Rashmi Sinha,SlideShare

Fast, cheap and barely in Fast, cheap and barely in control: 10 lessons from control: 10 lessons from SlideShareSlideShare

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Taking over the Taking over the world world (one PowerPoint (one PowerPoint at a time!)at a time!)

1. Make your1. Make your app app usefuluseful

Solve Solve oneone problem problem really wellreally well

Make app Make app socialsocial

SlideShare as non social appNo virality

2. 2. Speed Speed isis imperativeimperative

Why startupsWhy startups need need speed?speed?

Small & fast

Set the tone for Set the tone for speedspeed

In development, design…

Be agileBe agile(worry about scaling later)

3. Ideas are3. Ideas are dime a dime a dozendozen

Focus on Focus on executionexecutionCan we execute on this?How fast? When can we start work?What will first version take?What metrics to track progress?What will we push back to work on this?

4.4. What What to buildto build

We build We build products products we use ourselveswe use ourselves

37signals:37signals: Build less Build less

Add complexity forAdd complexity for right right reasonsreasonsStart with lessAdd complexity (if needed)Remove features Get people used to change

To build To build a feature ora feature or not tonot to

Listen to loudest?Watch metrics?

How toHow to double double traffictraffic??

Anatomy of aAnatomy of a feature feature launchlaunch

5. How to5. How to LaunchLaunch

The AlphaThe AlphaFeedback to the embedNo publicityBrowser compatibility issues

How How developeddeveloped should a Beta be?should a Beta be?

(Enough to get point across)

SlideShare SlideShare launchlaunch

Invite only: Before or after launch?

AlphaStealth mode

Open to allLaunchInvite only

Year 1 Year 1

Open to allLaunchInvite only

6. Focus on your users, not 6. Focus on your users, not your your competitioncompetition

7. Don’t spend too much 7. Don’t spend too much time on Biz Devtime on Biz Dev

8. 8. Use metrics Use metrics to to make decisionsmake decisions

What metrics?What metrics?Performance: page load times, errorsTraffic: Web logsDatabase tracking: No. registrations, login, uploads, contactsCustomer feedback emails

How metrics?How metrics?A/B testingMetrics Dashboard: Shadow AppDaily Email reports

Get Get team buy-in team buy-in for metricsfor metrics

Metrics and the danger of Metrics and the danger of local minimalocal minima

9. Hire 9. Hire Design Design EngineersEngineers

10. Find 10. Find your your communitycommunity

Community is a great way Community is a great way to growto grow

Reduce marketing costs, users evangelize

11.11. Outsource Outsource what what is not your core competencyis not your core competency

Outsource Outsource complexitycomplexity

Amazon S3, EC2Dedicated servers instead of colocationGoogle AdsGoogle SearchDifferent widgets (Gigya, AddThis)

My slides at My slides at http://www.slideshare.net/tag/w2e

Find me at www.slideshare.net/rashmiwww.twitter.com/rashmi