Lukas Minnebeck on LinkedIn: Eyk recently shipped our first open-source project at Sonic 👀 Already… (2024)

How to make conferences worthwhile as a founderLast week, Patrick and I attended the Start Summit in St. Gallen, despite our concerns about the long travel and less focus work, we decided to go.Here is what we did to get the most out of it:1️⃣Define a goal for yourselfOur main goal was to reconnect with people from the ecosystem we already knew and meet new ones (>30 chats).2️⃣Plan aheadBefore the event, we identified people who we wanted to talk to & reconnect with, reached out via LinkedIn, WhatsApp or the event app and scheduled chats. In the end, we had nearly 40 conversations in 2 days.3️⃣In-person interactions build relationshipsMeeting people in-person makes it easier to chat with each other but also to get to know the other person. Conversations are not as transactional as online meets which is great to establish a relationship.4️⃣Shoot your shotsMost people attending such conferences are looking to meet new people which is a great opportunity to get in touch with people you always wanted to talk to but who are difficult to get a hold of otherwise.Of course, it also depends on your business as a founder whether conferences are worth it. At Sonic, we are relying a lot on our network and relationships which is why is makes sense to invest in it!Now, we are recharging our social batteries and go back to work 👋🏼

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We built our first own product at Sonic and are launching it today! ⚡️Meet Supersonic, an intuitive and lightweight database interface for relational databases that we have been crafting on nights and weekends. 👋As we build software for a living, we are very familiar with the tool stack available for doing it. This is why we realised that nearly all tooling for building software products has been rebuilt with usability and productivity in mind - except for working with databases. Supersonic changes that.To solve our own problem, we started engineering an internal database interface that would make us more productive in our day-to-day project work. We have now been using it for the last few months, and it has been a game changer for us - and we believe it will be for you as well!Beta access to Supersonic starts today! If you are working with relational databases for personal or work projects, we would love to hear from you. Sign up on our website, and we will reach out to get you access to Supersonic.Much more to come! ⚡️

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Sharing insights at Unicon 🦄 This morning, I had the pleasure to kick-off Unicon at CODE with a super-fun panel together with Johanna! We talked about product, design and our work at Blossom Design and Sonic! ⚡️

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Focus means saying no (a lot)Opportunities are everywhere. The true challenge lies not in pursuing all of them but in mastering the art of selective focus. Steve Jobs famously said:"People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully."🔍 Why focus is importantOur time and attention are finite. To achieve excellence, we need to channel our energies into a few selected areas and excel in them. New and exciting ideas can be very attractive, but history teaches us that looking back the most successful people reach their goals by focusing on just one thing at a time.🚫 The discipline of rejectionIt is not just about choosing what to do; it is equally about what to ignore. The discipline to stick to a topic, to reject all of the "great" ideas that distract us, is rare. Yet, it is this very consistency and focus that brings success in the long run. The secret? True dedication to the chosen path, saying no to everything else.🔄 Consistency compoundsThis method has two main advantages. First, by staying focused, you stand out among others who spread their efforts too thin. Second, staying focused over time adds up and becomes exponentially powerful. Not many people have the discipline to stick with it, but those who do see big results.🕰 Taking time to choose your focusHaving said all of this, it become clear that choosing your focus is a big decision and requires reflection. It is worth taking the time to deeply consider what you want to dedicate your attention to in the coming years. Once that decision is made, stick to it and keep your focus.How do you maintain highly focused despite all the distractions?

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What will your Moonshot be? 🚀Today marks a new chapter at Sonic which we internally call Sonic 2.0. In this new, updated „version“, we aim to incorporate the incredible learnings and progress we have made over the last year.Reflecting on the work we have done over the last year, we realized a pattern. The projects that we prefer to partner on are Moonshots, aiming to have a positive impact on the world and our partners' businesses. They are ambitious and require technical excellence to make them possible.This idea of a moonshot becomes a core element of the Sonic brand and is prominently featured on our new website! You can check it out via the link in the comments.I am incredibly excited and proud to be taking this next step with Sonic. That being said, a huge shoutout to both Patrick & Selina internally, as well as Felix, Johanna, Jannis & co from our partner network for their outstanding work on this project!So now we are asking you: What will your Moonshot be?

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Should you offer your MVP for free?In the startup world, there is a common misconception that offering your first product completely for free is the best way to attract customers and get initial feedback. However, the vast majority of products should charge their customers from the very beginning - even if it is just a small amount.Here is why:1️⃣ Valuable customer feedbackWhen customers pay for your product, their feedback is often more invested and genuine. Free products attract more users, but paid products attract serious customers who provide insights that are more aligned with your target market.2️⃣ Find a strong value propositionCharging for your product from the very beginning forces you to think about the true value proposition to customers early on, as people do feel a pain paying for something that they do not perceive as valuable. This sets a foundation for an actual business.3️⃣ Market validationPaying customers is one of the strongest forms of market validation and indicates that you are solving a problem that people actually have and care about. It is not just about making money - it is about understanding the value of your product to your customers. Charging for your product, even a small amount, can provide invaluable insights and set the stage for long-term success.Did you charge for your first product version?

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Celebrating one year of Sonic 🤯⚡️A year ago, we launched Sonic publicly and celebrated it with the entire team in Berlin. It is amazing how fast time has flown since then!🤝 A year full of progress:- Welcomed amazing new people on board with Eyk, Torben and Julian- Formed great new partnerships and launched outstanding products together- Continued investing in our unique company culture- Enjoyed unforgettable team trips to Belgium, Tuscany, and Berlin- Worked on first internal products 👀 🚀 As we step into 2024, I am so grateful for this incredible year and excited for what is ahead. We have big plans and are hungry for our second year at Sonic!

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Every product manager should aspire to become more technical 💻Over the last year(s), I spent many hours learning about engineering and coding myself to expand my technical abilities and understanding. Here is how it changed my work as a product manager:1️⃣ Communication becomes more efficientSpeaking the "same language" as the engineers increases the communication bandwidth significantly as all the technical to non-technical translation can simply be removed. It makes the team more efficient and let us move faster.2️⃣ More context for prioritisationThe required effort always influences a prioritisation decision. With technical knowledge, you can make more informed and realistic decisions regarding the feasibility and complexity of product features in less time. 3️⃣ Ability to guard your engineersLeveraging a technical understanding of your product enables you to comprehensively represent it across different departments, effectively shielding your engineering team from non-essential queries by marketing or finance teams, and giving them the focus time that they need.However, it is important to remember that being a technical as a product manager does not mean doing the engineers' job. It is about leveraging technical understanding to guide decision-making and enhance communication.

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"We still lack some features but then customers will start adopting our product" 😇I often hear this notion when talking to early-stage founders, and of course adding new functionality to the product increases the chance of building something valuable. However, when iterating on product, unused / undesired features are inevitably produced and dilute the product, if not removed after testing.Ultimately, the customer's decision to adopt a product is driven by their understanding of value it can bring to them. The simpler the product, the easier it is for the customer to grasp the value.Apart from them adopting the product, this has other benefits as well:1️⃣ If customers understand the product, it is easy to give valuable feedback2️⃣ If customers understand the product, they can easily tell their friends about it 3️⃣ If others then try the product, it is easy to discover the value that was talked aboutIn product, often less is more.

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