{"id":318,"date":"2025-05-24T00:53:01","date_gmt":"2025-05-24T00:53:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.characters4u.com\/?p=318"},"modified":"2025-09-15T12:16:38","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T12:16:38","slug":"how-to-build-the-right-thing-before-you-scale-the-wrong-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.characters4u.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/24\/how-to-build-the-right-thing-before-you-scale-the-wrong-one\/","title":{"rendered":"How to build the right thing (before you scale the wrong one)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Hello and welcome to The GTM Newsletter by GTMnow <\/strong>\u2013 read by 50,000+ to scale their companies and careers. GTMnow shares insight around the go-to-market strategies responsible for explosive company growth. GTMnow highlights the strategies, along with the stories from the top 1% of GTM executives, VCs, and founders behind these strategies and companies.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Most startups die not because they move too slow. Rather, because they build the wrong thing, for the wrong customer, with the wrong team.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why these frameworks from Oji Udezue<\/a>, former Chief Product Officer at Calendly and Typeform, are so valuable. He\u2019s also held product leadership roles at Twitter, Atlassian, and Microsoft, and recently co-authored a book on scaling high-growth product teams: Building Rocket Ships<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Here are five tactical, high-leverage lessons for early-stage B2B founders and operators:<\/p>\n

1. Where to Fish:<\/em> A framework for targeting the right workflow<\/h2>\n
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\u201cYou can predict the terminal value of your startup by mapping the frequency and breadth of your workflow.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This is a simple framework to assess if you\u2019re building in the right zone. It\u2019s a powerful filter to assess the strategic potential of the workflow your product targets. Oji maps them by two traits:<\/p>\n

1. Frequency<\/strong>: How often the workflow is performed<\/p>\n

2. Breadth<\/strong>: How many people across the company perform it<\/p>\n

This creates four categories:<\/p>\n

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Look for workflows that are used daily, across teams.
\n<\/strong>Avoid building for low-frequency, narrow personas unless your wedge is razor-sharp.<\/p>\n

So if you\u2019re in a LiEv or LiNi zone, chart a clear roadmap toward HiNi or HiEv territory to increase market pull and enterprise value.<\/p>\n

2. Ditch the EPD trio and build a 6-person \u201cshipyard\u201d team<\/h2>\n
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Engineering, product, and design is a 1999 idea.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Today\u2019s most effective teams include six functions from day one:<\/p>\n

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  1. Product<\/li>\n
  2. Engineering<\/li>\n
  3. Design<\/li>\n
  4. Product Marketing<\/li>\n
  5. User Research<\/li>\n
  6. Data<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    This prevents the old waterfall trap of \u201cbuild \u2192 throw over the fence \u2192 launch.\u201d Instead, you get faster iteration, tighter GTM integration, and fewer missed signals.<\/p>\n

    How these functions are built is continuously evolving with AI.<\/p>\n

    3. You need a 3x+ value delta to overcome switching costs<\/h2>\n
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    \u201cPeople won\u2019t switch unless your product is 3x better \u2013 faster, cheaper, or both.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    This one\u2019s easy to overlook. If your tool is only 20% better than the incumbent, it won\u2019t matter. Switching is painful, even if the new thing is technically superior.<\/p>\n

    You need to be:<\/p>\n