a day ago
- The author initially believed in 'golden tickets'—rare opportunities like hiring the right person, building a large audience, getting lucky with viral launches, or having the perfect product idea—that would guarantee success.
- Hiring a marketing co-founder was seen as a missing piece, but the author realized it's unrealistic to expect someone else to solve direction problems that the product builder cannot articulate.
- Building a large audience on social media often fails to convert followers into buyers, as they are there to observe, not to purchase.
- Lucky events like top Product Hunt launches or Hacker News posts generate temporary traffic but mostly attract observers looking for tips, not customers.
- The 'product golden ticket' myth—that frequent idea generation and early failure lead to success—ignores the importance of execution, packaging, and persistence.
- Many product failures are actually founder failures due to inexperience and lack of determination, not flawed ideas; founders grow over years, and ideas need that growth.
- Chasing golden tickets increases failure rate by encouraging cycles of starting and abandoning projects, eroding trust and making success less likely.
- Instead of seeking shortcuts, founders should focus on sound business principles and survive long enough to see results.