“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.” ― Albert Einstein”
You’ve just started building your startup, you are thinking big and after all why shouldn’t you. You can’t stop thinking how your idea eventually will change your life. It’s an exciting period isn’t it? The rush is like no other!
Others call you dreamer but you couldn’t care less.
Whenever you talk about your dream you hear others stare at you and say: OK dreams are nice but come back to reality….
Am I the only one who feels sorry about them?
At the end of the day is anything wrong with having high ambitions?
Yes we are dreamers. But we are willing to do whatever it takes to make our dream come true.
Why is it so difficult for others to understand that some individuals are not willing to compromise with their dreams.
There are 2 kind of people – the people that just speak and do nothing and the others that do both; yes we are not afraid to share with the world our vision but…….
Imagination is too comfortable
So you’ll ask when comfortable became something that we need to be afraid of?
Believe me “guys” in that context if we stick there for too long it will cause us some real troubles.
But what do I mean by imagination is too comfortable?
I will let one of best known startup expert’s words elaborate what I speak about; Eric Ries points out in his The Lean Startup:
“As long as nothing has been released and no data have been collected, it is still possible to imagine overnight success in the future”
His point is clear; it’s one thing to have a vision about your startup and your business idea and completely another thing to build castles in the air. To imagine that all the strategies and tactics that you’ll deploy will go according to the plan, that your product will resonate with your customers, traction will be under way very soon after you launch it but…….
The problem is that there is no risk in the planning process!
All of the entrepreneurs that went through this phase, regardless of how pragmatic and experienced they were, will confess to this fact.
It’s practically impossible to predict in advance how things will go. Of course planning is much-needed, but there is no chance that everything will go according to how you imagined it would go, the vast majority will not be even close.
All the variables that compose any business model are interdependent and intertwined, even a minor change in one (deviation between reality and planning) will have a direct and profound effect to the whole business model.
Do you think that each one of those variables (Value Proposition, target group, distribution channel, Demand Creation, Revenue Model, Cost Structure, Resources needed, Action Plan, Partnerships) will go as you plan?
Entrepreneur Hypnosis – The Silent Killer
Common guys, let’s be pragmatic.
But how about the “we can fix the discrepancies along the way approach??
If you follow this “model” as I often describe you’ll gamble with your future, and most often than not the chances will not be on your side.
But why?
If the foundation is wrong and if you don’t achieve the much-desired product-market fit, your actions will be aimless, game lost…
Just do it, Yes we can; those slogans are nice but…only for the elections.
Or how about the “Build it and see what happens approach?”
Again as Eric Ries points out this “is the just do it School of Entrepreneurship after Nike’s famous slogan”.
Many follow that approach. It’s enticing because you live in a bubble that you’ve created and keep your imagination live. You’ll find out if you have gold or dust in your hands only after you launch it (“your product”) into the market.
Of course, with this methodology your moral will stay high over the course of the development phase which is important but the outcome can be devastating.
This was the dominant model for the last few decades, hopefully not any more. Nowadays entrepreneurs and in particular young entrepreneurs have a far better way to follow.
But why what’s the problem with that model?
The answer couldn’t be simpler: There is a big chance to build something that nobody wants.
This will be translated is wasted work, time, dreams and most likely go back to sending out your CV’s again and wear the employee hat. This thought alone makes me nauseous 🙁
Of course regardless of which model you adopt, failure will be on the table, simply by the model that will be recommended soon you’ll learn much earlier if that will be the case and the fundamental difference is that will have the time to take drastic corrective measures to attempt saving the situation (pivot).
The Alternative
Our solution is nothing groundbreaking, it’s simply something that works and is applied by the vast majority of the startup community.
What it’s then?
The so-called MVP (Minimum Viable Product). If you are familiar with the Customer Development model (if not check out that post) dictates that any startup should create a hypothesis for each of the elements that constitute the business model canvas. Those hypotheses need to be developed for the MVP purpose and not for anything else (an imaginable final product; we are far from there).
Your objective is to expose that MVP to your prospects and their reaction will validate or invalidate your business model assumption. Only then you’ll have a rather clear idea that you attained having a problem-solution fit.
The MVP is this phase will be developed as a product with the least possible features that nevertheless can create customer satisfaction. More often than not it shouldn’t take more than few weeks to be created and after is been developed the launch will need to take place without any hesitation and be exposed in front of qualified audience (your prospects/ target group).
In one of the following posts I promise will explain step by step how to create it, which elements to include, all the prior actions and the tests that need to be created to test our business model assumptions and some real business MVP examples.
All the startup experts and successful entrepreneurs clearly argue that is one step that no startup should skip.
I am confident that is the best way to take for enhancing the possibilities in the end having a successful startup.
I really hope to enjoy our today post and I’d love to hear what you think. Leave a comment right below and if this post was of usefulness please spread the word with the buttons in the sidebar.
Until the next time
All the best
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into smaller manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” –Mark Twain
About the Author
Andreas Aravis is the founder of No More Startup Myths. He is a 25-year old junior startup development specialist, blogger and aspiring entrepreneur.
