Jekyll2022-10-07T02:01:48+00:00scottlthompson.com/feed.xmlThe Blog of Scott L. ThompsonA blog documenting my experiences in entrepreneurshipMisaligned long-term interests between companies and customers2016-11-13T21:05:20+00:002016-11-13T21:05:20+00:00scottlthompson.com/misaligned-long-term-interests<p>There are some honorable businesses out there that take a noticeably short-term view. I have nothing against these companies—in fact, I met my fiancée through one such company (more on this later)—but I’d never start a business that falls into the short view category. Their issue is that they suffer from misaligned long-term interests with their own customer base.</p>
<p>At first glance, it’s not so easy to spot a short-view company, because their short–view approach doesn’t always come at the expense of the customer. Instead, it’s usually the company that bears the brunt of the short-term thinking.</p>
<p>Let’s look at some examples:</p>
<p><strong>ClassPass</strong></p>
<p>For a monthly fee, ClassPass users have access to up to a certain amount of fitness classes per month at participating gyms, barre studios, spin clubs, etc. ClassPass pays the participating gyms a negotiated rate for each class that a ClassPass user attends.</p>
<p>This means that the success of ClassPass is inversely correlated to the success of its users, because ClassPass’s income from a user is the same each month, whereas it’s cost for that user depends on the number of classes the user attends. So, ClassPass makes less money when its users exercise more, and more money when its users exercise less.</p>
<p>What’s worse for ClassPass’s <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3061728/startup-report/is-the-classpass-model-sustainable">long term prospects</a> is that when the user has achieved ultimate success (e.g., finds a gym through ClassPass that they want to join), they may very well drop ClassPass altogether.</p>
<p>The success of the company is not aligned with the success of its users. It’s a win-lose situation.</p>
<p>My fiancée found a gym through ClassPass that she joined and now goes to six days a week. She loves it and wouldn’t have found it without ClassPass. Unfortunately for ClassPass, the service was so great for her that she no longer needs it. For her sake, I’m happy that ClassPass exists. But I’d never start a company whose interests are misaligned with those of its customers.</p>
<p><strong>Dating sites</strong></p>
<p>My fiancée and I met through a dating site, which is another type of company that I’m really glad exists but that I’d desperately avoid starting.</p>
<p>In the case of the dating site, the business model itself is less flawed than that of ClassPass, because the dating site doesn’t suffer from the variable costs that a ClassPass-type of company suffers from.</p>
<p>But the dating site is constantly <a href="http://andrewchen.co/why-investors-dont-fund-dating/">swimming against the current</a> in its quest for new users due to more misaligned interests, which are pretty obvious in this case: a successful dating site user finds the person they want to spend their life with and immediately proceeds to cancel their subscription to the site because they no longer need it. (If they don’t, their newfound partner should be a little nervous).</p>
<p>The better an experience a dating site provides, the more it churns through users. Granted, there will always be a huge market of people looking for love.</p>
<p>Incidentally, my fiancée and I met through Tinder, which at the time was completely free. Once our relationship started, Tinder didn’t lose out on revenue at the time (because they didn’t have a revenue stream yet), but they did lose two users.</p>
<p>—</p>
<p>The thought of a company having misaligned long-term interests with its customers sounds like there’s something shady going on. But in both examples above, the companies are not being evil to customers. If anything, the companies are being evil to themselves to the benefit of their customers. While that’s very honorable, it’s not the type of business I’d ever want to start, because it’s a business that is setting itself up for extra difficulty or even failure in the long term.</p>
<p>In any company I get involved in, I’m going to make sure that the company wins (and all other stakeholders win) when the customer wins.</p>scottlthompsonThere are some honorable businesses out there that take a noticeably short-term view. I have nothing against these companies—in fact, I met my fiancée through one such company (more on this later)—but I’d never start a business that falls into the short view category. Their issue is that they suffer from misaligned long-term interests with their own customer base.Not Impressed by TV Spots These Days2014-05-04T18:43:53+00:002014-05-04T18:43:53+00:00scottlthompson.com/not-impressed-by-commercials-these-days<p>I’m tired of seeing the same old ideas being recycled again and again in TV commercials. It’s obnoxious. Isn’t there someone in the ad agencies who should know whether an idea has been done before?</p>
