A/B Testing & Shit Sandwiches

In the world of early stage startups, many founders obsess over metrics. Every decision must be data-driven. While not always helpful, most of the time this worldview is at least not harmful. But one area where it can be harmful, especially in early-stage Growth, is A/B testing.

A thought experiment to help elucidate the point: Let’s say you have two sandwiches. One is a McChicken. The other is a Shit Sandwich. Which one do you eat? Should we run an A/B test to make sure your decision is data-driven?

Early-stage product flows are almost always shit sandwiches. Don’t get in your own way by taking a big bite out of one just to make sure, as you suspected, it is in fact shit. Just eat the McChicken.