Jason Fried

Quotes are word for word from the source.

• Incentivizing attendance

  “When you register you're charged $100. And if you show up, you get a crisp $100 bill at the door. So you're made whole, it's entirely free.”

  Our noteJason explains a new deposit system for free events to reduce no-shows.

• Loving your product

  “And you won't love your product if it's filled with a bunch of stuff you don't agree with.”

  Our noteJason argues that founders must believe in the features they build to maintain passion.

• Features versus bugs

  “Often times adding a new feature may even be more important to your app than fixing an existing bug.”

  Our noteJason discusses how to weigh bug fixes against product development.

• The cost of features

  “Each time you say yes to a feature, you're adopting a child. You have to take your baby through a whole chain of events (e.g. design, implementation, testing, etc.).”

  Our noteJason describes the long-term commitment required for every new feature.

• Start with interface

  “Getting Real starts with the interface, the real screens that people are going to use. It begins with what the customer actually experiences and builds backwards from there.”

  Our noteHe explains why starting with the user experience is more effective than starting with backend code.

• Elevating respected figures

  “Matt shares some great examples of younger, "hotter" talents shining a light on someone they'd long respected to help elevate them in the public consciousness.”

  Our noteJason discusses the concept of paying it backward by supporting established figures.

• Focus on core users

  “Know who your app is really intended for and focus on pleasing them.”

  Our noteJason emphasizes the importance of identifying and serving a specific target audience.

• Context over consistency

  “That's why context is more important than consistency. It's ok to be inconsistent if your design makes more sense that way. Give people just what matters.”

  Our noteJason explains why rigid design rules should be broken to serve the user's immediate needs.

• Prioritize user needs

  “Give them what they need when they need it and get rid of what they don't. It's better to be right than to be consistent.”

  Our noteJason argues that being helpful to the user is more important than following a strict design pattern.

• Monitor your buzz

  “You need to know who's talking about you. Check your logs and find out where the buzz is coming from. Who's linking to you? Who's bitching about you?”

  Our noteJason explains the importance of tracking who is talking about your product online.

• Limits of mapping outcomes

  “But in the murky realm of people and motivations and strategy and incentives, trying to map it all out will lead to you more blindspots, not less.”

  Our noteJason warns against the trap of trying to prepare for every possible human interaction.

• Avoid useless paperwork

  “Unless a document is actually going to morph into something real, don't produce it.”

  Our noteJason discusses the importance of only creating documents that lead directly to a product.

• Redefining later

  “Later doesn't mean we'll get to it at the end of this cycle. It means we'll drop it. Later means another time, not this time.”

  Our noteJason describes how short work cycles change the meaning of postponing a task.

• One Page Rule

  “Write a one page story about what the app needs to do. Use plain language and make it quick. If it takes more than a page to explain it, then it's too complex.”

  Our noteJason suggests a simpler alternative to long functional specification documents.

• Market validation

  “The key here is understanding that you're not alone. If you're having this problem, it's likely hundreds of thousands of others are in the same boat.”

  Our noteJason discusses how personal problems often represent a larger market opportunity.

• Business philosophy

  “I aim to run an analog business. Direct, clear, obvious, fair, and easy to fix.”

  Our noteJason Fried summarizes his preference for simplicity in business operations.

• Content Strategy

  “Start off by creating a blog that not only touts your product but offers helpful advice, tips, tricks, links, etc.”

  Our noteHe explains how to build an audience by being helpful rather than just selling.