You might not realize you needFencesuntil you use it.
The idea stuck, and years later became fully fledged Windows program distributed byStardock.
Where did the idea for the app come from?
Were you trying to solve a problem youd experienced, or did the inspiration come from somewhere else?
Fences was a pretty fun story actually.
While Fences didnt come about until 2006, the original prototype dates back some six years to ~2000.
It wasnt until another six years later that I decided to polish the edges and take the program commercial.
Id had my hands pretty full between college and other apps at the time.
After you came up with the idea, what was the next step?
When I had the idea originally, the next step was to validate the idea technically.
This process has been the same for every product Ive ever made.
to spread the word, and a few hundred people initially signed up.
So the running themes above: next steps were to learn, validate and to simply keep moving.
What was your biggest roadblock and how did you overcome it?
Like with most apps, distribution was our biggest challenge with Fences.
Fences did however have a distinct advantage in that it was highly viral by virtue of its visibility.
But the viral loop falls flat if you limit your adoption with a pay-wall or trial limitations.
So, we decided to take a pretty risky approach.
This both worked and it didnt.
It did solve distribution.
The first two years we got great traction.
The daya year inwhen we went freemium with Pro was a huge disappointment.
We spent the next year trying different approaches with Pro but it just didnt take.
The app began to languish.
Had we solved our distribution problem and killed our product at the same time?
Summer 2012 we decided to make a brand new shining v2.0, and this one wed charge for.
We tried it and it worked!
Users who didnt want to pay could still find 1.0 free, so negative reaction was very limited.
And to boot, we had a huge existing user base we could notify about the new version.
What was launch like for you?
How was the reception of the app?
By the time Fences launched, thousands of people were already using it.
A launch then just becomes a marketing event for a thoroughly validated product.
Sometimes you still want to launch big, validate, pivot as needed and go from there.
Thankfully, none of this was necessary with Fences, and the organic approach was the way to go.
How do you handle user requests and criticisms effectively?
Your job as a product manager is to extract themes and patterns from user feedback.
With Fences, we collected this data on our message boards.
I carefully consider but dont roll over, and encourage further counters to challenge my position.
As I see a trend, I brainstorm with others and we come up with a plan to address.
On the engineering side of things, criticisms must be jumped on more actively.
Im a big follower of the Toyota Production System methodology applied to software development.
If unresolvable in that time, you make a decision on whether to prioritize or to queue.
Fences is in a mature spot, but its a pretty complex product behind the scenes.
Earlier on it was common for me diagnose issues via screen-sharing to see what was up.
Now developing in iOS, I rely on exhaustively-thorough debug logs andMixPanelanalytics to virtually be there.
Reacting to criticisms on the engineering side is key to high quality.
What advice would you give to others that want to take on a similar project?
Solve problems and be crafty.
Step away, clear your mind and give it a hard look a week or month later.
Do this more than once.
Dont do this alone.
Choose your partners very carefully.
Develop a small group of trusted advisors.
Develop relationships with mentors.
Dont be afraid to fail.
Not a lot of people get the chance to do something creative like this.
Dont forget to appreciate this and have fun.
Good luck out there!
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