Last Week’s Goals
- Finalize product concept (subject, core features, deliberate limitations)
- Create compelling marketing materials
- Complete working prototype (failed)
What I Accomplished
I spent last week gaining clarity on what to build and writing a blogpost on how to ace GP.
Writing the blogpost helped crystallize my product prototype idea. By outlining a formula to ace GP, I created the foundation that helped me iterate on core product features. I wouldn’t have arrived at my current idea without first writing it out.
I started building a prototype, but it’s nowhere near complete.
Overall grade: B-
The Planning vs Doing Dilemma
I took too long deciding what to build. At the back of my mind, I’m keenly aware that what I build is much more important than how good a product is. The initial decision on what to build has an outsized impact on the outcome.
So you’d think that spending time to think of what to build is important.
On one hand, not being clear on what to build is like throwing darts blindly. On the other hand, shipping fast yields clarity because action produces information.
Even though building the wrong thing is time wasted, I think it’s really important to ship fast.
I felt that I spent too long deciding what to build this week. I still don’t have a good answer on when to start building versus when to spend more time deliberating.
The best answer I have right now is to take action when I have enough clarity that I’m moving in the right direction - meaning I feel about 60-70% confident.
My rule of thumb is to FEEL like I’m moving uncomfortably fast.
Product Requirements
For my new product, the requirements are:
- The product needs to give high quality answers consistently (especially important for educational products)
- It needs to give students a good reason to return a few times per week
- Have a perception of progress and help students get better grades
- Make students and parents go “hell yeah”
Based on these requirements, I’m building a GP tutor that (I think) delivers on all fronts.
Time Boxing
The current plan is to get 5-10 students to start trying the first beta version by next week.
The earlier I get testers, the better. I need to validate fast.
The SLC (Simple Lovable Complete) version focuses on GP essay and:
- Has 50-100 high quality and relevant GP examples with evaluations
- Includes flashcards for each example that students can easily add to their revision list
- Provides a way for students to study flashcards by priority (e.g., spaced repetition)
Getting Beta Testers
I plan to recruit beta testers by:
- Sending potential users my blog post on acing GP essays
- Including a CTA at the end of the blogpost to sign up as a beta tester
- Contacting each prospect personally (via email or Telegram) to encourage signup
- Focusing on quality over quantity - 5-10 engaged testers will suffice
Future Features
If the prototype has some traction, I plan to add:
- Functionality for students to add their own examples (with AI-supplemented evaluations)
- Options for students to edit my examples and evaluations
- An essay planning module allowing students to plan responses to essay questions and receive feedback on their plans
This Week’s Goals
- Complete SLC prototype
- Recruit 5-10 users to test prototype