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Unless free users are adding participatory value (as found in services with high network effects like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter), they are an expense. Jason Cohen, who writes the popular A Smart Bear blog, even advocates accounting for free users as a “marketing expense” on your balance sheet, much like you would an ad buy or trade show expense.

Of all resources, there is no resource more valuable than time. Time is more valuable than money. While money can fluctuate up or down, time only moves in one direction.

Money is an accelerant, not a silver bullet. It lets you do more of what you’re currently doing, but not necessarily do it better. For instance, more money might tempt you to hire more people and build more features—both of which may lead you off course and slow you down. Constraints drive innovation, but more important, they force action. With less money, you are forced to build less, get it out faster, and learn faster.

I’ve seen startups get distracted by chasing the wrong type of revenue—for example, doing one-time licensing/custom development deals. While revenue is the first form of validation, retention is the ultimate form of validation. Furthermore, if you offer a one-time product, charge appropriately, and have good activation, revenue will take care of itself. Similarly, if you offer a subscription service and charge from day one and you have good retention, revenue will take care of itself.

I’m not a fan of voter-based tools like GetSatisfaction and UserVoice because I don’t believe all customers are equal. Listening to the most vocal or popular feedback does not guarantee you’ll uncover the right learning to build a better product. More often than not, it can have the exact opposite effect.

The biggest waste in manufacturing is created from having to transport products from one place to another. The biggest waste in software is created from waiting for software as it moves from one state to another: waiting to code, waiting to test, waiting to deploy. Reducing or eliminating these wait times leads to faster iterations, which is the key to success.

Continuous Deployment is a practice of releasing software continuously throughout the day—in minutes versus days, weeks, or months.

Reducing the scope of your MVP not only shortens your development cycle, but also removes unnecessary distractions that dilute your product’s messaging. Your MVP should be like a great reduction sauce—concentrated, intense, and flavorful.

You can’t (and shouldn’t) convince a customer that she has a must-have problem, but you often can (and should) convince a customer to pay a “fair” price for your product that is usually higher than what both you and the customer think it is.

Price is part of the product. Suppose I place two bottles of water in front of you and tell you that one costs 50 cents and the other costs 2 dollars. Despite the fact that you wouldn’t be able to tell them apart in a blind taste test (the products are similar enough), you might be inclined to believe (or at least wonder) whether the more expensive water is of higher quality. Here, price has the power to change your perception of the product.