A Software Developer's Guide to Launching Your Own Product

Tash Postolovski

Tash Postolovski

1 talk

#product-development

#entrepreneurship

#marketing

#minimum-viable-product-mvp

#ruby-on-rails

A Software Developer's Guide to Launching Your Own Product

by Tash Postolovski

In the talk "A Software Developer's Guide to Launching Your Own Product" at RubyConf AU 2024, Tash Postolovski shares practical steps for software developers looking to start their own product business. With experience as a Ruby developer and entrepreneur, she details her journey in launching Good Teams, a platform focused on engineering team culture.

Key Points Discussed:

- Motivation for Launching a Product: Postolovski emphasizes the rewards, challenges, and creative fulfillment that come from building and launching products. Rather than solely focusing on financial gain, she encourages developers to find meaning in their work and diversify their income streams due to uncertain job security in tech.

- Finding a Product Idea: She provides strategies for generating product ideas by addressing bothersome issues, improving processes, or creating solutions for specific communities. Suggestions include fixing pain points experienced by oneself or others and innovating on existing products to create better alternatives.

- Customer Research: Effective customer research involves asking open-ended questions to uncover true customer needs, avoiding leading questions that confirm biases. She stresses the importance of understanding customer motivations and experiences around similar problems.

- Building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP): Postolovski suggests limiting initial development efforts to under 40 hours and emphasizes the need for rapid prototyping to understand customer feedback and needs iteratively.

- Marketing Your Product: Many developers struggle with marketing; however, Postolovski reframes it as an opportunity to provide value. She advocates for creating valuable content (e.g., tutorials, webinars) rather than traditional pushy marketing tactics.

- Acquiring First Customers: Early customer acquisition should focus on personal networks and building credibility. Postolovski advises seeking feedback rather than free trials and stresses the importance of positioning products with value in mind.

Conclusions and Takeaways:

- The key to a successful product launch lies in simplifying the process, focusing on customer needs, and balancing technical work with marketing efforts. Understanding ethical marketing and embracing community engagement can significantly enhance product visibility and adoption.

- Postolovski encourages developers to continue learning and exploring resources that detail pricing strategies, business models, and measuring success in future product endeavors.

- She invites the audience to connect with her for support and share experiences about their product journeys, highlighting the collaborative spirit of the developer community.

00:00:06.000 Hello, everyone! My name is Tash Postolovski, and I’ve had the pleasure of working as a Ruby developer at ThoughtWorks. I briefly worked at Cogen and was also involved with a startup called Arcade. My career in tech has involved roles in product management and developer marketing. A little over a year ago, I built and launched my own product called Good Teams. I aimed to create an alternative to generic job boards, focusing much more on engineering team culture, practices, and values.

00:00:29.480 To be featured on the platform, teams must meet certain criteria and pay a monthly or yearly fee for a premium profile. So far, the product has generated around $8,000 in subscription revenue. While it hasn't yet reached the level to support me full-time, and it likely won't become the next unicorn company, it's been a rewarding journey. I’m here to guide you on how to launch your own product by leveraging your skills as a developer. This could involve creating a Software as a Service (SaaS), a desktop or mobile application, a technical eBook on Leanpub, a course on Udemy, or even a library such as a UI component library or a boilerplate kit.

00:01:11.119 You might wonder, why launch a product when you already work hard? The primary motivation is the challenge and the rewards it brings—not just financially but also the fulfillment of building and launching something independently. It's a creative outlet and can be incredibly meaningful to offer services. Furthermore, in the tech industry, where job security has become less certain, having another income stream, even if modest, can be reassuring. Additionally, it presents a great opportunity to learn new technologies and refine your skills.

00:01:39.880 You can choose any technology stack or architecture you want, and develop skills that you wish to strengthen. For instance, while I had primarily worked on the backend in Ruby, building Good Teams pushed me to become more proficient in design and frontend work. I finally learned JavaScript properly, which is a huge step towards evolving as a full-stack developer.

