A Smart Bear
You can have two Big Things, but not three
No you can't "have it all." You can have two things, but not three.
2 weeks ago
No you can't "have it all." You can have two things, but not three.
A Smart Bear
Excuse me, is there a problem?
Many startups fail despite identifying a real problem and building a product that solves that...
a month ago
Many startups fail despite identifying a real problem and building a product that solves that problem. This explains why, so you can avoid their fate.
A Smart Bear
How repositioning a product allows you to 8x its price
You can charge much more than you think, if you reposition your value-proposition. Here's how.
a month ago
You can charge much more than you think, if you reposition your value-proposition. Here's how.
A Smart Bear
What a startup does to you. Or: A celebration of new life
A startup is a crucible -- a fiery place that tests your limits, not by probing them but by...
3 weeks ago
A startup is a crucible -- a fiery place that tests your limits, not by probing them but by violently exceeding them, all of the time. It's worth it.
A Smart Bear
When you want to quit because it's just not worth it
Are you crying in the shower because you can't handle it anymore? Beyond Impostor Syndrome: Complete...
a month ago
Are you crying in the shower because you can't handle it anymore? Beyond Impostor Syndrome: Complete melt-down? Well, at least you're in good company.
A Smart Bear
In its emptiness, there is the function of a startup
Everything about a startup changes over time. The few things that don't, are its essence. The voyage...
6 days ago
Everything about a startup changes over time. The few things that don't, are its essence. The voyage is meaningless, unless you decide what those things are.
A Smart Bear
When customers are "willing" to pay
This fresh take on "Willingness-to-Pay" analyzes three types of customer motivation, leading to...
a week ago
This fresh take on "Willingness-to-Pay" analyzes three types of customer motivation, leading to superior strategies for growth that also better the world.
A Smart Bear
Navigating the unpredictability of everything
We dramatically, repeatedly fail predict the future. Does that mean "strategy" is senseless? No, it...
2 months ago
We dramatically, repeatedly fail predict the future. Does that mean "strategy" is senseless? No, it means you need these techniques to navigate a volatile world.
A Smart Bear
When should a decision be fast, or slow?
Decisions should usually be made quickly, to accelerate action and learning. But sometimes it really...
a month ago
Decisions should usually be made quickly, to accelerate action and learning. But sometimes it really is smarter to take your time. Here's how to decide.
A Smart Bear
Distributed Logical Time
Properly ordering events in time is notoriously difficult in distributed systems. This algorithm is...
over a year ago
Properly ordering events in time is notoriously difficult in distributed systems. This algorithm is a simple, decentralized, scalable, constant-memory mechanism for independent replicas to record events in time, such that “happened-before” is preserved in almost all cases.
A Smart Bear
Productive meeting activities: Leverage the team, empower the individual
Meetings are most productive when we create something that none of us could have created alone. How...
a year ago
Meetings are most productive when we create something that none of us could have created alone. How can we leverage the wisdom of the crowd, while ensuring that decisions and responsibilities continue to reside with an individual?
A Smart Bear
Fermi ROI: Fixing the ROI rubric
“Maximum value in minimum time.” Sounds good in theory, but traditional rubrics surreptitiously fail...
11 months ago
“Maximum value in minimum time.” Sounds good in theory, but traditional rubrics surreptitiously fail to produce the best answers, and fail to create explanations that help others understand why they’re the best answers. This system works.
A Smart Bear
Moats: Durable competitive advantage
Industries commoditize over time, delivering similar products at similar prices resulting in low...
a year ago
Industries commoditize over time, delivering similar products at similar prices resulting in low profit. Like entropy, this is the inevitable fate of a company, unless it exerts intentional force to the contrary. Moats are this force, and your strategy must identify how to create...
A Smart Bear
The Impossible Product Manager, a.k.a. the "Great" Product Manager
According to the Internet, being a Product Manager is impossible. Can you ever measure up? No, but...
a year ago
According to the Internet, being a Product Manager is impossible. Can you ever measure up? No, but don’t worry, there’s a better answer.
A Smart Bear
Finding Fulfillment
What creates a fulfilling existence? Exploring the question from different directions leads to a...
5 months ago
What creates a fulfilling existence? Exploring the question from different directions leads to a framework I’ve used for years for myself and the people around me. I hope it helps you too.
A Smart Bear
When being “first” is not a competitive advantage
Is it good to be “first?” It seems so – what’s the point of building a product that does nothing...
over a year ago
Is it good to be “first?” It seems so – what’s the point of building a product that does nothing new? On the surface being “first” sounds impressive, implying innovation and leadership. But reality is different.
A Smart Bear
Jason Cohen: About the author
Thanks for visiting. As a four-time entrepreneur, both bootstrapped and fundraised, resulting in two...
3 months ago
Thanks for visiting. As a four-time entrepreneur, both bootstrapped and fundraised, resulting in two exits and two unicorns, I’ve been writing about startups for 16 years. I hope you’ll find it useful!
