Emmett Shear
Emmett Shear
Emmett Shearis an Internet entrepreneur and investor. He is the co-founder of live video platforms Justin.tv and TwitchTV. He's also a part-time partner at venture capital firm Y Combinator. Shear is also co-founder of Kiko Software, the first AJAX-based online calendar. Shear graduated from Yale University in 2005 with a degree in computer science...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBusinessman
CountryUnited States of America
block people important
This is true for most new products. The majority of people you're competing with are non-users. They are people who have never used your service before. And what they say is actually the most important. What they say is the thing that blocks you from expanding the size of your market with your features.
pay commit fronts
It's one of the most validating things you can do for a product is go out there and get them to commit to pay you up front.
mistake people common
The most common mistakes are showing people your product- don't show them your product, it's sort of like telling them bout a feature.
want
You want to learn about what's already in their heads. You want to avoid putting things there.
play people magic
Recording interviews is like magic. a) It stops you from taking notes in the middle and b) you can play that recording for people.
asks features
The one question you can't ask is, is this feature actually good or not?
ideas people enough
The question is, once you have this idea, is this enough? Is it something people would actually switch just to have?
xbox numbers fit
Given the huge number Xbox owners and how many of them love gaming spectatorship, its a natural fit to bring the Twitch experience to the 360.
years june expectations
Twitch launched in June of 2011, and our growth ever since has exceeded even my expectations, which were not small. A year and a half later, the community of broadcasters and viewers has multiplied hundreds of percent.
years people months
The crucial people to get your product started for the first 6 months are not who will be using it 3 years later.
class people lucky
Most startups are not just built for the person who is using them. When you do that, every now and then you get really lucky and... are representative of some huge class of people who all want the same thing you do... but very often that just turns into a side project that doesn't go anywhere.
firsts needs answers
Who would you talk to? That is the first question for almost any startup that you need to answer. Who is my user and where am I going to find them?
horse thinking want
Users think they know what they want, but you get the horseless carriage effect where you're getting asked for a faster horse.
talking people silence
People don't like silence, so they'll keep talking to fill the void.