Comments on: Are You Solving Problems You Don’t Have? http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2007/07/05/does-your-problem-really-exist/ A blog about our thoughts on entrepreneurship, teamwork, our services, the Web and anything we find interesting. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:45:18 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Micheal http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2007/07/05/does-your-problem-really-exist/comment-page-1/#comment-45240 Micheal Tue, 10 Jul 2007 00:25:44 +0000 http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2007/07/05/does-your-problem-really-exist/#comment-45240 This sounds strangely familiar ... Oh yeah, I'm going through the same problems myself. :P I won't spam the link in this comment body, but I'll say I'm dealing with the same sort of issues myself. "How do I get money to finance the application?" "How do I draw users and keep them using my application?" "Is this application going to solve what it was built to solve?" I'm still struggling with the first two, but I can definitely say that my application is going well above what I thought it could do, particularly in such a short period of about 7 months. It has been a wild ride, and the ideas keep on coming from users and staff. You are right about the family thinking you are crazy. Explaining it to my parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, they all think I'm a little cuckoo. I do have to disagree with you on the "what if" questions though. At least in some things. Asking "what if I haven't optimized this set of queries?" will probably get you looking to proper SQL optimization. Asking "what if a user can do xyz with my API?" will probably get you looking at proper security techniques. Though I'd guess this isn't what you were talking about, but more of "What if my application fails?" and those questions will get you pulling your hair out and finding yourself staring at your code editor and not doing anything. I've learned a lot the past several months since the launch of my application, and applying that knowledge has significantly helped. Now if I can just working on some of the other issues ... This sounds strangely familiar … Oh yeah, I’m going through the same problems myself. :P I won’t spam the link in this comment body, but I’ll say I’m dealing with the same sort of issues myself. “How do I get money to finance the application?” “How do I draw users and keep them using my application?” “Is this application going to solve what it was built to solve?”

I’m still struggling with the first two, but I can definitely say that my application is going well above what I thought it could do, particularly in such a short period of about 7 months. It has been a wild ride, and the ideas keep on coming from users and staff. You are right about the family thinking you are crazy. Explaining it to my parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, they all think I’m a little cuckoo.

I do have to disagree with you on the “what if” questions though. At least in some things. Asking “what if I haven’t optimized this set of queries?” will probably get you looking to proper SQL optimization. Asking “what if a user can do xyz with my API?” will probably get you looking at proper security techniques. Though I’d guess this isn’t what you were talking about, but more of “What if my application fails?” and those questions will get you pulling your hair out and finding yourself staring at your code editor and not doing anything.

I’ve learned a lot the past several months since the launch of my application, and applying that knowledge has significantly helped. Now if I can just working on some of the other issues …

]]> By: Mike McDerment http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2007/07/05/does-your-problem-really-exist/comment-page-1/#comment-45220 Mike McDerment Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:43:45 +0000 http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2007/07/05/does-your-problem-really-exist/#comment-45220 There was not a time before Joe so I can't really say. As for keeping me focused/balanced, Joe was and continues to be a great foil for me...he tends to come at things from the opposite direction and the diversity in perspective is really valuable. He's also into keeping everything as simple as can be which is always nice because sometimes I can complicate things. Perhaps the biggest thing we did for eachother in the early days was provide support for one another. It can be pretty isolating being fully of passion for a product that no one has ever seen. Friends, family, etc don't really get it and might think you've gone mad when they catch a wiff of your enthusiasm. Not being alone in the headspace is comforting, and Joe and I are both pretty positive individuals so we could prop the other one up if one of us was having a tough day...I guess that's balance. There was not a time before Joe so I can’t really say. As for keeping me focused/balanced, Joe was and continues to be a great foil for me…he tends to come at things from the opposite direction and the diversity in perspective is really valuable. He’s also into keeping everything as simple as can be which is always nice because sometimes I can complicate things. Perhaps the biggest thing we did for eachother in the early days was provide support for one another. It can be pretty isolating being fully of passion for a product that no one has ever seen. Friends, family, etc don’t really get it and might think you’ve gone mad when they catch a wiff of your enthusiasm. Not being alone in the headspace is comforting, and Joe and I are both pretty positive individuals so we could prop the other one up if one of us was having a tough day…I guess that’s balance.

]]> By: Seth Graybeal http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2007/07/05/does-your-problem-really-exist/comment-page-1/#comment-45219 Seth Graybeal Fri, 06 Jul 2007 14:10:42 +0000 http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2007/07/05/does-your-problem-really-exist/#comment-45219 Great bit of advice. I don't know how many times in developing an app that I catch myself doing the "what if" thing, and getting off course from what my original goal was. I am curious to know how much of a role that Joe played in helping you stay focused in the early days of Freshbooks? I know once I added a second member to my team, they have been very instrumental in helping keep my focus more balanced. Great bit of advice. I don’t know how many times in developing an app that I catch myself doing the “what if” thing, and getting off course from what my original goal was.
I am curious to know how much of a role that Joe played in helping you stay focused in the early days of Freshbooks? I know once I added a second member to my team, they have been very instrumental in helping keep my focus more balanced.

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