Is it too early to address positioning?

Yes, there is such a thing as too early to tighten positioning. No, it is never too early to think about positioning.

Positioning = vision

I suspect few entrepreneurs quit their high-paying jobs as a engineers with FANG companies with nothing more than a vague idea about what sort of problem they intend to solve. Most founders I work with don’t quit their day jobs until they’ve had an open source project get some traction or at least until they have a very clear pain they experience in their normal job as an engineer (and most of the founders I work with were engineers at some of the most forward-thinking companies when it comes to engineering) that they intend to solve. We call this vision, but positioning and vision are related. NOTE: This is why changing positioning can be emotionally fraught. It can be a fundamental change in the company’s vision, and that can be hard to swallow.

Positioning isn’t for stealth

If you’re a team of five pounding out code and working to get your product ready for it’s exit from stealth, don’t think too much about positioning yet. Focus on getting your product ready for prime time. That said, it is absolutely appropriate to consciously position the product, and even work with a consultant like me, as you prepare to launch the product and do things like write web copy, do a PR campaign and go on a podcast tour. Positioning is going to help you communicate clearly why your baby is so awesome.

How to do positioning for cheap

One reason it might be too early to work with me is that you have no money. If the founders aren’t paying themselves, you don’t have any paid team members and you’re still trying to get your first invesment, it’s not the right moment to hire me. However, you can take my positioning course (coming in April, which is next month!) or read April Dunford’s awesome book, Obviously Awesome.

It’s never too early to think about positioning, just like it’s never too early to have a vision for the company. But positioning doesn’t become really important until you’re exiting stealth, your team is growing and you need to have conversations with people outside your bubble about the product.