Two-Focus Priority System

A startup strategy focused on prioritizing only two key areas - product excellence and growth - while deliberately postponing other business aspects.

Core Philosophy

• Limited resources require extreme focus regardless of team size (2-200 people)
• Can't do everything at once - must ruthlessly prioritize
• Focus exclusively on two areas:
  • Building the best possible product
  • Growing as fast as possible
• Theory: With great product + rapid growth, other aspects (like fundraising) become easier

Product Excellence Strategy

• Used data to understand user behavior
  • Found users only unsubscribed from 30% of emails
  • Discovered users feared missing important deals
• Transformed from tool to product through key feature
  • Created "Roll Up" - combining multiple emails into one daily digest
  • Solved user pain point while preserving valuable content

Growth Strategy

• Rejected assumption that great products naturally get shared
• Created "Foreshare" system instead of paywall
  • Required users to share to access full features
  • Provided instant gratification rather than delayed rewards
• Optimized sharing process
  • Found optimal timing after users experienced product value
  • Focused on Facebook sharing over Twitter (80-150x more effective)
  • Achieved 90% share rate at implementation
  • Modified UI to drive 80%+ Facebook sharing

Implementation Tips

• Find clear social incentives for sharing
• Identify earliest trust-building moment before requesting shares
• For paid products: offer instant rewards rather than delayed gratification
• Test and optimize sharing platforms based on data
• Focus on measurable results over opinions

Results

• Achieved viral growth through strategic sharing mechanics
• Successfully postponed monetization concerns
• Eventually attracted VC interest after proving growth model
• Validated two-focus strategy through successful acquisition