There is no point in keeping your idea secret. A product / service is a combination of idea and execution.Building is easiest part, selling hardest. You have to know/learn how to sell. If you don't your co-founder should. If both of you don't, you will just build, and never sell.Get early paying customers who complain a lot. They will make the product better. Strive for customers who use your product and not just buy it.It is the Need that drives product sales. Impulse (discounts, offers etc) can give short term benefit. Impulsive buyers are less likely to use the product.Having a sounding board helps. It can be a co-founder, mentor, friend or anyone. Do not work in isolation but make your own decision.Colleagues will work with you only when the reason to work is not money. You cannot match the money a funded startup or an established MNC pays.Strive to increase revenue by 2x/3x ayear on year basis with expenses under control. Virality in the product has to be a part of design. The early you accomplish it, the early you get referrals reducing the spend on marketing. Develop a system to communicate with customers. Find good reasons to communicate with past/present customers and future prospects. Always remember, your customers should know anything about your product, good or bad, first from you.All companies, big or small, have issues. It is just that the scale changes. Master the technique of handling issues and coming out of them.
I hope to write an article explaining each in detail in coming days.
Though I have written this list with startup in mind, many points are applicable to a product owner in an established organization as well. It is just that the roles played by an individual in a startup are multiple. In an established organization, there are multiple people available to share responsibilities.
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