale and grow and iterate properly.
Speaker A:And so I guess like stars aligned.
Speaker A:Myself and my business partner Marlena, we were both kind of in between jobs and had worked together in the past and had this like, oh my God, why don't we just start something where we can provide all that expertise to these startups that really need it, but don't know where to go to look for it, know that they even need it or can't afford to get that sort of expertise.
Speaker B:All the startups that you were at that you just mentioned, what sort of title or what was your role in these startups?
Speaker B:I assume it was a marketing function that you were brought in for.
Speaker A:For me it was the design side of the house.
Speaker A:So I was usually a founding designer, head of design, director of design.
Speaker A:So really.
Speaker B:So you were in the product team?
Speaker A:Yes, so product design.
Speaker A:And a lot of times, especially early stage startups, it's kind of also brand design, kind of making sure all those visual touch points, you know, resonate across the, the entire org.
Speaker B:And that is a marketing position?
Speaker A:Well, that's, that's when, that's why my partner and I, she's the marketing side of the house.
Speaker A:We realized how much synergy there is between marketing and design at a startup and a lot of people kind of miss that connection and you kind of feel it in that customer journey when design and marketing aren't working hand in hand.
Speaker A:So we felt like that was also kind of our superpower is like realizing how to make that really work.
Speaker B:So you were helping those startups get to product market, fit in your roles one of you may be in, I mean I'm imagining that you work together at a few startups and one of you in marketing and one of you in product, which are, you know, whenever I've led an effort to get to product market fit, two most important functions within the company that have to drive it.
Speaker B:I mean, obviously it eventually involves everybody.
Speaker B:But, but the, but the driving of it has gotta be very close coordination between marketing people that are authorized to make decisions and product people likewise.
Speaker A:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker A:It all has to kind of come together perfectly for it all to kind of make sense and click not only for that company, but for, for the user.
Speaker B:But the challenge I see for your company is, is that, you know, if you think back to the startups where you were there, you were on the staff, you, you presumably had been there a little while and so you really understood kind of down to your core, what is it that we're trying to do and what problem are we trying to solve?
Speaker B:It's hard, I think, when you kind of parachute into a company as an, you know, as an external resource and try to fully get the gestalt of what it is they're trying to do.
Speaker B:How do you do that?
Speaker A:Yeah, that's a great question.
Speaker A:Honestly, we don't see it as parachuting in.
Speaker A:We kind of see it as like integrating into the team.
Speaker A:We want to feel like we're that extra part of your team that you were just missing.
Speaker A:And so I think also over the years we've gotten really good at kind of getting into the nuts and bolts of who is that user, what is that product?
Speaker A:What are you solving?
Speaker A:How does this team work?
Speaker A:We know how to ask the right questions right up front, front so that we're not kind of on the periphery of it all.
Speaker B:When you say you're not parachuting in, I think what that implies is that you sign, you make the companies make.
Speaker B:That's not the word I meant but, but the, the, the arrangement has to be that this is a long term or you know, but not a short term, medium to long term engagement.
Speaker B:So that your really there.
Speaker B:I don't know how many half days a week you would, you know, spend on each company.
Speaker B:So is that, is that what you try to do?
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:I mean the longer we're there, the more impact we can make, the more we can see all the inner workings.
Speaker A:But we've definitely had shorter engagements.
Speaker A:It's just really about kind of knowing who to speak to right when you get there at the beginning, knowing what to ask, trying to kind of root out what data, what research, what are they already doing.
Speaker A:And I think all of that combined you know, it's, it's really our happy place, like, understanding all of that and wrapping our heads around that.
Speaker A:And for myself, like, I love putting myself in the shoes of that user for that product, for that company.
Speaker A:And so I find that to be a really fun challenge at the beginning of a project.
Speaker B:Hi.
Speaker B:The podcast you are listening to is a companion to my recent book, Tech Startup Toolkit how to Launch Strong and Exit Big.
Speaker B:This is the book I wish I'd had as I was founding and running eight startups over 35 years.
Speaker B:I tell the unvarnished truth about what went right and especially about what went wrong.
Speaker B:You could get it from all the usual booksellers.
