Knectar recently launched its first product to some glowing reviews. This is a talk about the process of conceiving and developing a professional-grade SaaS product from within the context of a high-capacity web production shop. It’s been a dance, but unexpected synergies have formed to make the process one of the most challenging yet satisfying projects of my career and a new experience for many on the Knectar team. I want to share what we’ve learned through this process, and promise barely a passing mention of the product itself (along with coupon codes of course)! Topics to include:

Ideation
How do plausible business ideas emerge? Brainstorming vs emergent happenstance.

Cold hard cash
Internal vs. external investment.

Tech selection
Emphasis on risk mitigation strategies

Discovering Marketing 101
And the mixed blessing that comes when your web production shop gets all of its business through referrals.

Flipping the switch.
Letting go of iteration and just launching already.

Spinning multiple plates
Time and resource allocation (and plug).