David Heinemeier Hansson on Doing a Start Up in the Real World
I took out 2 key points from the presentation.
On listening to your customers but being able to say no:
Saying yes is the worst thing you can do, the number one power you have running your own business is being able to say no. We hear time and time again how the most important thing is to listen to your customers. That's true, you should certainly listen, and then you can say no. It doesn't come that just because you are listening, you have to say yes. That is not how the relationship works, because if you are just going to automatically say yes, why bothering listening in the first place? Saying no is my most treasured power as an entrepreneur running my own ship, I cannot remember a single thing that I said no to that I regret, but I remember things I said yes to that I regret. (~11 mins)
On asking yourself if your product is viable:
Just having a great idea is not enough, it needs to be married with someone that wants to pay you for your implementation. The best way to figure out if there is a business, is to ask yourself if you would pay for it. Because if you wouldn't pay for it, who would? (~22:30 mins)
The whole presentation has an overall KISS (keep it simple stupid) vibe to it, so maybe it should be watched with Venturehack's minimum viable product.