Building Product, Talking to Users, and Growing with Adora Cheung (How to Start a Startup 2014: 4)

Adora Cheung suggests immersing yourself by 'becoming a cog' in the industry, such as doing the service yourself (e.g., cleaning houses if starting a cleaning service). She also recommends obsessive research, involving reading every article, analyzing competitor financials, and attending earnings calls to find golden nuggets.

An MVP is the smallest feature set needed to solve the core problem your product addresses. The 'viable' aspect is crucial because many founders skip it, launching only a single feature without considering the overall user experience, which leads to a flat or negative initial reception.

Start with your immediate network (co-founders, friends, family). Beyond that, explore online communities like Hacker News ('Show HN'), local mailing lists, or even unconventional tactics like offering free water bottles at a street fair (as Homejoy did) to intercept potential customers.

While surveys and reviews are useful, directly engaging with users through conversations (over coffee or drinks) yields better insights. The goal is to make users comfortable enough to be honest, especially for paid products where customers are more likely to provide critical feedback if they feel they haven't received value.

The three main types are sticky growth (retaining existing users by delivering a great experience), viral growth (users referring new customers due to a superior product and good referral mechanics), and paid growth (acquiring users through advertising and marketing campaigns, ensuring Customer Lifetime Value exceeds Customer Acquisition Cost).

A startup should consider pivoting if it realizes it cannot grow, if users aren't sticking around despite efforts, or if the business economics simply don't make sense. A consistent lack of growth (e.g., three to four weeks of no growth or backward growth) is a strong indicator that a fundamental issue needs addressing, potentially through a pivot.

Switching costs can be high. Startups should focus on moments where their product is significantly better or clearly differentiated. Highlighting one or two key advantages, like next-day availability for a cleaning service or convenient online payment, is more effective than listing numerous minor improvements.