<p>Here are a couple that stick out to me as just copying one another:</p>
<p><strong>Coke Zero vs. Ford</strong></p>
<p>Coke Zero was first to the punch with this concept. Ford, thanks for reminding me that “and” is better than “or.” I had forgotten that important concept in the one year since the Coke Zero campaign came out! (Not!)</p>
<p><strong>Fidelity vs. Carmax</strong></p>
<p>But what do I do if the imaginary line on the ground is both green and says “Start”?</p>
<p>There are many more examples of uninspired ads out there, and I’ll try to call them out as I seem them.</p>scottlthompsonI’m tired of seeing the same old ideas being recycled again and again in TV commercials. It’s obnoxious. Isn’t there someone in the ad agencies who should know whether an idea has been done before?Listen to Customers, Not Trolls2014-02-15T20:45:59+00:002014-02-15T20:45:59+00:00scottlthompson.com/listen-to-customers-not-trolls<p>An article was posted recently in a local tech entrepreneurship-focused Facebook group that a DC entrepreneur would be on Shark Tank. The comment thread was disappointing to me:</p>
<p><img src="/img/fb1.png" alt="image" /></p>
<p><img src="/img/fb2.png" alt="image" /></p>
<p><img src="/img/fb3.png" alt="image" /></p>
<p><img src="/img/fb4.png" alt="image" /></p>
<p><img src="/img/fb5.png" alt="image" /></p>
<p>Here’s the rant I <em>wanted</em> to post on the thread but never got around to it:</p>
<p>This comment thread is really disappointing to read. Normally, it wouldn’t be a concern because entrepreneurs run into naysayers all the time when it comes to their business ideas. But to do that in this particular forum is destructive. I know for a fact that there are hundreds of members in this very fb group thinking about taking the leap into entrepreneurship. Then they see trolling like this, and then they second-guess their idea, worrying that it will be met with this sort of criticism.</p>
<p>It would be one thing if the naysaying in this case was justified. The fact of the matter is that this particular entrepreneur is shipping (literally shipping—and not just in the overused metaphorical sense) thousands of units of his product to customers who are recognizing a need and paying him the $6.99 or whatever it is for it. He took a lean approach to starting the company, validating a market for his product in the form of having paying customers, and now he’s about to land some huge publicity.</p>
<p>To the folks out there thinking about taking the leap into entrepreneurship: it doesn’t matter what 4 guys on a facebook thread think about your idea. Get it in front of customers, and let their credit card do the talking. Like this guy did.</p>
<p>As for the relevance of this product to the DC Tech brand, I’m just not concerned that VCs will base their full impression of the DC Tech community on some guy’s side project that was featured on a very physical product-focused TV show. As for whether or not the sharks will invest… who cares? The publicity will be huge.</p>
<p>As for the relevance to tech in general, his sole distribution channel right now is a landing page that he mocked up. Arguably, Amazon wasn’t much different when it first launched (though they weren’t manufacturing their own products). Will eyebloc be the next Amazon? Probably not. But you never know how businesses will evolve as they develop relationships with paying customers.</p>
<p>U-Mask and the U-Tabe (sic?) are obviously a joke, but the fact that the first thought is to put them on AngelList for feedback rather than in front customers is a little concerning. (Again, I know it’s a joke, but wondering if the joke is indicative of the current prevailing mindset among startup founders). Rather than put the idea up on AngelList, why not put it in front of customers to see if they’ll buy it?</p>
<p>We should be more encouraging of people putting themselves out there in front of customers.</p>scottlthompsonAn article was posted recently in a local tech entrepreneurship-focused Facebook group that a DC entrepreneur would be on Shark Tank. The comment thread was disappointing to me:On the Shortness of Life2014-01-01T19:59:47+00:002014-01-01T19:59:47+00:00scottlthompson.com/on-the-shortness-of-life<p>I was doing some cleaning today and stumbled across a piece of paper with a quote I had scribbled down awhile back. The quote was from Seneca’s <em>On the Shortness of Life</em>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Indeed the state of all who are preoccupied is wretched, but the most wretched are those who are toiling not even at their own preoccupations, but must regulate their sleep by another’s, and their walk by another’s pace… If such people want to know how short their lives are, let them reflect how small a portion is their own.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="/img/51ZbsDPCN1L.jpg" alt="On the Shortness of Life" /></p>