Speaker B:I hope you like it.
Speaker B:It's a true labor of love.
Speaker B:Now, back to the show.
Speaker B:So you must have developed some very, I don't know, very detailed screening questions so that you hit the ground running.
Speaker B:You must interview a few people and ask this set of questions.
Speaker B:I can imagine you constructing that starts to get you the information you need.
Speaker B:And also I, I assume helps you decide whether you really want to take on that, that engagement.
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:And it's, it's about asking the right questions and also asking the right people.
Speaker A:A lot of people just think, just talk to the founder, he'll know everything and you're good to go.
Speaker A:And for us, it's like, you know, everybody has a different perspective depending on their function in the company.
Speaker A:So it's really important and interesting to see that perspective from each of those team members to understand fully how is this team working?
Speaker A:How are these products being built or designed?
Speaker A:What's really happening here?
Speaker B:The stage that you're getting into these companies is by definition early.
Speaker B:These are if you're, if you're helping them get to product market fit, and that's the gate to series A, then these are series seed kind of companies, which I would assume are like 10, 12 people.
Speaker A:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker A:But usually even in those 10, 12 people teams, there's like a core, maybe five founding members or the head of each of those functions that really kind of give you that full picture.
Speaker B:So if there's a startup founder listening to you talk right here, and you want to give them advice on what are the must haves for launching, what.
Speaker A:Would those be that I would say before anything else?
Speaker A:Those founders need clarity on three things.
Speaker A:So who they're building for, what problem they're trying to solve, and what success really looks like for them.
Speaker A:So I've seen startups that want to jump like right into design or device before they Even understand what they're building for, who they're building for, if and actually even solves a problem.
Speaker A:You know, I've seen startups build this amazing product, but in the end it wasn't solving anything for anyone in particular.
Speaker A:So, you know, no matter how amazing that product is, it's just not going to get you anywhere.
Speaker A:So the most successful startup launches I've seen that I've supported with kind of work through that discovery.
Speaker A:So like, define those user Personas, map those journeys, align the team on the core values.
Speaker A:You know, once that's in place, like everything like from your UI to your messaging, your website, your product will all just kind of snap into focus.
Speaker B:And you've mentioned mobile applications a couple times, but the work you're doing isn't limited to those types of applications, is it?
Speaker A:No, not at all.
Speaker A:I mean, web apps, you know, websites, mobile apps, it's.
Speaker A:It kind of runs the gamut.
Speaker A:You know, I recently like, I worked at a health tech company where, you know, they, they brought me in as, you know, a design consultant and wanted to design a dashboard.
Speaker A:That's really all they said.
Speaker A:It's like, we need a dashboard.
Speaker A:That's all we need.
Speaker A:So, you know, it's, it could kind of be anything.
Speaker A:So it's really about the user experience when it comes down to it.
Speaker B:What would you say are some of the biggest mistakes that founders make when they are trying to launch and they, and they didn't know about you and they.
Speaker B:So they couldn't hire you and so you know what, and maybe some of this answers to this are going to come from some of your startups before you had your own company.
Speaker B:But just what are some of the biggest mistakes founders make?
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, I've seen a few, you know, and you know, some of them kind of range from like over building something before anyone even gets to use it.
Speaker A:So they're just kind of like building features, building features, but not really putting it out there to have users in there to test, to learn, or they're mistaking maybe speed for progress.
Speaker A:So, you know, as you were saying, like, you don't want to run out of Runway.
Speaker A:So people are just trying to build and get, you know, keep moving, but they often want to build fast to show that momentum, but they don't have the clarity or the validation yet.
Speaker A:So they end up building the wrong thing faster and not learning anything from it in the process.
Speaker A:So that's definitely a few of the ones I've seen recently.
Speaker B:Have you noticed that if the founders are all very technically oriented people that, those are some of the companies that seem to have the hardest time figuring out exactly what their extremely well defined market is.
Speaker B:And, and, and, and I'm, I'm asking a question, but I'm also telling you that in my experience they are actually sometimes afraid to talk to strangers.
Speaker B:And it sounds like you've seen this too.
Speaker A:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker A:And that's what I'm there for.
