The Difference Between Building 0→1 vs. 1→N

Both the process of building a new product and the process of upgrading an existing one are unique and call for unique approaches. Better product builders know the distinction.

By helping so many of our partners construct their most ambitious products, Joel Zien, Managing Director, Client Experience and Growth, has first-hand expertise with the differences between building 0→1 and 1→N; expertise he’s more than happy to share with you. 

Wherever you are, we can help. 

Video caption: When it comes to product development, sometimes it’s about figuring out what new product to build, 0→1, and other times you’re trying to figure out how to make an existing product better, 1→N. These paradigms require different mindsets, sometimes different people, and most of all, different risk profiles within your organization. 0→1 means being comfortable with ambiguity because nothing is crystal clear yet. You can’t be afraid of fast decision-making as divergent thinking is critical here. Because you haven’t found product market fit, you can’t be afraid to take multiple swings at the problem. Most of all, you can’t be afraid of failure – because more often than not, it is from this failure the best products are born. With 1-N you don’t need to be as comfortable with ambiguity because you’ve already found a product market fit. You have real-life data on how people are using your product. What you need to focus on here is usage analysis, strategic experiments, and organizational alignment because while there are a million things you could do, you need to get really good at prioritizing the things you should do.