<p>This quote really struck a chord with me when I first read it in early 2011. At the time, I had a stable job with a great benefits package in a Fortune 500 company. But I was stuck in a cubicle all day—bearing unnecessary amounts of stress—to try to essentially make the company’s wealthy shareholders even wealthier. Re-reading the quote, I came to the harsh realization that my job situation was forcing me to “regulate [my] sleep by another’s.”</p>
<p>Seneca’s essay definitely influenced my decision to take the leap into entrepreneurship, which I ended up doing within six months, and—despite many difficulties along the way—I haven’t looked back. Thanks, Seneca!</p>scottlthompsonI was doing some cleaning today and stumbled across a piece of paper with a quote I had scribbled down awhile back. The quote was from Seneca’s On the Shortness of Life:Battle2013-10-06T04:56:12+00:002013-10-06T04:56:12+00:00scottlthompson.com/battle<p>I had previously started a series of posts on songs that are meaningful for entrepreneurs. I have also found meaningful passages in the last few pieces of fiction I’ve read, so I’ll widen the scope of that series of posts to ‘the arts’ in general—not just music.</p>
<p><img src="/img/lonesomedove.jpeg" alt="Lonesome Dove" /></p>
<p>The inspiration for this post comes from a novel I’m reading, <em>Lonesome Dove</em> by Larry McMurtry. I’m not even finished yet, but this epic Western is already one of my favorite books of all time.</p>
<p>The following scene—which finds one of the novel’s heroes after he single-handedly fended off a group of enemy attackers—contains an apt analogy for the entrepreneurship experience:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>With no shooting to do for a little while, Augustus took stock of the situation and decided the worst part of it was that he had no one to talk to. He had been within a minute or two of death, which could not be said to be boring, exactly—but even desperate battle was lacking in something if there was no one to discuss it with. What had made battle interesting over the years was not his opponents but his colleagues. It was fascinating, at least to him, to see how the men he had fought with most often reacted to the stimulus of attack.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Admittedly, the analogy between entrepreneurship and ‘going into battle’ is somewhat cliché, but this passage digs a little deeper than the simple analogy. Entrepreneurship is so much easier when you have a business partner to talk to about the emotional rollercoaster that is entrepreneurship. I am grateful that my business partner, Lauryn, is right beside me on that rollercoaster. Though, I’m not sure which one of us would be Gus and which would be Call.</p>scottlthompsonI had previously started a series of posts on songs that are meaningful for entrepreneurs. I have also found meaningful passages in the last few pieces of fiction I’ve read, so I’ll widen the scope of that series of posts to ‘the arts’ in general—not just music.10,000 T-Shirts2013-09-29T19:28:06+00:002013-09-29T19:28:06+00:00scottlthompson.com/10000-t-shirts<p>This past Thursday wrapped up a fun couple months-long ride that saw my friend Kevin, my brother Alex, and myself team up to turn an idea into something that would be worn by 10,000 people. The journey started when we learned about a fan-designed t-shirt contest that the Baltimore Orioles were hosting.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" width="550">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">
We want YOU to design our final t-shirt giveaway of 2013 on 9/26! Get started designing now: <a href="http://t.co/aWRQHO1JbL">http://t.co/aWRQHO1JbL</a>
</p>
<p>
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) <a href="https://twitter.com/Orioles/status/365504123606544384">August 8, 2013</a>
</p>
</blockquote>
<p>My brother and I had coincidentally thought of some Orioles t-shirt ideas before we even knew about the promotion. Kevin came to us with some ideas of his own, and from there we decided that we would all go in on a submission together. In thinking through all the ideas, we decided on one of Kevin’s ideas, which he had mocked up using MS Paint. From there, we procrastinated on actually putting pen to paper, and it was coming down to the wire:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" width="550">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">
Time is running out to submit your design for our Fan Designed T-Shirt Contest! Deadline to submit is 8/31: <a href="http://t.co/LaGcB5hEts">http://t.co/LaGcB5hEts</a>
</p>
<p>
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) <a href="https://twitter.com/Orioles/status/372833563827134465">August 28, 2013</a>
</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I started designing the t-shirt, expanding on Kevin’s rough mock-up, using an open-source illustration software called GIMP. I then began adding to the design using Adobe Procreate on the iPad. My dad helped out at this stage, as he is very talented with iPad illustrations. The last stage was to design the back. I had a rough outline that I turned over to my sister, who skillfully made the design of the back consistent with that of the front using Adobe Illustrator. At the eleventh hour of the due date, Kevin submitted our final design for us.</p>
