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Assembling top individuals doesn't make a team. This article outlines how to design a small but solid team using three principles—role design, execution autonomy, and communication structure—along with the Quinn and Cameron organizational growth model.
Of Google's countless projects, only about 50% succeed. The company even runs a unique space called 'The Google Cemetery' that displays tombstones of discontinued services. Google dissects these failures like autopsying a body, identifying direct and indirect causes of problems, documenting them precisely, and establishing countermeasures.
Open innovation is a paradigm where companies must intentionally bring in external ideas and technologies, share internal assets with the outside world, and create value to survive and grow. In other words, it's about breaking down organizational boundaries and increasing the probability of innovation through active external engagement—clearly demonstrating why 'absorptive capacity' is a core competitive advantage for modern startups.
CODEX 5. How Do You Grow Through Customer Expansion?
Your next customer isn't in some distant 'new market'—they're right where your first customer is pointing. Learn the framework for tackling adjacent markets by distinguishing feature expansion from problem expansion and growing step by step along the path of customer trust.
The biggest reason customer expansion fails is that we try to expand our 'product features' instead of the 'problem' we've solved.
Feature Expansion
This is product-centric thinking: "Our product has this feature, so those people will like it too." It's like a rock band suddenly singing trot. Chances are, no one will welcome it.
Problem Expansion
This is customer-centric thinking: "Who else in the world is experiencing this same pain we've solved?" It's like a rock band going on tour to find new cities that will love their music.
Our real asset isn't the product's code—it's the trust and experience we've earned from customers by solving a specific problem. Growth should be a journey where we take this intangible asset and seek out the next customer suffering the same pain.
Geoffrey Moore's 'Bowling Alley' strategy is a powerful compass for navigating this complex climb. The core of this strategy is: "Knock down the strongest first pin (initial market) and use that momentum to topple the next pin (adjacent market) right beside it in a chain reaction."
First, Identical Terrain
The next handhold must have nearly the same texture and shape as the rock you're standing on now. In other words, the next customer must be experiencing fundamentally the same problem as the first customer.
Second, Connected Route
The next handhold must be within arm's reach from your current position. In other words, the first customer's success story must directly influence the next customer and serve as a powerful reference in their buying decision.
Ultimately, the 'next customer' we need to find is someone who looks at our first customer with envy and says, "If that person is using it, I can trust it."
PayPal's growth strategy was a textbook rock climb up the massive e-commerce cliff. They didn't try to tackle the entire cliff—they found the strongest, most solid first handhold and concentrated all their strength there.
The first handhold they discovered and gripped firmly was 'eBay power sellers.' At the time, these sellers were the most active online but suffered from 'growth-blocking pain': difficulty accepting credit cards, and checks or money orders were too slow. PayPal solved this problem perfectly with just an email address, and with power sellers' enthusiastic support, they secured that first handhold completely.
Meanwhile, 'eBay buyers' repeatedly saw the 'PayPal Accepted' logo on product pages of sellers they trusted. The question in buyers' minds wasn't 'Is this payment system safe?' It was: "If the seller I trust uses this method, isn't it the best option for me too?"
Power sellers and buyers shared the same pain of 'inconvenient and insecure payments,' and the real success stories from their actual transaction partners—not advertising—became the most powerful 'proof of trust.' PayPal followed this powerful 'chain of trust' to reach for the next handhold—the buyers—and was able to safely climb the treacherous e-commerce cliff.
Step 1. Get Certified for Success
Before moving to the next step, confirm that your current position is secure. Become the overwhelming #1 in your first customer market so they become the 'certificate' guaranteeing your success. You need to hear them say, "We can't work without you."
Step 2. Follow the Customer's Gaze
The next handhold is where your first customer is pointing, not where you think it is. Find the people who watch their success most closely with envy and will be first to listen to their recommendations. The fastest way is to ask customers directly: "If you were to recommend us to one person, who would it be?"
Step 3. Verify It's the Same Problem
No matter how close it looks, the next handhold's texture may be subtly different. Meet the new customer group and validate from scratch whether the problem exists in the same form and intensity in their context, and whether our solution is still effective.
Is your growth plan drawn on a market map (TAM), or on a customer relationship diagram?
Created with permission from Brunch author jaha Kim using [Startup Codex 22] content.
For more content from jaha Kim, visit the link below.