Startup Tips Day 10: Matt Curry from PlanbookEdu

Day #10 in the CenterNetworks Startup Tips Month comes from Matt Curry from PlanbookEdu.

Matt's Tips

Tip #1 - Build it right the first time

A common axiom floating around these days is “just build it.” The thought is that much of the cost of launching a product goes into development. Therefore, if you cut corners on development costs, you can compensate with extra hardware down the road. The additional hardware may help handle the added users as your site grows, but at some point your going to need to fix bugs or add new features. Finding bugs and building on a poorly implemented base is going to cost more than if you had just built a solid foundation in the first place.

Tip #2 - Drink your own artificially flavored fruit beverage

You should be using your own product on a daily basis as an end user would. If you find some user interface element awkward or are constantly thinking, “if only we had this feature”, then chances are your users are saying the same thing. The great thing is since this is your site you can fix it and make everyone happy.

Tip #3 - Make it easy for users to contact you.

Pick a method: blog with comments, forum, email, feedback form, IM, etc… the method doesn’t matter as much as the implementation. It shouldn’t take them more than 30 seconds to get off a message. Users are doing you a favor by providing valuable feedback, so don’t make it hard on them. All of the following are hurdles for the message going from the user’s head to your screen: any sort of registration, having to check an email as part of a verification process, CAPTCHAs.

Tip #4 - Reply to every comment – POLITELY

If someone calls you out for releasing a buggy product, take responsibility. Users are much more forgiving if you give them a simple response, such as “We screwed up this release, but we’re working our asses off to fix it.” Don’t ignore the problem and don’t respond to bitter comments with snappy comebacks.

Tip #5 - Pretend you’re bigger then you are

Just because your development team consists of you and case of Red Bull it doesn’t mean you can be cavalier. Use some form of version control. Have at least three setups of your site, development, QA and production. Don’t edit the live code. Keep backups. Write useful comments in your code.

Tip #6 - Know when to get out

Dedication to your startup is important, but don’t be blind to a sinking ship. Throwing more time and money at a dieing product is just wasting resources that could be used on your next venture. It can be hard to step away, but the failure shouldn’t discourage you from trying something new. Remember: “You only have to be right once” – Mark Cuban.

Matt Curry spent two years as CTO for the startup EyeRover Media before cashing out to the tune of $72. He now does freelance web development in the NYC/NJ area. He writes a blog, PseudoCoder.com, geared towards small, bootstrapped web applications. His current ventures include RSStalker.com, FantasyLife.net, PlanbookEdu.com and camXip.com.