Differentiating the Best : Lessons from Partnering with Early Stage Startups

The past year and a half of partnering with early to mid stage startups has been an incredible journey. Some companies soared, some stumbled, and TBH, I’ve learned a lot from both experiences. From a Product perspective, here's what differentiated the survivors who'd also potentially thrive

✅ 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 : A semi-cooked message just won't fly. The winning startups made their offerings super clear, focusing on features that truly solved core user problems. They knew exactly what value they brought and didn't waste time on building anything else. We even had a situation where the founders thought their messaging was crystal clear, but user testing revealed 12 confusing points! We went back to the drawing board and simplified our message like crazy – and it paid off.

✅ 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 : Winning teams used market, competitive, user data and feedback like a roadmap to guide their product development. They sought my help to structure this and hold them accountable for not straying. They constantly ran tests, tracked user engagement, and constantly improved based on what they learned. It was clear they weren't just guessing what users wanted. When times are lean, every wrong decision can cost a month of runway which is precious.

✅ 𝐌𝐕𝐏 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐩𝐚𝐝: These startups nailed the MVP concept. They launched simple versions, quickly confirmed their ideas with user feedback, and then made changes FAST. It felt like they were always learning and adapting to what users needed. This also made failure seem like success because they now knew what not to build.

✅ 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐚𝐜𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Ads are expensive! Organic reach is declining. Every acquired customer is worth their weight in gold in these times. Product-minded founders focused on features that made users come back for more. Understanding that a loyal user base was what would truly save them, they prioritised retention. In one case, a strong user base did exactly that – it saved the company.

And the biggest learning of all... None of this sounds complicated, infact its rather obvious and yet you'd be surprised by how few companies actually live and breathe this way of working.