Walling's Market-First Ethos

Table of Contents

What’s the biggest startup pitfall?

Make sure people want what you’re building before you build it
Building something no one wants is the most common source of failure for entrepreneurs
Marketing is more important than your product
Your product has to be good. If it’s not, you’ll be out of business
Without a market, a software application is just a project
A product is a project that people will pay money for. In other words, it’s a project that has a market
Create a website that converts visitors into customers
Writing code, where most of us are well-versed, is only about 30% of the work
If you are the typical developer, you will not have enough money, power or fame to generate demand for a product people don’t need
Market Comes First, Marketing Second, Aesthetic Third, and Functionality a Distant Fourth
In the same market, the product with better marketing wins…every time
In the same market with equal marketing, the product with the better design aesthetic wins
Functionality, code quality, and documentation are all a distant fourth
Marketing is about math and human behavior. The math part is straight-forward
Even the foremost marketing experts in the world are not sure whether people will buy a new product

You have to take your best guess; then measure and tweak. And then do it 20 more times until you succeed