As founder # Currently I’m the Chief Innovation Officer of WP Engine, which I...
A Smart Bear
Finding Fulfillment
What creates a fulfilling existence? Exploring the question from different directions leads to a...
5 months ago
What creates a fulfilling existence? Exploring the question from different directions leads to a framework I’ve used for years for myself and the people around me. I hope it helps you too.
A Smart Bear
The Elephant in the room: The myth of exponential hypergrowth
Fast-growing startups are frequently described as “exponential,” especially when the product is...
a year ago
Fast-growing startups are frequently described as “exponential,” especially when the product is “viral.” This turns out to be incorrect, even for Facebook and Slack. If your model is incorrect, you don’t understand growth, which means you can’t control it, nor predict it. Here is...
A Smart Bear
The practical application of "Rocks, Pebbles, Sand"
You’ve probably seen this analogy before, but many real-world complications get in the way of...
10 months ago
You’ve probably seen this analogy before, but many real-world complications get in the way of actually doing it. It’s not just about how big tasks are, but about using different frameworks to prioritize each, and following certain guidelines about how to construct sprints.
A Smart Bear
Fermi ROI: Fixing the ROI rubric
“Maximum value in minimum time.” Sounds good in theory, but traditional rubrics surreptitiously fail...
11 months ago
“Maximum value in minimum time.” Sounds good in theory, but traditional rubrics surreptitiously fail to produce the best answers, and fail to create explanations that help others understand why they’re the best answers. This system works.
A Smart Bear
The "Talk vs Walk" framework
This exercise we invented at WP Engine is surprisingly useful in engaging both Marketing and...
12 months ago
This exercise we invented at WP Engine is surprisingly useful in engaging both Marketing and Product, generating actions for both sides that make products more desirable and competitive.
A Smart Bear
Productive meeting activities: Leverage the team, empower the individual
Meetings are most productive when we create something that none of us could have created alone. How...
a year ago
Meetings are most productive when we create something that none of us could have created alone. How can we leverage the wisdom of the crowd, while ensuring that decisions and responsibilities continue to reside with an individual?
A Smart Bear
The Iterative-Hypothesis customer development method
A simple but effective system for generating insights about how your potential customers think, what...
8 months ago
A simple but effective system for generating insights about how your potential customers think, what they need, and what they’ll buy. This method has been used both to reject startup ideas and to validate WP Engine before it had any customers (it is now a Unicorn).
A Smart Bear
JIT selection from independent streams: An alternative to the “big backlog” of work
We’re often told that a “single-threaded, ordered list” is the correct way to prioritize the work of...
9 months ago
We’re often told that a “single-threaded, ordered list” is the correct way to prioritize the work of the future, however this confuses “prioritization” with “work-planning,” and forces the comparison of un-comparable things. Here’s how to solve those problems.
A Smart Bear
Building in public forces true competitive advantage
“Building in public” is increasingly popular. It’s fun to have strangers cheering you on, and it...
over a year ago
“Building in public” is increasingly popular. It’s fun to have strangers cheering you on, and it creates a self-imposed accountability. But doesn’t it ruin competitive advantage when your competitors can steal your source code and know the salaries of your employees and whether...
A Smart Bear
JIT selection from independent streams: An alternative to the “big backlog” of work
We’re often told that a “single-threaded, ordered list” is the correct way to prioritize the work of...
9 months ago
We’re often told that a “single-threaded, ordered list” is the correct way to prioritize the work of the future, however this confuses “prioritization” with “work-planning,” and forces the comparison of un-comparable things. Here’s how to solve those problems.
A Smart Bear
The "Talk vs Walk" framework
This exercise we invented at WP Engine is surprisingly useful in engaging both Marketing and...
12 months ago
This exercise we invented at WP Engine is surprisingly useful in engaging both Marketing and Product, generating actions for both sides that make products more desirable and competitive.
A Smart Bear
Extreme questions to trigger new, better ideas
It is difficult to brainstorm fresh, transformative ideas. Telling everyone that “no idea is a bad...
a year ago
It is difficult to brainstorm fresh, transformative ideas. Telling everyone that “no idea is a bad idea” isn’t enough of a prompt. These questions will stretch you beyond your daily experience; if you’re lucky, they could even lead to a unique business model and a long-term...
A Smart Bear
Who's lying?
Pilots use multiple dials, employing different sources of energy, to report identical data, because...
a year ago
Pilots use multiple dials, employing different sources of energy, to report identical data, because they understand that in a dashboard full of information, something is always lying to you. The lesson is useful for data and metrics at our companies.
A Smart Bear
Distributed Logical Time
Properly ordering events in time is notoriously difficult in distributed systems. This algorithm is...
over a year ago
Properly ordering events in time is notoriously difficult in distributed systems. This algorithm is a simple, decentralized, scalable, constant-memory mechanism for independent replicas to record events in time, such that “happened-before” is preserved in almost all cases.
