We’re wrapping up the first Small Product Lab, and we’ve been amazed at all of the great work coming out of the group. Some major lessons and takeaways have surfaced that we wanted to share here. The team at Gumroad HQ has learned a lot about the very nature of launching a product and the formation/expansion of a creative business thanks to our first group. And just as a small product might be tweaked and relaunched, the Lab will be tweaked and relaunched (meta) when we start a new session.
So, again, thank you, SPL’ers. We’re excited about all of the launches today. Comic templates and fonts and guidebooks and songs and jewelry making tutorials and wow wow wow. So much cool stuff happening. So until Friday (when we announce the winner of the contenst portion of the Lab), here are our major takeaways from the Small Product Lab.
Embrace constraint.
Starting a project with a strict deadline is a great way to force yourself to stay on track. Further, when it comes to launching a small product in ten days, it helps you keep the product, well, small.
It’s easy to get excited about a big idea, but in a challenge like this, it’s best to whittle it down and get laser-focused
For so many, the idea of a side project outside of work is a lovely vast vista of creative ideas and endless potential. There are no limits, only the limits of your imagination. But that vast open vista can sometimes be the very hurdle to getting something shipped.
— James Morris.
Welcome imperfection.
It’s not about doing a bad job. It’s not about not finishing. It’s about being okay with a simple cover image. It’s about realizing that it’s more important to get your game out than fine-tuning every pixel. You can always relaunch with updates.
Run with a pack.
The Facebook convos above are representative of the mood of the Facebook group for the first run of the Small Product Lab. We quickly realized that some of the greatest power of this sprint is that everyone was sprinting together. The Facebook group has been full of support and feedback. Struggles and strengths (and discounts) were shared. Consolation was the precursor to solution.
And it turns out that helping others is a great way to cross-pollinate. There are dozens of posts offering to share product links in other Facebook groups, on message boards, and on Twitter. So much help, promotion, and all sorts of things that the Lab itself couldn’t provide. You guys.
The community has turned out to be such a huge asset that we rethought some things.
Instead of immediately making the Small Product Lab evergreen and able to kick off at any time, we’re going to start rounds of the Lab on set dates (with their own Facebook groups). So when you go to the page to sign up, you’ll be put on a waiting list for the next sprint. We also found that starting on Monday was definitely the right move, as days six and seven fell on the weekend—perfect for the more head-down-and-work days. So that’ll factor in to rounds to come. Are you in?
We’ll be announcing the winner of the contest on Friday, as well as sharing more insights as we wrap up the first Small Product Lab. We rely on feedback from our community of creators, so please feel free to reach out. Thank you!