00:02:03.760 However, I understand that there are common mental barriers when it comes to launching a product. You might think, 'I don’t have an idea,' or 'If I built something, I wouldn’t know how to get customers.' Perhaps you feel overwhelmed at the thought of doing marketing, or simply feel too busy. Fortunately, I want to equip you with the tools to overcome these barriers. And if, after this talk, you're still not interested in launching a product, that's perfectly fine too! The strategies I share will apply to personal projects, work, and open-source contributions as well.

00:02:30.239 So, how do you find a good idea? Let's start with classic advice you might have heard before: fix something in the world that bothers you, no matter how small. Address your problems, make your life easier, or improve a frequent process. Building something you wish existed, or solving meaningful problems for people you care about, can lead to great ideas. This might mean developing a product for someone in your life like a partner or friend facing a specific challenge in their work or hobbies.

00:03:06.000 Sometimes, it’s easier to see potential solutions when looking at others’ problems, rather than our own, because we aren’t as close to them. Another effective approach is to identify a problem within a community you belong to or care about deeply. For instance, I chose to address challenges facing the software development community, which I am passionate about. The community can range from professionals in specific roles to people with particular interests or hobbies. The idea is to serve a community where you can relate and connect, making the development process more satisfying.

00:03:42.480 Additionally, consider solving painful problems your team or others have experienced at work. Focus on issues you’ve encountered directly, rather than those you have merely endured. Look into discussions on forums and boards where many express similar frustrations about a lack of good solutions. A powerful yet often overlooked strategy is to innovate on existing products—take something that’s flawed and create a better version. Don't feel pressured to create something entirely new; competition can validate the need for your product rather than deter you.

00:04:01.760 If you still find yourself without ideas, consider varying your input: explore new hobbies, industries, communities, or technologies. Sometimes, thinking smaller and solving simpler problems can help. Building something, no matter the scale, will reveal new challenges along the way, leading to potential ideas you may not have previously considered. Concentrate on your unique strengths and experiences, regardless of how niche they are. Identifying your standout skills can help you develop a product that aligns with your expertise, increasing your chances of success.

00:04:40.000 Now we enter the more delicate area of customer research. A lot of customer research focuses on confirming our biases—seeking validation for our ideas rather than discovering what customers truly need. A common mistake is to start with leading questions that could steer responses in a desired direction. For instance, asking an engineering manager about their biggest challenges in recruiting may lead them to reference recruiting issues without considering other significant pain points that could be more worthwhile to address. Instead, it’s vital to dive deeper into their top challenges, allowing room for unexpected insights.

00:05:29.079 Good customer research hinges on asking open-ended questions. Inquire about the greatest hurdles they face, or what aspects of their work they find most frustrating. Questions like these keep the conversation unbiased and help uncover genuine challenges. Also, don't forget to verify the motivation behind potential problems. Asking what options they’ve already explored offers critical insights; it can reveal how invested they are in finding a solution. If they have not sought solutions previously, it could indicate their problem isn't a priority, which might ultimately impact their willingness to purchase a solution.

00:06:04.120 While conducting customer research is invaluable, sometimes you might know exactly what product you want to create from the start, and that's perfectly acceptable too! In this case, rather than seeking feedback before building, it might be more beneficial to rapidly prototype your idea, create a minimum viable product (MVP), and test it in the market. This approach helps circumvent the risk of confirmation bias that often plagues initial research efforts, by allowing you to test your solution in a real-world context where customers are more likely to share their candid feedback.

00:06:49.920 When building your MVP, the key is to limit your development time. Try to keep it under 40 hours of initial work. With focused effort over the span of a week or two, you can have a product ready for external feedback. Remember, the objective is not to create a perfect product but to understand customer needs better through iterations. Get your product into the world quickly and ensure that it addresses at least a portion of the problem you aim to solve. This will lead you to the critical first challenges of marketing and sales.

