Guy's 11 micro-ISV Commandments

(Posted first at http://mymicroisv.com)

Guy Kawasaki's latest post on the Art of Bootstrapping is such good advice, every micro-ISV should print it and read it until they know it by heart.

Here's the bullet point version, just to whet you appetite so you go read Guy's post: 

1. Focus on cash flow,  not profitability.
2. Forecast from the bottom up.
3. Ship, then test.      
4. Forget the proven team.
5. Start as a service business.
6. Focus on function, not form [in what you buy].
7. Pick your battles.      
8. Understaff.
9. Go direct.
10. Position against the leader.
11. Take the “red pill.”

    I'd add a #12: Pick carefully your place on the Long Tail. That is, find, define and be relevant to an unmet need out there that can be Googled with a few keywords.

Technorati Tags: micro-ISV, Guy Kawasaki

Comments

[David Friedman]

Hi Bob,

Interesting contrast between Kawasaki and Spolsky:

Kawasaki's point 5: "Start as a service business. Let's say that you ultimately want to be a software company...However, until you finish the software, you could provide consulting and services based on your work-in-process software."

vs.

Spolsky's philosphy: "Number one. If you ever find yourself implementing a feature simply because it has been promised to one customer, RED DANGER LIGHTS should be going off in your head. If you're doing things for one customer, you've either got a loose cannon sales person, or you're slipping dangerously down the slope towards consultingware. And there's nothing wrong with consultingware; it's a very comfortable slope to slip down, but it's just not as profitable as shrinkwrap software."

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/SetYourPriorities.html

I'd like to get those two in a mud wrestling ring; we could find out who's right that way.

Nice to meet you at Bookshop SC the other day.

-Dave

[Bob Walsh]

That was a typo - fixed.

[Mike Clark]

I thought I better complain now and get it over with: that link to http://mymicorisv.com doesn't work. FireFox says it can't be found. IE says it cannot be displayed. However, http://www.mymicroisv.com/ works fine.