I Want Product-Market Fit

Share this post

🍾 Are you celebrating enough? Create a champagne list!

iwantproductmarketfit.substack.com

🍾 Are you celebrating enough? Create a champagne list!

Celebrating wins keeps motivation high

Jeroen Coelen
Apr 26, 2023
2
Share
Share this post

🍾 Are you celebrating enough? Create a champagne list!

iwantproductmarketfit.substack.com

🧪 Experiment: I’m doing weekly posts now. Let me know below what you think.
⏰ Reading time: 2 minutes.


  • Most early-stage startups I meet forget to celebrate mini-wins and milestones.

  • Why?

  • Because people think goals should be measurable and only count if you get 1000 sales or €100k in revenue.

Nothing to measure week on week in the early-stage

The downside is that measuring is tricky before you have a product or revenue. You don’t have your KPIs yet, nor a north star metric. Should you wait for 12 months to pop a bottle of champagne? No!

Create your champagne list

Celebrating how this startup killed their first idea.

On this list are intermediate milestones that deserve the popping of a bottle. These should be your tiny milestones that are huge for your first steps as a startup. Some examples:

  • Did 50 problem interviews

  • Killed a startup idea

  • 5 pre-orders

  • 25 people on our waiting list

  • First pilot program sold

  • Working prototype

  • First sale

  • First positive review in a pilot

  • In contact with 5 suppliers

For inspiration on what to ‘measure’ in an early-stage startup, click here.

3-5 goals on your champagne list are good. Good champagne list items help you to drive grit. I propose setting ambitious goals helps you to outperform yourself. They have to be achievable, though.

The startup of the above’s picture created a new champagne list for their new idea.

Don’t forget to revisit it

Celebrating your wins keeps your motivation high and creates momentum! Some startups create a champagne list and forget about it. Make sure you revisit this every week or two weeks. Include it in your routines.


Did you like this one?

Great - Good - Meh


Need tailored advice for your startup?

Schedule a free call to discuss your startup, no strings attached, pinky promised

Get 1-on-1 help from Jeroen


Did someone forward this email? Subscribe to not miss out on future startup tips!

2
Share
Share this post

🍾 Are you celebrating enough? Create a champagne list!

iwantproductmarketfit.substack.com
Previous
Next
Comments
Top
New
Community

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2023 Jeroen Coelen
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great writing