Why Now: How Good Timing Makes Great Products

by Paul Orlando

They say that timing is one of the most important things in business. But how do you figure out if your timing is right?

This book will guide you.

Learn to identify drivers of good timing, business model impact, and how to apply what’s changing to your own situation. With examples from many companies – successful and failed – this book offers founding teams, product managers, investors, and innovation groups a way to evaluate timing in their own situations.

Learn frameworks that help you think through your own situation, ways to present your timing advantage, and patterns that have worked for other companies.

You will

To run a Why Now Session and build a Timing Map.Patterns to consider when evaluating timing.How timing shifts your market size.How to figure out how early you should build.Whether you should really sell shovels in a gold rush.How varied business types, including digital photography, rideshare, music streaming, communications, and more thrived or struggled because of timing.

195 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 3, 2024

Reviews

[Søren Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Orlando’s "Why Now: How Good Timing Makes Great Products" is a clear, actionable guide to understanding the critical role of timing in success. Few know how to judge whether a product is “dangerously early” or “not too late” to go to market. Drawing on years of experience, including his leadership as Incubator Director at the University of Southern California, Orlando provides structured insights and practical tools for assessing timing.

Having advised over 250 startups across sectors like SaaS, AI, and health tech, Orlando shares his expertise through frameworks and case studies that illuminate timing’s role in success. Through real-world examples and practical tools, he helps founders, investors, and potential employees recognize when the market is favorable for success and avoid common pitfalls. Each chapter concludes with concrete takeaways, giving readers insights they can apply immediately.

With research-backed frameworks and practical guidance, "Why Now" empowers you to make timing an intentional part of your decisions. For anyone evaluating business or product opportunities, Orlando’s book is an invaluable resource, turning timing into a competitive advantage and increasing your chances of success.

[Trevor Merrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A caution against the idolatry of "first-mover advantage," this compact primer shows that, absent due consideration of the timing question, even great ideas may fail to translate into profitable products and companies. Sadly, cutting-edge innovators who go to market before an actual window of opportunity has opened may find themselves looking on with chagrin as later iterations of their original concept take off. Even late arrivals can sometimes find a niche thanks to network effects and other factors. Fleshed out with examples and case studies, this book should be of interest to founders, employees, and anyone looking for a clearly presented guide to the role and importance of timing in business.

[Y · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Orlando has given us the framework of why some businesses do or do not take off at certain times. Thoughtful, compelling, and easy to understand book. Essential read for any aspiring entrepreneurs or those interested business history.