In the early stages of a startup with limited resources, how can one achieve optimal focus through first principles?

Good question. Simply put, this is about how to make the most of limited money and people – how to put your energy where it counts. The term "First Principles" might sound profound, but it's really about acting like a detective, stripping away all disguises and superficialities to find the core, most fundamental point of a problem.

You can think of it this way:

Step One: Don't look at others, look at yourself, ask the 'dumbest' questions.

Forget what your competitors are doing, forget what concepts are trending now (like AI, metaverse), and temporarily forget what you think users need.

Just ask yourself a few fundamental, even "silly" questions:

• What "physical" problem are we actually solving? Note, it's a physical problem. For example, it's not "helping users manage tasks better," but "enabling an overwhelmed person to leave work on time to spend time with their child." The former is your "feature," the latter is the "problem" in their life.
• Does this problem truly exist? How painful is it? If this problem isn't solved, will the sky fall? Or is it just a minor annoyance? With limited resources, you can only put out fires, not scratch an itch.
• Who feels the most pain? Everyone, or a small group of people? Find that small group of "most pained" individuals; they are your seed users. For instance, regarding "wasted meeting time," an employee just coasting in a large company might not care, but for a startup owner, every minute is money – they are the one who feels the "most pain."

Step Two: Design the "lightest" solution from scratch.

Once you've found the most painful point and the most pained person, don't rush to develop a feature-rich app. Continue applying First Principles.

• What's the simplest, most direct, even "ugliest" method to solve that "real problem" mentioned above?
• If an app isn't an option, can I solve 10% of their core problem using an Excel spreadsheet, a WeChat group, or even by providing manual service myself? If yes, then your direction is correct. This "manual" solution is your MVP (Minimum Viable Product) prototype.
• How much money and time does this lightest solution require? Can your existing resources cover it? If not, it means the solution isn't "light" enough; continue to break it down.

For example:

Suppose you want to create a "smart recipe" app.

• Conventional thinking: You might think about recipe categories, video tutorials, smart recommendations, social sharing, purchase links... a ton of features, then realize development costs are sky-high and the timeline is endless.
• Applying First Principles:
  1. Deconstruct the problem: Why do users need recipes? Not to look at them, but to "cook." What's the pain point of cooking? It's not "not knowing what to make," but "coming home tired after work and wanting to cook a decent meal in 30 minutes using existing ingredients from the fridge." See, the problem is redefined.
  2. Find the user: Who best fits this profile? Young white-collar workers in first-tier cities who work long hours, value quality of life, but aren't great cooks.
  3. Devise a solution: What's the simplest way to solve the core problem of "cooking quickly with existing ingredients"? It's not an app at all. It might be a WeChat official account that pushes 3 quick recipes using common ingredients like "eggs, tomatoes, greens" every night at 8 PM. Even simpler, you could create a WeChat group where users post their fridge ingredients, and you manually suggest two dishes for them.
  4. Focus: Through this WeChat group, you've validated that the demand is real. Now, all your resources should focus on the core point: "how to quickly match a simple recipe based on the user's existing ingredients." Your first product version might only have one feature: the user inputs two or three ingredients they have, and the system immediately returns the most suitable recipe. All other features are completely omitted.

To summarize:

When resources are limited, First Principles act like a filter. They help you filter out all the noise of "I thought," "maybe," and "others have it, so I should too."

It forces you to answer:

1. For whom (the most pained person)
2. Solve what (the most fundamental problem)
3. Using what (the fewest resources)

When you only have enough money for one bullet, this method helps you find the only target worth aiming for. Your resources are not a "limitation," but a "tool" to help you focus.