I’m using the summer to dive deep into a couple of new business pursuits:

• Launching a line of tick-repellent, comfortable and fashionable clothing called Unbitten with partners. We’re currently transitioning out of our problem-solution fit research into development and hope to have a first run market experiment by Sept.
• Taking my MVP of the product management simulation tool that was tested in my spring class and turning into a real SaaS tool that can be used to train and hire product managers more generally. Its called Product Mastery.

Both have tested well.

This is in addition to running two other businesses, teaching and my personal projects and kids needing attention being home all the time.

Those who know me might wonder if I’m violating two of my key rules: a) staying focused and b) keeping it simple. I’ll take the 2nd one first. Both these ventures have had substantial research leading up to them using a solid lean, iterative process knowing that either could be pivoted or killed at any point (and still could be). Each one has clear, simple goals for their early experiments as we deepen time (and dollar) investments.

Focus is a more complex item. I pondered sequencing them. I didn’t because I knew each one would be bursty with times of intense work and times where others were pushing them forward. The main issue would come if they burst at the same time and I said that the apparel business took precedence given there is seasonality for that product.

The reality has been manageable but it reminded my why focus is so important: the ability to have depth of focus for a period of time. Sometimes you just need to sit and think. Having so much to do makes you task oriented. But there are times, especially when researching or experimenting, to glean insights or solve tricky UX, business or build issues.

In addition, personally, I cannot just designate a time to go deep on something and assume I’ll be able to jump into that mode. Context switching and distractions are difficult to overcome. I find that weekends or times when you can have 3 hours with no distractions are best. But you have to be in the mood and mode and that doesn’t work on a planned schedule. August is a big focus month for me so we’ll see how I do.

If you’re looking for an interesting “what new tech will be born out of the work/learn-at-home movement” discussion, try this article about what comes after Zoom. While Zoom has burst upon the scene for a wider audience, this period also showed how limited the UX is. There is interesting stuff being worked on with the most compelling from mmhmm.