How can you reduce time to value? I have been thinking about this for a long time. If you read enough books, do enough things, patterns start to emerge. And one of the key levers to success that I have found in life is shortening the time it takes to deliver value to someone.

This works for selling a product as well as selling yourself.

Let me give you a couple of examples.

I was a developer trying to get into product management. Everyone asked me why I was sure I would be a good product person. I was not an MBA. I had no prior experience. So I tried to add value even before I joined a company. In the interview process itself.

So I presented a bunch of ideas to the CEO of Coupondunia (Times Internet), who eventually gave me my first product job.

A few years passed. I was on sabbatical. The job market was bad. So I did the same thing when I wanted a job at Directi. Emailed the CEO on how I think Flock can grow.

(You can find the screenshots in my blog post How I got into product management).

If you read Alex Hormozi’s book 100 Million Offers, he talks about the same idea.

Based on Hormozi’s ideas and my own experience, I created this equation that I share with friends/people I mentor who are looking for a job.

Job search success = (outcome * probability of success * evidence of work)/ (time to value * risk * effort * cost).

  • Outcome = What outcome can you deliver for the business?
  • Proof of work = What proof do you have that you can do the work?

Divided by

  • Time to value = How much time do you need to demonstrate your value?
  • Risk = What are the risks of hiring you.
  • Effort = There will be an effort to integrate you, if you are early, someone may need to mentor you
  • Cost = What will it cost the company. Cost in terms of both money and reputation.

If you think about it, it’s hardest to get hired if you’re early in your career, you don’t have domain experience, you’re a costly resource (e.g. post-MBA years of experience in PGM who wants to move to Product later in your career) and there’s not enough evidence to predict whether you’ll be successful.

This concept can also be applied elsewhere. I have written several posts on this blog that your first month in a company is the most important. How fast you can move and show that you are a potential star will have a dramatic impact on your time at the company.

At Coupondunia, my first job, I built a whole new business vertical in 3 months. At Gojek, I built the entire security product suite within 2.5 months of joining the transport team.

This also applies to other areas. You can literally measure time to value. Ramp has a counter. Days since they started. They present this figure before every board meeting.

A VC who invests in Ramp wants his money to compound. How can Ramp do that? By delivering value to their customers and moving fast. How does the CEO prove that the company is moving fast enough? By literally measuring progress in days.

If you are a smart person who has joined a new team in today’s environment where there is so much job uncertainty, you can do the same. Start by literally measuring your progress in terms of days.

Start your own counter. This is how you will win.