Speaker A:Honestly, it's a whole different, you know, muscle to kind of flex in terms of like speaking to those strangers and asking like these open ended questions.
Speaker A:Because especially like technical founders are very like system based thinking.
Speaker A:These are the answers I need.
Speaker A:So I'm going to ask the direct questions to get me there.
Speaker A:That's just not how you do user interviews, right?
Speaker A:You're going to be like biasing your user.
Speaker A:You're not going to actually get to the heart of what you need.
Speaker A:And I actually worked with a technical founder recently where I helped kind of identify like who you should speak to and then create like an interview guide to be like, okay, these are the open ended sort of questions we need to ask in order to get to the answers we need.
Speaker A:So like you can't ask like, well would you do use this solution versus this solution?
Speaker A:Like that's not going to really help you.
Speaker A:But if you ask them like, okay, what does your current workflow look like?
Speaker A:Where are you getting stuck?
Speaker A:And like why is it getting you stuck?
Speaker A:Like how, how does that affect your day?
Speaker A:How does that affect the output?
Speaker A:Those sort of questions will really get you somewhere.
Speaker A:And recently actually told me like, wow, this actually really helped me a lot and helped me stay on track, I.
Speaker B:Think your service looks extremely valuable.
Speaker B:But I would have to say that probably from the standpoint of a founder and most of my startups, and I'm, you know, number nine, but most of my startups we had a technical team at the core.
Speaker B:The founding team were technical, most of them.
Speaker B:The idea of cold calling people was frightening for everybody and having somebody just hold their hand and say, step by step, this is how we're going to do this.
Speaker B:First we're going to find prospective people to call and, and then hear the, you know, set of questions.
Speaker B:I recently had to help a defense contractor that was, they needed help in trying to figure out if a technology they were developing under government funding had potential as a commercially viable new company.
Speaker B:Not just a product, but because they didn't want to sell to the commercial world, they wanted to spin it out.
Speaker B:And I ended up getting the team by Doing it with them by being on each call.
Speaker B:We had 15 of those open ended calls with cold calling prospective people, potential customers.
Speaker B:But, but it was a general enough product that you didn't need to work super hard at getting people that were in a, like, in a particular vertical because it was a, it was the kind of product that anybody might be interested in and it was, I can just, just doing that, you know, holding their hand is extremely valuable because they're so nervous about talking to strangers.
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:I mean that's, that's usually why I lead that first few sessions or just to kind of have them observe and say like, look, this is.
Speaker A:Once you have the guide and we've identified the people we're talking to and we know these are the right people, like the rest just kind of falls in line.
Speaker A:It's just follow, follow the guide and just, you know, leave it open.
Speaker A:Ask a lot of questions and, and just let people think out loud.
Speaker B:Hi there.
Speaker B:I hope you're enjoying the show.
Speaker B:In addition to the podcast, you might also be interested in the online program I have created for startup founders called who says you can't startup in it?
Speaker B:I've tried to capture everything I've learned in the course of founding and running nine startups over 37 years with no constraints like there were with my book.
Speaker B:The program is four courses, each one about 15 video lessons, plus over 30 high value downloadable resources.
Speaker B:The QR code will take you where you can learn more.
Speaker B:All right, well, you may, you may feel like you've already answered this question, but, but because you mentioned founders getting stuck, is that the biggest area that, where they get stuck or do you have a short list of, okay, here are other areas where they get stuck on the way to successfully proving product market fit.
Speaker A:I mean, I think one of the things that always stands out to me is something that a lot of us might feel like a lot of us worry about is, you know, is it ready and am I going to fail if I put this out there?
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:And so it's kind of holding them back from launching or like worried about making mistakes.
Speaker A:And that actually becomes a mistake when you're just like holding onto something, thinking it's not ready and not wanting to put it out there.
Speaker A:It's, you know, and I say this to a lot of founders and they look at me like, okay, I don't know, I don't know if I believe you.
Speaker A:But you know, even if a feature fails, that's still really valuable data.
Speaker A:You know, that tells us, okay, this thing didn't work.
Speaker A:But what did.
Speaker A:How do we kind of double down on that?