<p><img src="/img/Cream-Pie.jpg" alt="shaving cream pie" /></p>
<p>A few days later, we got the exciting news that we were one of three finalists out of a pool of over 500 submissions!</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" width="550">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">
We’ve got our 3 finalists for our Fan Designed T-shirt contest! See their designs & VOTE for your favorite here: <a href="http://t.co/vpOcC6IzC0">http://t.co/vpOcC6IzC0</a>
</p>
<p>
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) <a href="https://twitter.com/Orioles/status/375362968155725825">September 4, 2013</a>
</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="/img/web-screenshot.png" alt="image" /></p>
<p>It was now time for us to get the word out to friends and family to go vote for our design. I was overwhelmed by the amount of support we got. Friends of friends of friends went to vote for our work. I’m grateful for everyone who took the time to vote for us. It went a long way:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" width="550">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">
And the winner of our Fan Designed T-shirt Contest, to be featured as our September 26th giveaway, is…<a href="http://t.co/lwrM4rPKgJ">http://t.co/lwrM4rPKgJ</a>
</p>
<p>
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) <a href="https://twitter.com/Orioles/status/379979182987411457">September 17, 2013</a>
</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Along with many friends and family members, we attended the Orioles game on September 26. The Orioles printed our design on t-shirts and gave them away to the first 10,000 fans. It was a pretty cool feeling seeing people wearing the shirts and others asking where to get them. Not only that, but we got to go out on the field during the pre-game ceremony, during which Kevin threw out the first pitch. He did a good job (thanks to Josh for the great gif):</p>
<p><img src="/img/alex-tshirt-night.gif" alt="image" /></p>
<p>Here are some other shots from the night:</p>
<p><img src="/img/578514_10101112484224675_1131614244_n.jpg" alt="image" /></p>
<p><img src="/img/BAL_shirtdesigners.jpg" alt="image" /></p>scottlthompsonThis past Thursday wrapped up a fun couple months-long ride that saw my friend Kevin, my brother Alex, and myself team up to turn an idea into something that would be worn by 10,000 people. The journey started when we learned about a fan-designed t-shirt contest that the Baltimore Orioles were hosting.Culture2013-05-11T19:11:23+00:002013-05-11T19:11:23+00:00scottlthompson.com/culture<p>I recently went on my second “culture tour” of a company’s headquarters in as many years. Last year, it was at Zappos outside Las Vegas, and this year I visited The Motley Fool in Alexandria, Virginia.</p>
<p>I recommend touring both offices if you happen to be in either locale. While they both have amazing employee benefits, amenities and policies that will blow you away, perhaps the most jarring thing you’ll find at both workplaces is how genuinely happy the employees are to be there.</p>
<p>I’m sure the employees at both company’s love the game rooms, nap rooms, free food and unlimited vacation, but I’m guessing that those perks are not the root cause of happiness at those companies. In fact, I did not see those perks being heavily utilized while I was on the tours (granted, I was at both offices pretty early in the morning). There is something deeper and less tangible going on than cool office spaces. I don’t have the exact answer, but my theory is that employee happiness at these two companies is the result of the companies having a culture that actually lives and breathes its core values.</p>
<p>Many companies list their core values but only pay them lip service. When employees are exposed to contradictions between company values and how things are actually done, there’s a subconscious, discordant force at play within the company which affects employee happiness.</p>
<p>I’ve felt that something’s-not-quite-right feeling at many companies, but not at all at Zappos and Motley Fool. Whether or not I’m on the right track with my theory, my visits to the two companies have stressed the importance of building a culture that is true to your company’s core values. I will make a deliberate effort to build that type of culture in my company and any future business.</p>scottlthompsonI recently went on my second “culture tour” of a company’s headquarters in as many years. Last year, it was at Zappos outside Las Vegas, and this year I visited The Motley Fool in Alexandria, Virginia.Thoughts from a Non-Self-Loathing MBA2013-03-09T20:43:02+00:002013-03-09T20:43:02+00:00scottlthompson.com/thoughts-from-a-non-self-loathing-mba<p>Downplaying the value of an MBA—both the degree itself and the degree-holder—is a common topic in the startup world. I will not jump on that bandwagon because that would suggest that I regret getting my MBA.</p>
<p>I have absolutely no regrets getting my MBA (though my student loan payments can be painful tests of that attitude each month).</p>
