Don't die the slow death of irrelevance, build a great product instead! These are the ten things I've learned to look for in a great product, and I've put together the master toolkit with tangible advice by Des Traynor of Intercom and Mikael Cho of Crew amongst others to help you achieve them. Heavily inspired by the grind behind Miles Ahead, directorial debut of Don Cheadle, a great movie and a great product. The Checklist: http://wp.me/po8eb-1iD The Toolkit: http://wp.me/po8eb-2im

1. Are You
Building
A Great
Product? The Checklist
@paulamarttila

2. Startup’s
Biggest
Hurdle Is
To Overcome
@paulamarttila
Indifference

3. Copyright:
@gapingvoid
Go buy his art! @paulamarttila
Ready?
Let’s Start

4. @paulamarttila
Are
You
Passionate?

5. @paulamarttila
If
YES
Then
Keep
Working!

6. @paulamarttila
If
NOPE
Then Join
Someone
Who Is!

7. @paulamarttila
Are
You
Solving
A Real
Problem?

8. Or Merely
Selling Soil
In A Can
For €10?
@paulamarttila
#NiceToHave
(Greek Basil Seeds & Soil)
Cool
vs.
Valuable

9. Does
Your
Product
Communicate
Its Vision?
@paulamarttila
Vision Keeps
You Focused
No Vision,
No Brand

10. @paulamarttila
Are You Really
10X Better Than
Existing Solutions?

11. @paulamarttila
a.k.a
The
Switching
Costs
What In Your Product Makes A Customer To Go From
“I Like You” To “I Need You” To “OK!” And Make The Switch?

12. Are
You
Building
Together
With Me?
@paulamarttila

13. @paulamarttila
But Are
You Adding
True Value?
Or Are You
Just Adding
Features?
#FeatureWars

14. @paulamarttila
Mobile
Isn’t About
Mobile
Are Decisions
Based On
Delivering Core
CustomerValue?
It’s Never
Just About
The Platform
Itself

15. @paulamarttila
Virtual Reality
Isn’t About
Virtual Reality
It’s Always About
Delivering Core
Customer Value
Just Like
It’s Never
Just About
The Platform
Itself

16. @paulamarttila
Do You
Genuinely
Care For
Details?

17. Will You
Fight For
My Privacy
& Security?
@paulamarttila
“I’m no expert, !
but that sounds like bullsh#t”

18. Are You
Educating
The Market
On The New?
@paulamarttila
E.g. Food
Education
Payments
Transportation
Crowd Funding
Access Economy
Smart Homes & Cities
Health & Quantified Self

19. Do
You
Have
Intellectual
Honesty?
@paulamarttila
“Nope. Hipster nonsense.”

20. @paulamarttila
Didn’t
Answer
YES
To All?
No Worries:
Toolkit For Building A Great Product
http://wp.me/po8eb-2im
@paulamarttila

21. @paulamarttila
All YES?
Congrats,
You’re
Building
A Great
Product!
Now Back To Work.

22. @paulamarttila
http://paulamarttila.com
paula.marttila@gmail.com
https://twitter.com/paulamarttila
http://www.linkedin.com/in/paulamarttila
Thank
You

23. @paulamarttila
RECOMMENDED READ & WATCH
Are You Building A Great Product?
The Checklist http://wp.me/po8eb-1iD The Toolkit http://wp.me/po8eb-2im
Steve Jobs, Apple, On Vision And Customer Experience:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF-tKLISfPE
https://paulamarttila.wordpress.com/2011/10/21/does-your-product-communicate-its-vision/
Jeff Bezos, Amazon, On Obsessing Over Customers And Key Learnings From Building Amazon: https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hxX_Q5CnaA
Daniel Ek, Spotify, On Focus, Competition And Care For Details:
https://www.quora.com/How-will-you-compete-as-Amazon-Google-incl-YouTube-Apple-etc-strengthen-and-
expand-the-scope-of-their-respective-lock-in/answer/Daniel-Ek
https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-early-decisions-that-were-key-to-Spotifys-success/answer/Daniel-Ek
Des Traynor, Intercom, On Product Management, Delivering Magic and Keeping Your Product Alive:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7O3_tRB5t4 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN7hsIGUtHU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DINfWpHHpzs
Mikael Cho, Crew, On The Process Of Building A Product People Love:
https://medium.com/swlh/every-mistake-we-made-building-the-last-version-of-our-product-7b086cb8ae77#.
1o79id8k3

24. @paulamarttila
Nobody cares by Gapingvoid: http://www.gapingvoidart.com/images/nobody-cares_1.gif!
Japanese toilet :https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulamarttila/5204393002!
Chocolate Mobiles: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulamarttila/!
Virtual Reality TV4: https://paulamarttila.com!
Miles Davis, Miles Ahead: https://paulamarttila.com courtesy of https://
www.milesdavis.com/miles-ahead/!
Greek Soil in a Can: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulamarttila/2617273795!
Cookies: https://paulamarttila.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/the-economy-of-free-or-how-to-
get-people-help/!
Helping hands: http://www.flickr.com/photos/theloushe/3696494100/!
Puzzle: https://www.flickr.com/photos/acoustic_punk_sound/2318690019!
Nasa Lego "Build The Future”: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/5161639791!
Awesome: http://www.flickr.com/photos/torley/3674050796/!
Neil Young, Are You Passionate: http://www.neilyoung.com/!
Jon Stewart, The Daily Show: http://www.cc.com/shows/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart!
Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, 30 Rock: http://www.nbc.com/30-rock!
Tim Gunn, Project Runway: http://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/news/a13458/got-a-fashion-
problem-tim-gunn-will-help-you-fix-it/!
Steve Carrell, Paul Rudd, Anchorman: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0357413/
IMAGE CREDITS