Speaker A:Like, even that information is really useful.
Speaker A:So, like, even though it might feel like they're making a mistake, it's still very valuable in the process.
Speaker B:You must say this following quote all the time then, which is that perfection is the enemy of good enough.
Speaker A:Yes, exactly, exactly.
Speaker A:It's just about learning.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:So I had an experience where my second cousin, who is an emergency room doc by training, by profession, but he's on the side.
Speaker B:He's a very, he's a serial entrepreneur.
Speaker B:He started several successful companies and he wanted my help in starting one that was about being a single place where you would go and it would do all of your forms of communication in one place.
Speaker B:So you wouldn't go and have one app for email and another for text messages and another for looking at YouTube things.
Speaker B:And he wanted it to be this.
Speaker B:And this sort of single place, dashboard, whatever you want to call it.
Speaker B:Bless his heart.
Speaker B:He, he was so scared of competition that we, we all were working together and said, we should get this out there.
Speaker B:He said, not until we have this one more feature.
Speaker B:And then we would.
Speaker B:And it got to be almost funny, but it wasn't because money was being wasted.
Speaker B:Each time we all felt like, okay, this is working great, we added this great capability, now let's get it out there.
Speaker B:And he would say, this new thing showed up and we, we, we can't go out there, it'll crush us.
Speaker B:And I, I actually finally had to say, buy me out.
Speaker B:I, I can't do this anymore.
Speaker B:So, so this is the thing, is that how, how the, these are founders that are, that are not clear on what it means to say it's ready.
Speaker B:What would you say?
Speaker B:Maybe it's not possible for you to generalize, but if you can, great, because it's probably, you know, got some unique characteristics for each product and team you're working with.
Speaker B:But in general, what would you say your advice is about?
Speaker B:When is it ready?
Speaker A:Yeah, I think ready is less about perfection, like we were saying, and more about clarity around learning.
Speaker A:So it's not a question of like, is this finished?
Speaker A:Can I launch this?
Speaker A:It's about, what do we want to learn by putting this out there?
Speaker A:So what, what are we trying to get back from the user data from the market research?
Speaker A:Even if you have like all these competitors out there, you know, you're still going to learn something because your product is doing something differently.
Speaker A:So let's learn and see.
Speaker A:Like, is that actually resonating?
Speaker A:Is that actually competing.
Speaker A:If not, then we go back to the drawing board, we make some changes, put in those features that we held off on and see how that does.
Speaker A:You know, it's, it's iterative, it's step by step.
Speaker A:It's not about being finished.
Speaker A:You're never going to be finished.
Speaker A:Like, if you're doing your job right, you're always going to be going and iterating and launching and doing new things.
Speaker A:So it's really just about how do we learn from this?
Speaker B:What do you like best about helping founders?
Speaker B:And sort of why do you, why do you like helping founders?
Speaker A:It's really a funny question because we say the startup world is, it's a crazy world, it's not cut out for everybody.
Speaker A:But I mean, I love that early stage, that passion, that drive to kind of create something, to work through these problems together with a small team to launch, to learn, to help them iterate and prioritize.
Speaker A:I mean, it's the most fun part of the process for me personally, like, I love that initial, like, you know, kind of.
Speaker A:I guess the analogy we always hear with early stage startups is like, you know, you're flying a plane while building it and, you know, I like that energy.
Speaker A:And so it's really why at the company advice, you know, we, we help teams at that stage.
Speaker A:It's just where, where our hearts sing.
Speaker B:Have you in your own company, do you think you've made any, any mistakes?
Speaker B:Has everything just gone perfect and smoothly or have there been hiccups?
Speaker A:I mean, I think I don't look at them as mistakes.
Speaker A:Like it's, it's a learning, right?
Speaker A:So anything you do, if it doesn't work out, then you learn something from it.
Speaker A:And if you don't learn something from it, then maybe it's a mistake.
Speaker A:But as long as you're kind of aware and you're like, oh, wait, so that didn't work.
Speaker A:How do I do it differently the next time then?
Speaker A:Like, it's still valuable.
Speaker B:So you like startups, you like startup people, you have one of your own.
