- Many Startups optimize for appearances at the cost of Quality Revenue. They chase:
- fast growth charts,
- press,
- quick revenue spikes
- The Qualtrics Example:
- For years, Qualtrics ignored hype and concentrated on a very specific market: universities.
- They believed that if enough universities deeply adopted the product, they’d have a durable business foundation.
- During those early years, they had little press or attention.
- Instead of optimizing for visibility, they optimized for product adoption and customer integration.
Insight
Focus on building something deeply valuable before trying to look successful publicly.
“Trust your gut, learn to be scrappy, tune out the noise, and play the long game.”
— Ryan Smith, Co-founder, Qualtrics