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Thoughts on online work, dependability, tools, and craft
Philip: Hey, this is Phillip with a
recording of an essay I just published
on contraption.co called having a TJ.
Recent events have reminded me of a phrase
I've long used in the startup world.
Having a TJ.
Before StaffJoy became a company.
It was just a side project.
Our first user was TJ whose biggest
challenge with scheduling his workforce.
Every week, TJ would meet with
us to explain his problems.
We'd show him what we were working on
and he'd provide invaluable feedback.
TJ became the lifeblood of our startup,
a real person with a real problem,
collaborating with us to find a solution.
Over time, TJ evolved into a metaphorical
persona representing our customer base.
What would TJ wants?
Our minimum viable product at StaffJoy
involves just emailing spreadsheets
of schedules back and forth with TJ.
Despite its simplicity and perhaps
clunkiness, he was happy to use
it because we were addressing his
core workforce management issues.
TJ wasn't distracted by
unnecessary features.
He cared about solving his problem.
With TJ's help.
We built an app.
Got into the Y Combinator
fellowship raised a seed round
and helped more customers.
TJ's feedback and enthusiasm were
instrumental in guiding StaffJoy
from an idea into a venture
we worked on for two years.
Many startups fail to secure even a
single customer or create something
that one person genuinely wants.
Having a TJ keeps the company focused on
solving real problems for real people.
Individuals like TJ validate assumptions,
offer honest feedback to prioritize work.
Answer spontaneous questions and
become references for future customers.
They confirm that the company
is tackling a genuine need.
Once you build something that
satisfies TJ, you can seek
out more customers like them.
In other companies I've been involved
with, there's always been that
TJ, the first customer who has a
problem collaborates on the solution
and then champions your product.
If you're building a startup and
don't yet have a passionate user, I
recommend, focusing on finding that
early adopter who can provide feedback.
If you can't find such a user, perhaps
you're addressing the wrong problem.
Later as the industry shifted
a mid consolidations and
shutdowns, TJ was laid off.
Responding to the market dynamics
we pivoted, but we struggled to find
another TJ and ultimately shut down.
Losing a TJ.
It can be a Canary in the
coal mine for a startup.
A passionate early customer
keeps us startup team motivated
and working on the right thing.
Most startups focused on growth too
early and fail to make something
that a single customer wants.
The TJ lesson is that a successful
product starts with one customer.
And that one customer's love of
the product is rooted in a problem.
They desperately want your help solving.
To end quote from Sam Altman.
It's better to have 100 users love
you than 1 million, kind of like you.
The true seed of scale is love
and you can't buy it, hack it or
game it's a product that is deeply
loved is one that can scale.