Speaker B:So by definition, I would say that means you have a lot of grit.
Speaker A:I hope so.
Speaker B:And I would like to know, I'd like you to tell us, where did that grit come from?
Speaker B:What is your source of grit?
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:Maybe it's, you know, my professional journey in some ways, you know, I haven't had a linear professional journey as, as most would call it.
Speaker A:I've worked in everything from design to the music industry.
Speaker A:I ran a graffiti Marketing company.
Speaker A:For some time, I worked in the humanitarian world.
Speaker A:So all of these things, I think, combined, you know, made me poised to kind of figure things out, get scrappy, just kind of take things as they come and learn and iterate and move forward.
Speaker B:But that starting the company was.
Speaker B:That's a leap.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:That's a leap, right?
Speaker B:In your previous roles, somebody wrote you a, you know, a.
Speaker B:A check every two weeks or every month, and then you had to make this decision where no one's writing you a paycheck.
Speaker A:That's true, that's true.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's a whole different ball game.
Speaker A:But I did spend a, you know, a few years as a freelancer, which was very similar, you know, in that, you know, I kind of have to go out and figure out how I'm going to get that paycheck because I don't have that steady gig.
Speaker A:So this kind of felt like a natural progression.
Speaker A:So how do we take that freelance skill, kind of take both of our freelance skills, combine them, and kind of a captain planet, sort of combine all those rings and those powers, and kind of come out with something really amazing.
Speaker B:And do you have employees besides the two of you?
Speaker A:Yes, we do have, like, a pretty deep bench.
Speaker A:We love having, like, you know, letting people have their specialties, kind of working with people's strengths for different projects.
Speaker A:So depending on the project, we have, you know, a good group of people to help move things along.
Speaker B:Sounds great.
Speaker B:So any last words of wisdom, anything you would like to convey to startup founders that are, or maybe wannabe founders?
Speaker B:They're thinking about making the leap and doing a startup, and of course, I think they'll immediately be in contact with you.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, for any startup founder or anyone kind of thinking through an idea, it's really just about, you know, understanding your user, understanding where they're at, what, how you can help them, and then kind of creating that foundation so you know how to learn, you know how to grow, and you can come to the company advice to kind of set that foundation through marketing and design.
Speaker B:I think that's great.
Speaker B:And thank you for what you do, and thank you for being on this podcast and describing it to us.
Speaker A:Thank you so much for having me, Jyothi.
Speaker A:Really, this was a lot of fun.
Speaker B:Here's your toolkit takeaways.
Speaker B:Toolkit number one.
Speaker B:Launch to learn, not to finish.
Speaker B:Stop asking, is this ready?
Speaker B:And start asking.
Speaker B:What will we learn by putting this out there?
Speaker B:Your job isn't to launch a finished product.
Speaker B:It's to launch something that teaches you what to build next.
Speaker B:Even if a feature fails, that's valuable data telling you where to double down.
Speaker B:Remember, perfection is the enemy of good enough Toolkit number two Design and marketing must be joined at the hip if you're treating design and marketing as separate functions at the early stage, you're in trouble.
Speaker B:Users experience your product as one journey from how they discover you to how they use you.
Speaker B:If design and marketing aren't working hand in hand, your customers will feel that disconnect and they'll walk away.
Speaker B:Get these two teams talking daily.
Speaker B:Toolkit number three Understand your user before you build a single feature.
Speaker B:Every successful product starts with deep user understanding, not what you think they need, what they actually need.
Speaker B:Talk to them.
Speaker B:Watch them struggle with current solutions, feel their pain, then build the foundation from there.
Speaker B:Without this clarity, you're just guessing.
Speaker B:And guessing burns cash you don't have.
Speaker B:Now go find 10 potential users this week, show them your roughest prototype, and watch where they get stuck.
Speaker B:That's your roadmap and that is our show with Lubna.
Speaker B:The show notes contain useful resources and links.
Speaker B:Please follow and rate us@podchaser.com designingsuccessful startups.
Speaker B:Also, please share and like us on your social media channels.
Speaker B:This is Jothi Rosenberg saying TTFN ta ta for now.
