Conversations: Nathan Kotny

Not too long ago I had a fun conversation with Nathan Kotny. We talked about his project Draft (which I’m writing in now), product development and continual improvement. His insights were great. I loved how Nathan talked about creating the mindset of having a “train schedule” that was always on. This helped him focus on shipping something every 2-3 weeks like clockwork.

Here are a few other notes from our conversation.

Keep momentum

There’s nothing more important than momentum. Work hard to get it and fight like hell to keep it.

Use origin stories

People are fascinated with beginnings. Think about your favorite movies. Don’t most of them involve where a character starts? Be sure to share the origin of your self, product or organization.

Don’t be shy about your ideas

Ideas live best in the wild. Set them free.

Have as many conversations with customers as possible

It may not be scalable to speak with all of your customers. Doing it as much as possible will help you keep a pulse on your business and stay connected to the people who matter.

Since we spoke, Nathan took over Highrise from the Basecamp crew. I look forward to seeing what he does with it. Regardless, I’ll always appreciate our chat and hope some of his advice will help you too.