A Smart Bear
Building in public forces true competitive advantage
“Building in public” is increasingly popular. It’s fun to have strangers cheering you on, and it...
over a year ago
“Building in public” is increasingly popular. It’s fun to have strangers cheering you on, and it creates a self-imposed accountability. But doesn’t it ruin competitive advantage when your competitors can steal your source code and know the salaries of your employees and whether...
A Smart Bear
Binstack: Making a maximal multi-dimensional decision
Rubrics are often used to select the best option in a multi-dimensional decision space. However,...
11 months ago
Rubrics are often used to select the best option in a multi-dimensional decision space. However, they often do not clearly identify a winner, nor do they result in an explanation of the decision that is easily communicated to others, especially those whose favorite option was...
A Smart Bear
Failure to face the truth
This concept recurs in different forms throughout myriad books, frameworks, and topics, across...
a year ago
This concept recurs in different forms throughout myriad books, frameworks, and topics, across decades of time. When something is so consistent, it must be wisdom.
A Smart Bear
The Iterative-Hypothesis customer development method
A simple but effective system for generating insights about how your potential customers think, what...
8 months ago
A simple but effective system for generating insights about how your potential customers think, what they need, and what they’ll buy. This method has been used both to reject startup ideas and to validate WP Engine before it had any customers (it is now a Unicorn).
A Smart Bear
The Impossible Product Manager, a.k.a. the "Great" Product Manager
According to the Internet, being a Product Manager is impossible. Can you ever measure up? No, but...
a year ago
According to the Internet, being a Product Manager is impossible. Can you ever measure up? No, but don’t worry, there’s a better answer.
A Smart Bear
The Elephant in the room: The myth of exponential hypergrowth
Fast-growing startups are frequently described as “exponential,” especially when the product is...
a year ago
Fast-growing startups are frequently described as “exponential,” especially when the product is “viral.” Turns out, this is incorrect, even for Facebook and Slack. If you have an incorrect model, you don’t understand growth, which means you can’t control it, nor predict it. Here...
A Smart Bear
Distributed Logical Time
Properly ordering events in time is notoriously difficult in distributed systems. This algorithm is...
over a year ago
Properly ordering events in time is notoriously difficult in distributed systems. This algorithm is a simple, decentralized, scalable, constant-memory mechanism for independent replicas to record events in time, such that “happened-before” is preserved in almost all cases.
A Smart Bear
Pricing determines your business model
Pricing is inextricably linked to brand, product, and purchasing decisions. It cannot be "figured...
over a year ago
Pricing is inextricably linked to brand, product, and purchasing decisions. It cannot be "figured out later," because determines your business model today.
A Smart Bear
The practical application of "Rocks, Pebbles, Sand"
You’ve probably seen this analogy before, but many real-world complications get in the way of...
10 months ago
You’ve probably seen this analogy before, but many real-world complications get in the way of actually doing it. It’s not just about how big tasks are, but about using different frameworks to prioritize each, and following certain guidelines about how to construct sprints.
A Smart Bear
When being “first” is not a competitive advantage
Is it good to be “first?” It seems so – what’s the point of building a new startup that does nothing...
over a year ago
Is it good to be “first?” It seems so – what’s the point of building a new startup that does nothing new? On the surface being “first” sounds impressive, implying innovation and leadership. But reality is different.
A Smart Bear
Moats: Durable competitive advantage
Industries commoditize over time, delivering similar products at similar prices resulting in low...
a year ago
Industries commoditize over time, delivering similar products at similar prices resulting in low profit. Like entropy, this is the inevitable fate of a company, unless it exerts intentional force to the contrary. Moats are this force, and your strategy must identify how to create...
A Smart Bear
Failure to face the truth
This concept recurs in different forms throughout myriad books, frameworks, and topics, across...
a year ago
This concept recurs in different forms throughout myriad books, frameworks, and topics, across decades of time. When something is so consistent, it must be wisdom.
A Smart Bear
Extreme questions to trigger new, better ideas
It is difficult to brainstorm fresh, transformative ideas. Telling everyone that “no idea is a bad...
a year ago
It is difficult to brainstorm fresh, transformative ideas. Telling everyone that “no idea is a bad idea” isn’t enough of a prompt. These questions will stretch you beyond your daily experience; if you’re lucky, they could even lead to a unique business model and a long-term...
A Smart Bear
Binstack: Making a maximal multi-dimensional decision
Binstack is the best way to select a “single most impactful” solution when there are multiple...
11 months ago
Binstack is the best way to select a “single most impactful” solution when there are multiple dimensions to evaluate, even when those dimensions cannot be compared to each other. People often reach for the “rubric” for such puzzles, but rubrics often do not clearly identify a...
A Smart Bear
Who's lying?
Pilots use multiple dials, employing different sources of energy, to report identical data, because...
a year ago
Pilots use multiple dials, employing different sources of energy, to report identical data, because they understand that in a dashboard full of information, something is always lying to you. The lesson is useful for data and metrics at our companies.
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