How to Become a Must-Have

This is actually a very solid insight, the value of the problem you're solving with your app can be determined by the amount of time someone will complain to you about it, especially busy people.<p>Sound so simple but its amazing how many "entrepreneurs" are terrified of talking to potential customers and end up wasting a ton of tie developing things nobody wants.

I can't really treat this article seriously when his second graph illustrating "real" growth of startups requires that we are able to breach time-space continuum and go back in time.

As a founder of a B2B startup I think that your article is great! I think that this quote from Steve Jobs is a perfect fit here:<p>When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop there. But if you keep going, and live with the problem and peel more layers of the onion off, you can often times arrive at some very elegant and simple solutions.<p>I wish I UNDERSTOOD (very different then "I wish I knew") that 2 years ago when I was starting my company. Focusing on the problem, discussing it with the people that actually have that problem and not jumping immediately to solutions but "peel the onion" is something very very very hard to do.<p>Hope that next episodes of your article will provide more info about HOW to peel that onion :)

None of this startup porn is new. The best source I've found discussing all stages of company development is Geoffrey Moore's work (Crossing the Chasm and Inside the Tornado).

This article is the best advice relating to building a successful startup that I've read on HN in awhile.

good stuff. an article on B2C next? :D