I’m in the midst of assembling the beta user group and advisory team for VisiOlo and it got me thinking about some of the beta groups I’ve had in the past — especially the ones I worked with for physical products.
Doing software is so much more fun than physical products because, with the right programming team, product changes can happen really fast. Physical products can be expensive and slow to change, so product evolution is slow and frustrating to an instant gratification guy like me.
When I was a product manager in the orthopedic implant world, it would take years to develop a product and every single prototype implant cost thousands of dollars. Not to mention the fact that taking an implant for a ‘test drive’ is not the easiest thing to do.
Back in the day, when we wanted to get feedback on a new shoulder implant, I would have to bring in a team of consulting surgeons, and order up some cadavers! We would all get in a lab and myself, the designing surgeon and our head engineer would literally walk the team of surgeons through the surgical technique.
At first, working with cadavers really freaked me out. I had a hard time developing the separation that one needs in order to work with dead human flesh. In fact, I never really did develop true separation, but I saw that the experienced surgeons in the group did. I guess after years of medical school and thousands of hours in the operating room, the strangeness of working with cadavers isn’t a big deal.
Even though it was strange and a bit freaky working with cadavers, I was grateful for the opportunity to test the products I managed in a real-world environment. I was also grateful for the generosity of the donors who gave their body to science when they were no longer using it.
Beta testing is always an exciting time. Insights come fast and weaknesses in the product are rapidly exposed. And I can honestly say I have never been as excited about a beta launch than I am with VisiOlo.
We’ve got an incredible advisory team assembled who will, I’m sure, ask questions we never thought to ask, provide insight where we didn’t know we needed it, and add a tremendous amount of energy to the project.
I’m grateful to have people in my life who are willing to jump on board in the early stages of a project, and still more grateful that, this time, I don’t have to wear gloves, use a bone saw, or smell formaldehyde.
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