I usually help startups by introducing them to other investors. But lately, I’ve been working on a new way to help…

It started when I got an e-mail from the founder of one of my companies. He asked the investors to test the product, a great SaaS tool.

“Hmm, that’s unusual,” I thought. “Let’s give it a try.”

I ran through the whole flow. It was a super impressive product, but I found a couple little glitches. I also had a few ideas on how to make it better.

I wrote those up into a brief e-mail and sent it off. A few minutes later, I got a reply: “Added to the product roadmap.”

That was quick!

Fast forward about a month…

Same founder messages me again. They’d added a ton of features, and he asked if I had time to re-test.

I got you, pal!

These guys have some amazing developers in-house. So why do they need me?

Those developers already know exactly how to use the product. I don’t.

In that respect, I’m a lot like their customers.

You know everything about your product. You built it! But to your customers, it’s foreign and potentially confusing.

Having a fresh set of eyes makes a big difference.

I actually did a certain amount of product testing when I worked in medical software. I had to run through some complex workflows — everything from heart surgery to organ transplant.

Any mistakes could have dire consequences.

So, I learned how to test software carefully and thoroughly. I never thought that experience would come in handy for anything else. But lo and behold…

I can’t commit to doing testing for every company. It depends on my schedule.

But if a founder needs that fresh set of eyes, I love providing it.

Testing the product also helps me from an investment perspective. The only way to truly understand what a startup is doing is to use their product.

The better I understand what the company does, the more informed I’ll be when it’s time to place a follow-on bet.

If you invest in startups, consider doing some testing for your companies. And if you’re a founder, get some use out of those money guys — put them to work!

More on tech:

I’m About to Close the World’s Tiniest Venture Fund

Lessons From My 3 Most Challenged Investments

Learning From My Top 3 Investments

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