I’m finding it very challenging to clearly distinguish between users and customers as I refine my Startup Idea Canvas (https://www.notion.com/templates/startup-idea-canvas). For most large companies, this differentiation is rarely a significant concern. However, for most early-stage startups—especially software startups with SaaS or Open Core models—these groups often overlap but usually have distinct roles.
In Paul Graham's essay "Startups in 13 Sentences"(https://paulgraham.com/13sentences.html), the terms "user" (22 times) and "customer" (6 times) reflect his focus on prioritizing users in a startup's early stages. This suggests that solving real problems for users lays the foundation for success, while monetization (paying customers) typically follows after achieving "making something users want."
Some challenges I’m grappling with:
When is differentiation necessary? Should every canvas explicitly separate these groups, or are there cases where treating them as the same makes sense?
How can this be represented leanly without overcomplicating the canvas?
Is it a better practice to approach product-market fit in two steps: first making something users want, and then making something customers want to pay for?
I’d be grateful for any insights, advice, suggestions, guidance, or examples you can offer.
Unleash Your Startup's Growth Potential with the Startup Idea Canvas – an innovative and intuitive Notion tool crafted to empower founders on their journey from achieving Problem-Solution Fit to mastering Product-Market Fit.
Simplicity wins hearts. LOVABLE software is never overcomplicated. How can we leverage UX design to make Open Source Software more LOVABLE?
The idea for the OpenDxD project, ‘The GitHub of Open Source UX Design’, was inspired by an insightful interview with Máirín Duffy, conducted by Pablo Ruiz-Múzquiz (https://community.penpot.app/t/design-and-code-in-the-first-...). We plan to carry out the UX research for the OpenDxD project in public and would love to hear your thoughts, feedback, and suggestions. We are enthusiastic about making Open Source Software more LOVABLE. Let's co-create OpenDxD together!
Teamnova will continue to be free and open source under the MIT license indefinitely. However, we anticipate that some fast-growing startups, such as Databricks (Apache Spark) and Confluent (Apache Kafka), and their respective open-source communities, will derive benefits from Teamnova open-source project in the future.
Please share your thoughts on Teamnova. We are enthusiastic about making project-based mentorship in open source more accessible and inclusive!
While the industry of recruiting passive candidates was created and pioneered by LinkedIn, ADPList still holds the potential to excel in “connecting talent to opportunity at a massive scale” and to unleash the power of “weaker ties”.
Just as Instagram relative to Facebook was used more for inspirational postings, lifelong learners with growth mindsets might increasingly prefer ADPList in the future.
The weak tie theory suggests intentionally cultivating weak ties can lead to greater opportunities. ADPList can choose to focus more on talents' potential and emerging opportunities.
Deliberately creating a growth-mindset culture within ADPList communities will be pivotal for future success.
The reason for this could be that markets in which network effects play a major role are commonly known as winner-takes-all markets.
I hope that the stories of Stripe and PayPal can provide you with valuable insights. You might even consider seeking the support of the founders of LinkedIn.
Inside Stripe, The PayPal Competitor Backed By PayPal Founders Peter Thiel, Elon Musk
Patrick and John Collison, brothers in their early 20s from Limerick, Ireland, have a decidedly bold mission: to become the next PayPal.
In Paul Graham's essay "Startups in 13 Sentences"(https://paulgraham.com/13sentences.html), the terms "user" (22 times) and "customer" (6 times) reflect his focus on prioritizing users in a startup's early stages. This suggests that solving real problems for users lays the foundation for success, while monetization (paying customers) typically follows after achieving "making something users want."
Some challenges I’m grappling with:
When is differentiation necessary? Should every canvas explicitly separate these groups, or are there cases where treating them as the same makes sense? How can this be represented leanly without overcomplicating the canvas? Is it a better practice to approach product-market fit in two steps: first making something users want, and then making something customers want to pay for? I’d be grateful for any insights, advice, suggestions, guidance, or examples you can offer.
Thanks in advance!