<p><strong>My Experience</strong></p>
<p>I did a 5-year combined BA/MBA with the goal of getting a job on Wall Street. The program was a great opportunity for me, because I was more than halfway through completing my major in History when I realized I wanted to go into finance—not whatever you go into with a history degree. If I had switched majors to finance so late in the game, I would have put myself on the 5-6 year track for just a BA. Instead, the combined MBA program allowed me to stick with and finish my BA in history (in 3 years)—then go directly into a full-time 2-year MBA.</p>
<p>It was during my MBA entrepreneurship class four years ago that I stumbled across <a href="http://www.avc.com/">AVC</a> and <a href="http://www.feld.com">Feld Thoughts</a>, two blogs that ended up being my gateway drugs for startup addiction. From then on, I knew I would not be seeking a job on Wall Street, but that I would find other gigs that would prepare me for taking the leap into entrepreneurship. (It’s not that Wall Street does not prepare you for entrepreneurship, but that I was no longer interested in going the Wall Street route at all).</p>
<p>In short, if it weren’t for my MBA, it’s possible that I would not have stumbled across the blogs from which I caught the startup bug. Because of that and the great friends I added to my network, I can’t possibly regret getting my MBA.</p>
<p><strong>Would I recommend getting an MBA?</strong></p>
<p>If you’re the career-type, then I’d say yes. My MBA would have prepared me pretty well to be a good corporate employee and eventually a manager in either finance or marketing. And again, the network you get from your cohort is perhaps the most valuable thing about an MBA.</p>
<p>If you’ve already caught the startup bug, I would not recommend getting an MBA for these reasons:</p>
<p>1) <em>The time commitment</em> – Most MBA programs take two years or more. In two years, you could learn an incredible amount by starting a business of your own, failing, learning from your mistakes, and starting another business. (Not that failing should be a goal, just that you would have time for all that to happen in the time you got an MBA.)</p>
<p>2) <em>The financial commitment</em> – MBA programs are expensive. Things would be a little easier for me without my monthly student loan repayments. I would rather be investing that money in my startup.</p>
<p>3) <em>MBA programs can be very old-school</em> – I was disappointed that my MBA classes had almost no mention of anything tech-related. No mention of online CPCs in marketing class. No mention of lean startup principles in entrepreneurship class (granted, it was slightly before the Lean Startup movement came about). No mention of the mobile web in strategy class. Given that this whole Internet thing is so obviously here to stay, I would have appreciated some acknowledgement of it in class. Hopefully things have improved in the time since my MBA, but—since MBA curricula seem to be slow-moving—I wouldn’t be surprised if most programs are still analog.</p>
<p>If you have already started an MBA program and have the tech startup bug, all is not lost. Just start a business during the program and work on it in your free time.</p>
<p>Again, I have no regrets about getting my MBA. It was a crucial part of a string of events that got me to where I am today: happy.</p>scottlthompsonDownplaying the value of an MBA—both the degree itself and the degree-holder—is a common topic in the startup world. I will not jump on that bandwagon because that would suggest that I regret getting my MBA.Conscious Capitalism2013-02-23T21:50:17+00:002013-02-23T21:50:17+00:00scottlthompson.com/conscious-capitalism<p>A couple weeks ago, I went to hear John Mackey, the founder and CEO of Whole Foods, discuss his new book. I’ve followed Mackey’s philosophies for a while now, as I think he’s got the right idea. Here’s a blurb about the book from his blog:</p>
<p>“Free enterprise capitalism has been the most powerful creative system of social cooperation and human progress ever conceived, but its perception and its role in society have been distorted. Now is the time to demonstrate to a skeptical world the truth, goodness and heroism of capitalism rather than perpetuate the false stigmas of selfishness, greed and profit maximization. We must revolutionize capitalism and show that businesses are the greatest value creators of all, with the power to push humanity upward for continuous improvement. Here, John talks about the unique opportunity businesses have to unleash creativity.”</p>
<p>I get saddened at times thinking about the problems that humans have caused for our planet and for future generations of humans. Despite there being great non-profits and other organizations out there doing wonderful things, it sometimes feels like the problems we’re facing are just too big to overcome with those measures.</p>
