Get the product out

Then learn from your customers how to define it

“If you get to market later, when there are other players in the space, like in Graspr’s case, you’re constantly defending," said Teresa Phillips, founder and CEO of Graspr, a video how-to site. "You’re on the defensive in terms of trying to differentiate from those who made it to market first."

Teresa's point is well made. These days, when she interviews with people, including yours truly, the question she's faced with is: "How are you different or better than Expert Village and other 'how-to' video sites?" 

If she were to do it all over again, Teresa would spend less time planning and researching in the abstract. "I had the idea of Graspr very early on but spent six to nine months researching," she said. The basic strategy she adheres to today is "get them [products] out there," she said, owing a lot of her sensibilities to something someone had told her once, which was: "If you're not embarrassed about your product when it goes to market, you've launched too late." Once the product is out, then learn from your customers, she said.

Teresa also talks about lessons she's learned about building a video site, and what she learned from Revver, a video sharing site that raised about $13 million in funding, and sold this year for under $5 million.