Recent events have reminded me of a phrase I’ve long used in the startup world: “Having a TJ.”
Before Staffjoy became a company, it was just a side project. Our first user was TJ, whose biggest challenge was scheduling his workforce. Every week, TJ would meet with us to explain his problems. We’d show him what we were working on, and he’d provide invaluable feedback. TJ became the lifeblood of our startup—a real person with a real problem, collaborating with us to find a solution. Over time, “TJ” evolved into a metaphorical persona representing our customer base: “What would TJ want?”
Our minimum viable product at Staffjoy involved just emailing spreadsheets of schedules back and forth with TJ. Despite its simplicity—and perhaps clunkiness—he was happy to use it because we were addressing his core workforce management issues. TJ wasn’t distracted by unnecessary features; he cared about solving his problem.
With TJ’s help, we built an app, got into the Y Combinator Fellowship, raised a seed round, and helped more customers. TJ’s feedback and enthusiasm were instrumental in guiding Staffjoy from an idea into a venture we worked on for two years.
Many startups fail to secure even a single customer or create something that one person genuinely wants. Having a “TJ” keeps a company focused on solving real problems for real people. Individuals like TJ validate assumptions, offer honest feedback to prioritize work, answer spontaneous questions, and become references for future customers. They confirm that the company is tackling a genuine need. Once you’ve built something that satisfies TJ, you can seek out more customers like them.
In other companies I’ve been involved with, there’s always been that “TJ”—the first customer who has a problem, collaborates on the solution, and then champions your product. If you’re building a startup and don’t yet have a passionate user, I recommend focusing on finding that early adopter who can provide feedback. If you can’t find such a user, perhaps you’re addressing the wrong problem.
Later, as the industry shifted amid consolidations and shutdowns, TJ was laid off. Responding to the market dynamics, we pivoted, but we struggled to find another TJ and ultimately shut down. Losing a “TJ” can be a canary in the coal mine for a startup.
A passionate early customer keeps a startup team motivated and working on the right thing. Most startups focus on growth too early and fail to make something that a single customer wants. The TJ lesson is that a successful product starts with one customer, and that one customer’s love of the product is rooted in a problem they desperately want your help solving.
It's better to have 100 users love you than 1 million kinda like you. The true seed of scale is love, and you can't buy it, hack it, or game it. A product that is deeply loved is one that can scale.
- Sam Altman