BaykaPPF shift for Startups
There is this concept of production possibility frontier (PPF) in Economics. It is often visualized as a curve that represents the optimal allocation of resources between producing two different products - see PPF1 curve on the diagram above. Point A is one such possible optimal allocation achieved by, say, Company A. However, you will realize that this curve is not always a perfect representation of reality. In fact, most companies do not operate on the optimal curve (point B), and there are...
Bayka"You're either crazy, or you know what you're doing"
14 years ago I left one of the leading software outsourcing companies & amazing career to start my own company - Empatika. I doubt you know the name of the company, but probably (at least 7m users worldwide) you do know App in the Air, which I have co-founded with my colleagues from Empatika. I have recently left App in the Air after almost 12 years of building & growing the company from scratch. This was amazing and unforgettable experience & I think now is the right time to reflect on it. I...
BaykaHow to get a startup idea?
There are two main approaches to sourcing startup ideas: bottom-up and top-down.Bottom UpThis approach involves identifying personal problems that you or your company face daily that are not being adequately addressed. You can then try to find a solution to these problems by researching their root causes and looking for innovative insights. This approach is often fueled by passion, as it requires a lot of energy and dedication to work on a problem for several years. Alternatively, you can fol...
Product guy and systems thinker. Founder & exCEO of @appintheair
BaykaPPF shift for Startups
There is this concept of production possibility frontier (PPF) in Economics. It is often visualized as a curve that represents the optimal allocation of resources between producing two different products - see PPF1 curve on the diagram above. Point A is one such possible optimal allocation achieved by, say, Company A. However, you will realize that this curve is not always a perfect representation of reality. In fact, most companies do not operate on the optimal curve (point B), and there are...
Bayka"You're either crazy, or you know what you're doing"
14 years ago I left one of the leading software outsourcing companies & amazing career to start my own company - Empatika. I doubt you know the name of the company, but probably (at least 7m users worldwide) you do know App in the Air, which I have co-founded with my colleagues from Empatika. I have recently left App in the Air after almost 12 years of building & growing the company from scratch. This was amazing and unforgettable experience & I think now is the right time to reflect on it. I...
BaykaHow to get a startup idea?
There are two main approaches to sourcing startup ideas: bottom-up and top-down.Bottom UpThis approach involves identifying personal problems that you or your company face daily that are not being adequately addressed. You can then try to find a solution to these problems by researching their root causes and looking for innovative insights. This approach is often fueled by passion, as it requires a lot of energy and dedication to work on a problem for several years. Alternatively, you can fol...
Product guy and systems thinker. Founder & exCEO of @appintheair
Subscribe to Bayka
Subscribe to Bayka
Share Dialog
Share Dialog
<100 subscribers
<100 subscribers
One of the traits of large companies is "big thinking". By this, I mean they plan on a grand scale, measuring their progress in months, quarters, and years. This can be a dangerous habit for a startup founder, since they should be thinking and acting on a daily, weekly basis. So how can one learn to unlearn this?
Hackathons have been a great help to me. First we attended external ones, but eventually we started organizing internal ones. A hackathon is a 24-hour marathon of programming aimed at building a basic version of a product that solves a real problem. Thanks to hackathons, I learned how to code in Python and NodeJS. I also made lifelong connections with some of the best people I've ever worked with. It even led to my brother dancing with a drip counter in a hospital ;-)
Why do they work?
Constraints: Constraints help to spur creativity. Strict time limits taught us to find simple solutions that worked.
Focus: The whole team focuses on one product and there are no "what if" scenarios or "nice to have" features.
Competition: competition between the teams can really boost energy and enthusiasm
Use hackathons to start working on new products and big features, hire great people, and sometimes even earn prizes to start a new business - like we did with RuBeacon, which was founded using my share of the $100K PayPal hackathon award.
One of the traits of large companies is "big thinking". By this, I mean they plan on a grand scale, measuring their progress in months, quarters, and years. This can be a dangerous habit for a startup founder, since they should be thinking and acting on a daily, weekly basis. So how can one learn to unlearn this?
Hackathons have been a great help to me. First we attended external ones, but eventually we started organizing internal ones. A hackathon is a 24-hour marathon of programming aimed at building a basic version of a product that solves a real problem. Thanks to hackathons, I learned how to code in Python and NodeJS. I also made lifelong connections with some of the best people I've ever worked with. It even led to my brother dancing with a drip counter in a hospital ;-)
Why do they work?
Constraints: Constraints help to spur creativity. Strict time limits taught us to find simple solutions that worked.
Focus: The whole team focuses on one product and there are no "what if" scenarios or "nice to have" features.
Competition: competition between the teams can really boost energy and enthusiasm
Use hackathons to start working on new products and big features, hire great people, and sometimes even earn prizes to start a new business - like we did with RuBeacon, which was founded using my share of the $100K PayPal hackathon award.
No activity yet