The biggest challenge in entrepreneurship is that founders of startups with no customers need a way to know if they're about to "make something people want". In this episode, Mike details three experiences that enable him to solve this challenge: (1) measurement systems -- Mike worked for years quantifying consumer products, (2) crossing boundaries -- Mike uses concepts outside conventional entrepreneurship to create Nascent's quantification frameworks and (3) table stakes -- Mike has decades of experience with startups and teaching.

In this episode:

(00:00) "Make something people want" is like saying airplanes just need to "get in the air"

(01:10) For the rest of us, instinct is not enough

(01:39) What Nascent is and why Mike created it

(02:21) Welcome to the Nascent podcast

(02:55) Nascent lets startups with no customers Estimate Revenue Next Year

(03:34) Three reasons Mike is the right person to build Nascent

(05:23) Twenty years in startups; ten in Silicon Valley

(05:54) Create, collaborate, communicate — Mike's three working modes

(07:21) Mike's superpower: explaining things

(08:11) From engineer to regulator — measuring messy, unstructured products

(10:51) From "Your idea sucks." to "Why does my idea suck?!"

(13:23) Discovery interviews need an analysis framework

(14:29) The danger of "you'll know a good startup idea when you see it"

(16:22) Crossing boundaries — the beach, languages

(17:26) From perceiving invisible electrons to invisible People in Pain

(19:41) The Alexa employee anecdote — circuitous career paths and unexpected payoffs

(21:12) CTA: send this episode to a founder who needs it

(22:04) Mailbag: Claudia's outreach

(22:33) Outro

Links and sources:

- Nascent Ep020: The biggest problem in startups remains unsolved. https://www.nascentstartups.com/p/020-the-biggest-problem-in-startups

- Nascent Ep021: No, getting customers is the wrong goal. Instead search for People in Pain. https://www.nascentstartups.com/p/021-no-getting-customers-is-the-wrong

- Nascent Ep022: Yes, search for People in Pain. But they're invisible. https://www.nascentstartups.com/p/022-yes-search-for-people-in-pain

- Y Combinator — the "make something people want" motto https://www.ycombinator.com/

- Paul Graham's "internal compass" quote https://paulgraham.com/before.html

- Steve Blank https://steveblank.com/

- Jerry Engel https://haas.berkeley.edu/faculty/engel-jerome/

- Innovation Corps (I-Corps) at the National Science Foundation (NSF) https://www.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/i-corps

- The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick https://www.momtestbook.com/

- Helen Rennie — cooking instructor https://www.youtube.com/user/helenrennie

- Richard Feynman — "you are the easiest person to fool" https://calteches.library.caltech.edu/51/2/CargoCult.htm

Nascent frameworks referenced:

- ERNY™ — Estimated Revenue Next Year from the ground up with no customers today, calculated by analyzing recorded discovery interviews.

- People in Pain™ — The first signal a startup might have a customer. Every customer starts as a Person in Pain.

Let's connect:

- Newsletter: https://nascentstartups.com

- Work with Mike: https://nascentidea.com

- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mikevladimer

- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Nascentidea

- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5BtFtYF6nVUkLu7d7VVnSY

- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nascent-podcast/id1728760830

- Twitter: https://x.com/NascentIdea

- Visuals and frameworks (Miro): https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVGhU2Xoo=/

- Reach Mike at [email protected]