When to move on from your product idea

The idea behind EasyUnsubscriber was to create a simple platform that allows unsubscribing from unrequired emails within minutes. However, Bob Cavezza, founder, who focused on Lean Startup Principles, quickly learned essential lessons that led him to move on from this development project.

Below are the slides from Bob's June 2011 presentation to the Lean Startup Circle Boston, where he shared his lessons learned on building EasyUnsubscriber from the ground up as an MVP, and how he arrived at the decision to discard this MVP. EasyUnsubscriber was a tool that allows people to unsubscribe from all emails they don't want in 5 minutes.

Journey Of Building EasyUnsubscriber, and Lessons Learned

As shared in his presentation, Bob delved deep into the unique experiences he had while building EasyUnsubscriber, and all the startup failure lessons he learned. From creating an mvp to making adjustments and iterations to coming to terms with completely discarding the mvp, the insights shine a light on what one can expect in this grueling journey.

• Identification of the starting point: EasyUnsubscriber, aimed to resolve a simple problem, effectively unsubscribing from emails. However, while the idea did tap into something that frustrated many, it later revealed itself to not be as in demand as first thought, demonstrating that just because something is a pain point, doesn't mean its solution is a viable business.

• Creating a Valuable MVP: Where the basis of lean startup techniques emphasizes on creating a minimum viable product, it is essential to create something of value that gives a genuine insight about the planned solution. Bob emphasizes that creating a valuable mvp means offering enough value that attracts early adopters, and fetches useful feedback which allows useful improvement efforts.

• Align The Feedback With Your Vision: It is essential to take feedback into account, however, it is also essential to stay true to your vision. Bob highlights how he took feedback to enhance the product, however, focused on balancing the feedback with his vision, which, unsurprisingly, proved to be a big challenge. Simply introducing changes without focusing on the core objective would lead to the creation of a scattered product.

• Validating Revenue Strategy: Bob highlighted how the lack of a proper revenue strategy and validation thereof, made it a big challenge to keep the project going on in the long term. Subscriptions, one-time payments, ads, whatever path one chooses, it is essential to assess its validity, which is tested based on the value of the product for the users.

• Learning Automation’s Limitations: From EasyUnsubscriber, which relied heavily on automation, Bob learned that automation too, has limitations. In this case, challenges with managing distinct types and providers of emails. This necessitates manual intervention, demonstrating how it is critical to stay ahead, and know where and how much automation can help.

• Learning To Move On: Bob learned how it is essential to learn when to move on from a project, even if an idea seems promising in the beginning. Instead of holding on to the original idea, pivoting and moving away, though tough, are sometimes the most powerful steps one can take.

• Not Getting Attached To The MVP: The most difficult thing a founder may need to do is to let go of the MVP. Getting too attached, Bob explains, can often cloud objectivity, which leads to creation of a subpar product, and hesitation to pivot, which leads to long-term issues.

Bob’s journey with EasyUnsubscriber demonstrates that even good ideas sometimes do not pan out, and demand one to let go, to move ahead.