Avoid these Mistakes from Founders for Better Products

Collected insights from consumer brands plus the danger of energy-draining tasks

[Blue skies on Crater Lake East Rim Road]

Hello there,

Two weeks back we visited Crater Lake National Park - what a magnificent landscape!

Did our toddler surprise us by waking up and refusing to sleep from 2am to 4am? Well, one can’t predict the delightful perks of family travels…

And it paid off when the views in the park far outstripped my imagination!

For two weekends in September the park closes the East Rim Road to cars and we biked a short section over to the Cleetwood Cove Trail.

Then we hiked down and I even got to dip in the deliciously cold 1900 ft deep lake - yippee!

The Common Business Mistakes I’m Aiming to Prevent

The success stories of others most often reflect their specific circumstances. But we can always distill value from people’s mistakes.

I constantly seek interviews and podcasts with product brand founders in the same way that I hunt for the next mind-blowing brand of ice cream sandwich. (Meaning with great gusto!)

And I try to review the lessons that stick with me and avoid falling for the myth of the overnight success.

Parsing through a few dozen data points, I found these similar mistakes:

(1) Don’t undercut your own value

Most people diminish their own work, but people tune into the value, not the cost.

When setting a price, choose a level that makes you feel just a little bit uncomfortable.

When Warby Parker launched their low-cost eyewear brand they saw slow sales. The decision to raise prices from $49 to $95 seemed bold, but led to an enormous leap in sales.

To promote a product, skip discounts and rebates. Instead find ways to add more value so you can charge a better price.

(2) Be careful not to only focus exclusively on your product

This comes from Ryan Babenzein, founder of Jolie shower heads and GREATS shoes. You can only get big with best-in-class marketing.

High quality products are the minimum required for a brand to succeed. But the only way you can grow to be a lasting brand is through effective communication and storytelling.

Apple realized early on the power of a good story to sell a product like the iPod — “a thousand songs in your pocket.”

On top of making something people want, when you give them a very clear message they can easily spread the word. 

(3) Don’t expect it to be easy

On the few occasions where I’ve talked to physical product founders, every conversation starts with this advice: “Don’t do it.”

The founder of Mini Katanas, a multi-million dollar brand that has zero paid advertisements, explains that selling products directly to consumers today is harder than ever.

But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Making a great product and getting it to your audience requires persistence and tenacity.

Not to sound all doom and gloom, here’s one of my favorite quotes about making a product that solves a problem.

“Your customers don’t care what it took for you to make something. They care about what it does for them.”

— Seth Godin

Worthy & Remarkable

• The top product in my mind is the Radwagon 4 cargo e-bike which arrives soon to my house! - here’s a throwback to their 2015 Indiegogo campaign.

• Brutal but inspiring footage of Amity Warme climbing Cosmic Debris (5.13b), a terrifically hard route in Yosemite.

• This film premiered in Squamish while we were up there, but we missed it, making me even more psyched for the public release of Wet Lycra Nightmare — the crux move includes a hold called the “Hideous Taco”

• Last year I played the Tom Misch on repeat and this year’s release of drummer Yussef Dayes new album has me tapping and into this drummer’s repetoire. Check out this set from his band recorded live in Joshua Tree.

One Thing from Me

I’m queueing up a stack of books for the upcoming rainy season and I love the rules from Ryan Holiday I’m picking the right things to read.

Emerson’s line was, “If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.” I see as much value in a podcast interview as a book, but they both build different types of attention.

To give a book a fair chance at proving its merit, read “100 pages minus your age.”

That means if you’re young, it takes longer to decide if a book is for you. As you age, you have less time for crap. I’m look forward to the day when I’m old enough to judge a book by it’s cover!

One other rule to live by — if a book is good, recommend it and pass it along to other people.

Energizedly,

Jono

PS — this song topped Spotify’s list for most played track this summer!?