00:07:31.600 The greatest hurdle for many developers launching their products is effectively marketing and converting an idea into a real business. A common issue developers encounter is spending too much time on the product front and not enough on understanding how to sell it. We must change our mindset regarding marketing and see it as an opportunity to provide value rather than a tedious task. In this room, there is often an aversion to traditional marketing tactics—often we associate it with pushiness or discomfort, due to our exposure to negative reinforcement in the form of bad marketing efforts.

00:08:49.840 But it doesn’t have to be that way. When promoting your product, focus on creating free, valuable content for your prospective customers. This strategy can shift your perspective on marketing. For example, PG Analyze, a successful Postgres performance monitoring product, has grown to substantial revenue mainly due to free tutorials and educational content shared by its creator. Similarly, successful products like Sidekick have sustainable business models rooted in providing free value through open-source projects.

00:10:14.360 You can create value through tutorials, webinars, podcasts, newsletters, open-source releases, and informational social media posts. However, my favorite method is building in public—sharing your journey transparently as you try to build a successful product. This method is engaging and educational, allowing others to witness your progress and struggles. Sharing vulnerabilities helps build trust as customers can relate to the challenges you face while pursuing your goals.

00:11:02.160 It’s important to ensure that the content remains relevant to your target audience. If your product customers are developers, discuss the technical challenges you face. Conversely, if they are non-technical, consider sharing insights about the industry that they would find interesting. Make sure your content resonates with prospective customers rather than sticking solely to discussions with fellow founders. Embracing video content could also be advantageous as it’s often favored by social media platforms, providing an opportunity to leverage the technology you have at hand.

00:12:40.679 Let’s shift gears and talk about acquiring your first customers. Early customer recruitment typically occurs one-on-one rather than through broad marketing techniques. Initially, your product lacks credibility; however, your personal credibility within your network can bridge that gap. In the early stages, customers might not buy your product but instead purchase your reliability in solving their issues. Conducting one-on-one conversations with as many potential customers as possible can yield invaluable feedback.

00:14:21.360 Utilize tools like email to foster these connections, as these conversations can lead to stronger awareness of your product and possibly future customers. A simple email that looks personable can yield surprisingly positive responses, and it can set the stage for feedback sessions or sales calls. Make sure to focus on the listeners during your initial calls, taking note of their concerns and opinions before diving into a sales pitch.

00:15:05.320 When transitioning from feedback to sales discussions, it’s vital to offer a paid structure off the bat rather than a free product. Free offerings tend to receive less serious consideration from potential clients. Sharing personal experiences, I’ve noticed that as soon as customers realize a product has a price tag, their engagement shifts significantly. It reflects their perception of value—the act of putting a price on something instills a sense of significance and urgency in addressing their challenges.

00:16:32.440 However, this doesn't mean disregarding the value of early adopters. Providing attractive deals or incentives to your first customers is worthwhile. These customers play a pivotal role in your growth, and their feedback is crucial. Ultimately, everyone in this room, whether you're technical or not, has the potential to build a successful product that provides satisfaction. Remember to simplify your launch process—cut scope, prioritize launching, and get your product in front of users as quickly as you can.

00:17:37.760 The process of marketing will be your greatest barrier, far more than the technical aspects. As software developers, we often carry negative perceptions about marketing due to poor execution and ethics in our experiences. Still, ethical marketing—creating real value for customers—is achievable. You absolutely can have a successful product by focusing on delivering value through marketing while building a community around your product growth.

00:19:10.480 I've only scratched the surface in sharing what you need to know about launching a product. Pricing strategies, business models, measuring success; these are topics worth exploring further for anyone interested in crafting a product. After this talk, I encourage you to discover resources like the 'Startups for the Rest of Us' podcast, the MicroConf YouTube channel, and Indie Hackers for insights from software developers who have successfully created a variety of products.

00:20:20.000 Finally, please connect with me on LinkedIn. My product is Good Teams, and you're more than welcome to reach out if you're launching your own product—I’d love to hear about it, help however I can, and share your success along the way! Thank you so much for your time, and good luck in your product journeys!

RubyConf AU 2024