Found+READ: Comments by Brian Hoecht

Brian Hoecht — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 09:40:57 GMT

For the past decade I have been at the forefront of my industry in terms of effective software design. My companies and I have created many inventions along the way and I frequently hear “you really are where the market is going.”

There are several means of competing in any given market. Arming yourself with patents and lawyers is one way, but to me it feels too much like a restriction on fair trade and insecurity in yourself to continue to improve. Maybe it is different outside of software where there are end-state inventions, but software is an intellectual construct and to me, is never really “done.”

Continually pushing the envelope to “innovate or die” is another way to compete and my preferred method. Going this way has the added benefit that your competitors don’t get an otherwise hard to get, free behind-the-scenes peak at your strategy and designs.

Can I ward off others who claim I’ve infringed. Most definitely.

A) I don’t do patent research so the inventions are mine (I think it would be an interesting case to argue that someone had invented the same thing as someone else, yet only the one with a patent had the right to use it).
B) While ignorance of the law only protects from “willingly” infringed, I have the added defense of having studied (and documented in my business plans) the competitive behaviors and methods in the industry before beginning.
C) It hasn’t happened yet, but if/when someone does come claiming infringement, I’ll have the added benefit of revenues from the invention to defend the claim.

Brian Hoecht — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 20:28:37 GMT

I agree with Patricia. Go with your gut. In software use rapid development, test, revise cycles.

Avoid scope creep. Do lots of mini-upgrades. It is better customer service & gives you a relevant message to engage your users in a conversation around.

Keep your product roadmap fluid. Don’t let your developers take things to the 95% stage then move on. I always picture Steve Jobs insisting on perfect aesthetic design (my gut says the iPhone still needs work).

There are lots of mistakes you can make in business. What is your value innovation? Aim for ones where you have no competitors and are able to effectively capture its value. What is your sales + marketing plan?

Only then do things like managing development come in to play. As for VC, either they believe or they don’t. If you overwhelm them with product info, assume they’ll say no.

Brian Hoecht — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 12:23:32 GMT

By really great, software does not need to be in its mature, ideal end state before launching… It does need to be suitable to its purpose, but it only needs to be better than the users’ current alternatives.

Hopefully, the #1 alternative users have is either not doing what your software enables or doing it manually (the old fashioned way).

And Tony is correct, the early adopters like to spread the story of the people behind the story more than spew forth a list of product features. Who doesn’t know the story of Jobs and Wozniack building Mac’s in their parents garage or Gates dropping out of Harvard to build Microsoft.