jd_illa

Saw a new scheduling product launch on PH today, which basically offers a free version of Calendly's paid features.

Founders - how do you think about "free" product launches? I'm testing an idea now, would like to launch it along with pricing so I can validate the pricing/willingness to pay along with the idea, but feel like there's a lot of pressure to launch new products for "free".

Thoughts?

I'm an attorney interested in starting my own practice. Probably will start with corporate, financing & M&A work for tech startups since that's my experience, but I'd be open to branch out as I learn more. I was surprised to learn very few attorneys do user research before opening their own shop.

(Unlike many lawyers,) I actually like practicing law and helping clients problem-solve. Would like to build a practice that serves as a solution, not another problem.

So tell me: what bad experiences have you had with lawyers? What about the good ones? If you're a founder, what is something you'd like to tell the legal industry?

Share/vent/spout off as you please, but be civil and please don't mention specific names!

Someone on HN said Notion started as a research tool. Couldn't find info on that online, but it got me interested in thinking about unusual/interesting pivots. I've read about some of the big ones (Odeo --> Twitter, Tote --> Pinterest), but curious if anyone has more recent or lesser known ones.

Husband and I are expecting our first kid. We have decent mat/pat benefits for the US (3-4 mo each) but manage lean teams and are stressed about the impact our leave will have on our teams & us when we return.

If you're manager of a lean team or startup, how have you effectively handled your or an employee's mat/pat leave when in reality, your biz is already short-staffed? Temporary promotions? Contractors? Spreading the work across the team?

(To be clear, both our companies are supportive of leave, so this isn't a question about whether to take the leave or working during leave.)