Hiten Shah
Founder of Crazy Egg & KISSmetrics. Silicon Valley's most generous entrepreneur.
Discussion
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Hiten Shah
@hnshah · Crazy Egg, KISSmetrics & Quick Sprout
Hi! I'm Hiten Shah and I've started and grown three SaaS companies. One of them is venture-backed and the other two are self-funded. I like chatting about startups, SaaS, spicy chili peppers, personal growth and business growth.
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Ryan Hoover
@rrhoover · Founder, Product Hunt
Hiten! Thanks again for all the advice you've given me over the years. I remember our conversation vividly at Samovar Tea Lounge over a year ago when I asked you for guidance on what to do with Product Hunt -- continue working on it as a side project or turn it into a business.
What's the best piece of advice someone's given to you?
Saurav Tomar
@sauravtom · Python/Javascript developer
@hnshah I am currently bootstrapping my startup and my question is regarding growth channels. What according to you is the optimal time to start investing in paid channels like fb and google ads, rather than religiously pursuing organic growth through your product. What are some metric to look out for when making that move from organic to paid growth channels. thnx
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Hiten Shah
@hnshah · Crazy Egg, KISSmetrics & Quick Sprout
@sauravtom I like to call it "self-funding" not bootstrapping. Paid channels are very easily measurable from a ROI perspective. I don't know the market you are in but if there's opportunity to acquire via paid channels and measure ROI, I would do experiments with paid channels as soon as you can to understand whether they can be viable for you or not. For starters, just find out how much it costs you to get a sign up.
Andreas Klinger
@andreasklinger · Tech at Product Hunt 💃
Hi @hnshah
you meet a ton of early stage founders and give advice.
if there is one: which advice is the one you have to give so often you feel like a broken record?
Also what is your fav kind of matcha?
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Hiten Shah
@hnshah · Crazy Egg, KISSmetrics & Quick Sprout
@andreasklinger I'll drink all kinds of matcha ;) (got any recommends?!) - ohhh, my advice on giving / getting advice is probably the one where I feel like a broken record. More on that: https://hitenism.com/giving-advice/ and http://thestartupchat.com/4-advi...
Andreas Klinger
@andreasklinger · Tech at Product Hunt 💃
@hnshah thanks for the answer
interesting to hear your pov on this.
personally i stopped telling people straight forward what i think they should do
either it comes up through my questions or if not i explain what i believe and try to come up w/ examples from my past that fit the situation to explain my reasoning.
re matcha: http://www.amazon.com/DoMatcha-G... 😋 👍
Jack Dweck
@jackdweck · Product Manager at Unroll.Me
Hi Hiten. You recently published your first open research report on what makes Slack so addictive. Which companies will you analyze next and why?
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Hiten Shah
@hnshah · Crazy Egg, KISSmetrics & Quick Sprout
@jackdweck there's one more about Slack, research on food startups and another open research project I've partnered with UserTesting on. In the coming weeks, I'll be publishing one of those.
Eric Willis
@erictwillis · Working on something new
@hnshah Hello, Hiten. Is there any major difference in the way you run your venture-backed startup vs your other two self-funded companies?
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Hiten Shah
@hnshah · Crazy Egg, KISSmetrics & Quick Sprout
@erictwillis yes... you can invest ahead of revenue to get growth in a venture funded business. In a self-funded business, your #1 job especially early on is managing cash-flow. More on that here: https://hitenism.com/self-fundin...
Scott Campbell
@threedukes · Co-founder, VP of Product
@hnshah Startups are scrambling to find growth techniques, growth hacking, etc. In your experience, what are the tactics you feel every/any startup should just start with and "go from there"?
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Hiten Shah
@hnshah · Crazy Egg, KISSmetrics & Quick Sprout
@threedukes in a business you need two things:
1. A great product
2. Great distribution
I haven't seen two companies (even if they are in the same market targeting the same customers) approach these things in the same way. Thus, I don't really have simple generic advise around tactics. I'm also very contextual when it comes to advise and tactics so generalizing is something I try to avoid.
Scott Campbell
@threedukes · Co-founder, VP of Product
@hnshah Makes perfect sense. Thank you!
Sio
@sio_rah · Co-Founder LeadStern
Hi, what was the worst advice you ever gave someone? In hindsight of course ;)
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Hiten Shah
@hnshah · Crazy Egg, KISSmetrics & Quick Sprout
@sio_rah I used to give advice even more directly than I do today, it often came across as a "know-it-all" until the people emailed me 6 months later and said "you were right". This used to happen a lot a few years ago and I changed my approach to be direct but less "know-it-all" and the results have been fantastic, people actually take the advice faster and thus I end up being more helpful to them. I don't give generic advise and I always learn first before giving my thoughts, this helps me avoid giving people bad advice.
Ryan Hoover
@rrhoover · Founder, Product Hunt
Hiten has a unique, effective style when advising startups and people. He listens intently and from my own experience, he asks just the right questions to elicit new thoughts and solutions.
neeharika sinha
@neeeharika · Google, Threadchannel
@hnshah according to you which metrics Are important for An app startup to show success