Ask HN: Does it EVER make sense for a startup to work on two products at once?

by pshin45 on 5/14/2013, 3:38 AM with 2 comments

Would love to hear the HN community's feedback on this this...

My startup (based in Korea) currently has two products which have both had some early success with great partners (Evernote & Nike) and we're having a lot of trouble deciding which to focus on.

Does it ever make sense for a startup to work on two products at once? If not, then what kind of questions should we be asking to determine which one to focus on?

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Product #1

Mobile application. 3 language studying tools in 1 beautiful interface - A multi-language dictionary, a flashcard generator, and a vocabulary list. iOS paid app ($3.99 full price). Tens of thousands of downloads. Won an Evernote API hackathon in Korea which has led to a great working relationship.

Link: http://cookiewords.com/en/

Product #2

A social network for amateur athletes (team sports) - Organize games more easily with your friends, and see what sports and when/where all your other friends are playing. Used by Nike Korea as official mobile application of a nationwide summer youth soccer event.

Link: http://nikeinc.com/news/nike-cup-247-brings-mobile-innovation-to-the-pitch-in-korea

  • by webdisrupt on 5/14/2013, 8:58 AM

    I know its quite of a cliche for me to mention Steve Jobs but there was one of his philosophies that truly made sense which is FOCUS! Focusing on 1 product will allow you to explore things better whilst produce higher quality code. Having 2 products will split your time in half and should one of your products pick up then it would be quite hard to dedicate time to the other.

    With regards to which product to focus on?

    1. See what you enjoy doing most - 2. What would you like to achieve - 3. Do your research by looking at latest trends etc. - 4. Check out your competition etc

  • by danielstudds on 5/14/2013, 5:01 AM

    Nice examples of traction! How'd you land the Nike deal? Any money change hands? To make decent suggestions about where you should focus, we'd need to understand your motivations. What are your aims? Which is more likely to get you there? (Also, if your aims are making heaps cash -either directly or by selling- keep in mind that both apps and social networks are tough to build businesses around.)