<p>The one area of hope I see in possibly overcoming some of the issues we’re facing as a species is in what Mackey calls Conscious Capitalism. I’d argue that for-profit businesses have the power to reach and activate more people and spur more effective change than other organizations, including activist groups, non-profits and governments. A big reason behind this is the power of brands. People love their favorite brands – staunchly defending them against naysayers and unsolicitedly promoting them in interesting ways.</p>
<p>Occasionally, I’ll see people with real tattoos (the permanent kind) of a consumer brand. That’s how you know you’ve built a strong brand: someone freely chose to undergo thousands of stabs from a sharp needle to inject some sort of permanent inky substance into the beautiful, living, breathing organ that is his or her epidermis in order to wear your brand with pride. Give yourself a pat on the back, Marketing team. You deserve a bonus.</p>
<p>So I think building a movement that sparks purpose-driven and “conscious” businesses, with strong brands, is the most realistic way of making real, positive change. I’m hoping that the Conscious Capitalism movement gains some steam.</p>scottlthompsonA couple weeks ago, I went to hear John Mackey, the founder and CEO of Whole Foods, discuss his new book. I’ve followed Mackey’s philosophies for a while now, as I think he’s got the right idea. Here’s a blurb about the book from his blog:Lean Startup Experiment – Part 4 – Analyzing the Results of My Lean Startup Hypothesis2013-02-09T16:43:07+00:002013-02-09T16:43:07+00:00scottlthompson.com/lean-startup-experiment-part-4-analyzing-the-results-of-my-lean-startup-hypothesis<p>I’m excited to announce that the adjustments to my hypothesis (described in <a href="http://scottlthompson.com/lean-startup-experiment-part-2-how-to-make-an-effective-lean-startup-hypothesis/" title="Lean Startup Experiment – Part 2 – How to Make an Effective Lean Startup Hypothesis">Part 2 – How to Make an Effective Lean Startup Hypothesis</a>) and the corresponding changes to my website (described in <a href="http://scottlthompson.com/lean-startup-experiment-part-3-adjusting-your-experiment-to-test-your-hypotheses/" title="Lean Startup Experiment – Part 3 – Adjusting your experiment to test your hypotheses">Part 3 – Adjusting your Experiment to Test your Hypothesis</a>) have provided me with some useful data.</p>
<p>In my original goal for the experiment, noted in Part 1 of this series, I pledged to move forward with my product idea if two people actually pay for my product.</p>
<p><strong>The results</strong><br />
**<br />
** I shouldn’t be surprised by the results because of my confidence in the product idea, but (drumroll, please…) <strong>nine people</strong> have paid for my product! It was an amazing feeling receiving those first few emails from PayPal saying that someone paid me $25 for my product. Of course, since I don’t actually have a product to provide them yet, I sent them a nice email thanking them for their interest and apologizing that I was unable to fulfill their order. I refunded their money right away.</p>
<p>**Why I’m especially excited</p></p>
<p></b>As if being paid actual money for my product idea wasn’t exciting enough, there are a few additional reasons why I’m especially excited:</p>
<ul>
<li>Aside from the nine people who paid me for my product, an additional three people contacted me expressing serious interest in my product. For example, one person asked if I would ship to Canada. While the nine paying customers are much more meaningful than the people who expressed interest, it’s exciting to know that it’s even more than just those nine people with interest in the product.</li>
<li>All paying customers reached my website from organic search results. So, not only were they paying customers, but I spent $0.00 acquiring them (not counting for the minimal time I spent creating the site and optimizing it for SEO).</li>
<li>And possibly the most exciting thing to note: the people who paid me for my product bought it sight unseen! Indeed, my website does not yet have any pictures of the product on it. Creating an image of what I think the product will look like would have required too much of a time investment for me to figure out how to manipulate Photoshop enough to alter an existing product image.</li>
</ul>
<p>**Validated</p></p>
<p></b>It might still be premature, but I’m ready to consider this product idea validated after this experiment. After all, nine people have paid me cash money for my product, sight unseen. In other words, the pain point that this product solves is great enough that people are willing to pay for a solution without even knowing what the solution looks like. For all they know, the product could be hideously ugly, but that didn’t stop nine people from shelling out real cash.</p>
<p>I will discuss my next steps in the next post in this series.</p>scottlthompsonI’m excited to announce that the adjustments to my hypothesis (described in Part 2 – How to Make an Effective Lean Startup Hypothesis) and the corresponding changes to my website (described in Part 3 – Adjusting your Experiment to Test your Hypothesis) have provided me with some useful data.