The ZURBlog is where we discuss interaction design and strategy.

We had a rockin’ discussion with John Marshall last Friday at ZURBsoapbox. John discussed mistakes he’s made, as well as guidelines for success of product- vs. service-based companies. You can listen to the entire podcast below and read some great highlights from the event.

Marry Someone Who Can Take Risk

ClickTracks started from the idea that all John wanted to know was what people click on. No 3D pie graphs, no charts, no large tables, just tell me what people click on. John convinced his wife to use all of their life savings to get the company started. She was not 100% on board but she went along with it. If his wife had not grown up in entrepreneurial environment she would have said: “Go get a job like a normal person!”

John says you’ve got to marry someone who is comfortable with risk. Since developing products as an entrepreneur is risky, you’ve got to have a spouse or a partner who understands your goals and visions.

Crucial Mistake

One crucial mistake John made very early on was that he did not make ClickTracks web based. He could never correct it. Other companies did make their services web based and were very successful (think Google Analytics). John’s background called for code which runs on a machine, he just wasn't comfortable with a cloud solution. “I still want to get my email on my own machine,” he mentioned to us. Nevertheless, they recovered their investment quite nicely when ClickTracks was later sold for over $10 million to Lyris.

Three Rules for Every Product

John shared three must haves for every product. No matter whether it's websites, web apps, or stand alone software these apply to all products. Here they are:

1. Must solve pain or create gain. John talked about these two fundamentals for any product; if they don't solve a problem or create value, they'll go nowhere.
2. Got to understand utility very quickly
3. Must be able to use it for free

Van Halen and
Losing Early

John shared a great analogy with us regarding losing early. It turns out Van Halen had a contract written for every venue they played. The contract stipulated all sorts of details, one of which was that the band wanted a bowl of M&Ms with all brown ones taken out provided backstage. The reason they put this detail in was not because they had a big ego, but to ensure people read the contract. NPR's This American Life has a great episode outlining this story.

If the brown M&Ms were not taken out, then the venue folks did not pay attention to details in the contract and therefore the entire set was not properly set up. Van Halen wanted to lose early. As soon as they walked in if they saw brown M&M behind the stage they walked out. Same applies in business, if you’re going to lose— lose early! Don’t fight it. We’re taught that only quitters lose. Not true according to John, if you lose early you actually win in long run!

More Info

• Rest of photos from John Marshall's ZURBsoapbox
• John’s current gig, MarketMotive