{2} Ideas, AI & Goals

Knowledge from Sergio Mattei, Kyle Gawley, and Hazel Lim

Chat #1: Sergio Mattei

Sergio is an ambitious founder from Puerto Rico who sold his first app (Makerlog) at 21.

Dane Lyons:
As you assess ideas for a new potential startup, what factors matter to you?

Sergio Mattei:
Founder market fit.

Will I be able to enjoy the work I’m doing? Will I get tired of this soon? Do I understand the pain I’m solving? Do I face the problem I’m solving? Will I be able to personally embed myself into the market I’ll be selling to?

Dane Lyons:
Nice list. I've certainly made the mistake of pursuing problems that I don't personally care about. It's a constant drain.

Do you think there is value in pursuing problems you don't completely understand on day 1? It's riskier but sometimes necessary to learn as you build.

Sergio Mattei:
It’s not about the roadblocks, those are expected. It’s more about understanding the problem the product solves at a fundamental level.

Have I faced this problem? Does it matter enough to me personally to be able to market it effectively? Do I know the market?

Dane Lyons:
I think there is a big difference between having a knowledge gap and an interest gap. For me, it's ok to have a knowledge gap but not an interest gap.

Sergio Mattei:
100% about the interest gap comment. If I only superficially understand or care about the problem; I just can’t do it.

Dane Lyons:
I agree with that. You need a baseline understanding of the problem to get started in a meaningful way. But there will always be knowledge gaps. You learn so much by building a v1 of a product.

Sergio Mattei:
Yeah. That’s the fun part: finding and solving problems on the way to a v1!

For me 99% of ideas are selected out of this stage. I genuinely have a gigantic folder full of almost finished products that I just don’t care enough to launch. Founder market fit isn’t there — or not there *yet*.

Dane Lyons:
I've often thought about doing a better job of documenting opportunities that I choose not to explore. Maybe I could pass that information off to someone with a founder market fit.

Sergio Mattei:
Lately I’ve started doing just that in FigJam. I have a gigantic board full of stickies with ideas and diagrams.

Dane Lyons:
Start a Substack. I'd subscribe!

Sergio Mattei:
Oh man, I’ve been thinking about turning matteing.com into a newsletter too! But not there yet 🙈

Conclusion:
Whenever we encounter problems in our daily lives, it’s natural to think, “Hmm. Solving this could be a business”. But which opportunities should you pursue?

Sergio’s take on ‘Founder Market Fit’ is a far more rational approach than considering the market size. It doesn’t matter how big the market is if you aren’t willing to obsess over the details and develop the right solution.

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Chat #2: Kyle Gawley

Solopreneur building indie startups and a life of freedom. 🏝

Kyle Gawley:
I've never used GPT or CoPilot for coding because I don't like to copy and paste code.

Solving problems myself and understanding the code I'm writing is what helps me to improve my programming skills.

Dane Lyons:
I agree. It is a freeing sensation to ride without training wheels.

Would you consider using AI to help refine your solution? For example, your code is periodically analyzed, and you get a list of recommendations with accept or reject buttons.

Kyle Gawley:
I can see a tool like that having value, but for me, the issue is if I write the code myself - I understand it fully and can answer questions about it when a customer asks. If I push a button to refine it, then I don’t.

Dane Lyons:
That's fair if the refinement process is a black box. I'd like to see something more collaborative and educational. The automated suggestion could walk you through the logic. This way, you maintain an understanding of how the system works.

But your concern is valid. There is no replacement for writing the code yourself.

Conclusion:
The tools that make life easier often require a sacrifice of knowledge or skill. GPS is a good example. If we rely on turn-by-turn directions to get from A to B, we lose spatial awareness and the ability to navigate independently.

Kyle rightfully values his ability to write code and understand his code base. So he is willing to forego a more efficient workflow to continually hone his skills.

I think it’s possible to gain value from automation without sacrificing too much. But it’s a slippery slope.

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Chat #3: Hazel Lim

Launching a mini venture studio in public. 💰 Recovering investment banker.

Hazel Lim:
How do entrepreneurs set goals when the future is uncertain? Do you just go, I am going to make $ in x years?

Dane Lyons:
Goal setting is tough for an entrepreneur. I focus on input goals, not output goals. If I do something x times that I believe will influence $, then I'll accept the results and recalibrate if needed.

How do you approach goal setting?

Hazel Lim:
Pretty similar. But I was recently challenged to set output goals which threw me off because I can't quite control the results.

I get that salespeople set targets too (and they don't control the outcome either)

Dane Lyons:
Maybe it's good to set both input and output goals. If you achieve your input goals but fall short on output goals, it might be worth rethinking how you invest your time.

Hazel Lim:
Absolutely this! Where I am stuck now.

Dane Lyons:
But you also have to factor in tipping points. Initially, the ratio of your input effort vs output results will be very skewed and might seem like a waste of time. But if you stick with it and hit a tipping point, the ratio suddenly flips and it all seems worthwhile.

Hazel Lim:
True this. Hunting for the tipping point!

Conclusion:
Goal setting is an art. One of Evy’s favorite books is The Score Takes Care of Itself by Bill Walsh. In football, you don’t practice winning. You practice the things that lead to winning, such as running, blocking, and tackling. These are the inputs that Hazel and I discussed.

The challenge of being too input-focused is the possibility that your personal biases lead you to set goals that don’t correlate with a desired outcome. In the football example, maybe you believe that “defense wins championships” so you focus your efforts on defensive inputs such as practice tackling. But the over-emphasis on defense could lead to an inability to score points, resulting in a losing season.

The assumptions you make should be continuously challenged. If you think the most important thing for your company is to send every user a happy birthday card because you think that will correlate to loyalty, reduce churn, and grow revenue…then test that assumption. If birthday cards don’t impact churn, try something else.

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Thanks for reading! Maintaining 3 meaningful conversations per day this year will be a real challenge. I hope I’m able to keep it up. Some days I might have to publish fewer than 3 chats or maybe I don’t need to be a part of every chat. I’m happy to co-publish newsletters if anyone is interested in contributing. 🤝

- Dane Lyons