Ben Yoskovitz

@focusedchaos.co

Founding Partner @ highlinebeta.com, venture studio + VC firm. We build and fund companies, often with corporate partners. Author of Lean Analytics and FocusedChaos.co (product management, startups, investing & venture studios)

Product managers: What are your best practices for product roadmaps? I'm launching the results of a survey on product roadmaps tomorrow-figured I'd see if anyone has great ideas / tips they want to share on how they use product roadmaps properly/effectively in their orgs? Share below!

Founders: Don't outsource sales. If you hire salespeople too early, they most likely won't hit quota (b/c there's no developed playbook.) And if you go the partnership route, you're outsourcing responsibility to others and losing direct contact with customers.

"The hardest thing about the road not taken is that you never know where it might have led." - Lisa Windgate ^^ That's why I believe so much in founders. They take the road less traveled. They swing for the fences.

"When faced with two choices, simply toss a coin. It works not because it settles the question for you, but because in that brief moment when the coin is in the air, you suddenly know what you are hoping for." - Anonymous Damn, that's true.

Learning by doing > learning by reading. I've always felt that's the case, although I love writing about my experiences (including all the failures) and sharing with others. If it helps, great. But you have to experience stuff to really get it.

"When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that in itself is a choice." - William James I still make this mistake. Inaction is often one of a founder's biggest regrets.

Imposter Syndrome is real. Everyone feels it at some point (except perhaps the criminally insane.) You can get through it. Step by step. Cross some stuff off your todo, push to make that one extra sales call. Commit. You’re an imposter and a winner at the same time.

Question: How are people using product roadmaps? I'm doing a deep dive on product roadmaps and looking for input. * How do you prioritize? * How often does it change? * How detailed is it? * Etc. Wanna help out? Reply or send me a message. Thank you!

Anyone wanna go see a basketball game?!?! I have 4 tickets to Spurs - Knicks in San Antonio on March 19th. Unfortunately I can't go. I'd like to sell the tickets so they don't go to waste. Message me for details. Thanks!

"Grit is that 'extra something' that separates the most successful people from the rest. It's the passion, perseverance, and stamina that we must channel in order to stick with our dreams until they become a reality." - Travis Bradberry I ❤️ grit.

Good morning folks! Today, you'll get some things right. 🎉 And you'll make some mistakes. 😬 Shit happens. Push through it. (Well, if you find yourself in actual shit get out as quickly as possible, pushing through sounds awful).

I've built zombie startups before and it fucking sucks. Zombie startups can survive forever but never go anywhere. They shuffle along, dead but still existing. Such. A. Waste. Of. Time. Don't be a fucking 🧟.

I've always ❤️ this visual. It shows how Moz used NET ADDS as their One Metric That Matters - a business health indicator to help them ask better questions within each department. It shows the power of measuring what matters and then leveraging that to diagnose good or bad things.

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Everyone should realize that startup options are a lottery ticket. Occasionally they pay out and legit change people's lives. But it's rare. Still, I believe early employees deserve more equity and should be topped up over time for kick ass performance.

"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." - Arthur Ashe Translated into StartupLand: * Don't overthink * Don't overbuild * Don't overfund Get on with it, already.

Founders: Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Take every opportunity to tell your story. Practice like crazy.

It's crazy to me that startups often give MORE equity to advisors than employees, including early employees. There's no chance an advisor has more impact than an early employee. Ever.

Founders: Don't give C-level titles out like candy; you can't go back from there. Hard to hire "over" the CTO, CPO, CFO or what have you. Be judicious about this stuff, even if titles "don't matter" (truth is, for most people they do).