"If you have a great product, it doesn't matter when you show it off..."
I can refute your comment with one word: Apple.
Do you think their "leveraged media events" aren't effective? I used the believe (as you do) in the "Product Uber Alles" philosophy- no longer. Product is indeed the most important thing with the highest leverage. But it's not the only thing, and ignoring skillsets and tactics that can give you an advantage is silly.
Think of non-product bits as multipliers. If I have great PR, bizdev, marketing, pricing, etc., I can often beat a better product in the market.
There are zillions of markets where crappy/mediocre products are at or near the top of the heap.
My comment refers to startups. When you're building a company from the ground-up having a great product will sell itself. You don't get bizdev deals, advertising deals, or users talking about your product if it sucks. I work for a startup that hardly gets any press and you know what, it's cool, because we still manage to grow by 20% a month because our product is great.
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"If you have a great product, it doesn't matter when you show it off..."
I can refute your comment with one word: Apple.
Do you think their "leveraged media events" aren't effective? I used the believe (as you do) in the "Product Uber Alles" philosophy- no longer. Product is indeed the most important thing with the highest leverage. But it's not the only thing, and ignoring skillsets and tactics that can give you an advantage is silly.
Think of non-product bits as multipliers. If I have great PR, bizdev, marketing, pricing, etc., I can often beat a better product in the market.
There are zillions of markets where crappy/mediocre products are at or near the top of the heap.
My comment refers to startups. When you're building a company from the ground-up having a great product will sell itself. You don't get bizdev deals, advertising deals, or users talking about your product if it sucks. I work for a startup that hardly gets any press and you know what, it's cool, because we still manage to grow by 20% a month because our product is great.
My suggestion would be: get the PR for that startup sorted out (it doesn't have to be hard!), and turn the 20% monthly growth into 40% monthly growth.