So products which take a long time to initially build and release simply can't be successful? That just seems like an extreme and limiting economic theory to me, and one which requires a lot more data and lot less rhetoric than the current hype about launching quickly is producing.
How can I tell if I am failing at my entrepreneurial venture or start-up?
21–30 of 38 posts
Re: How can I tell if I am failing at my entrepreneurial venture or start-up?
#22That seemed awefully smug and discouraging to me. I've been studying up on other people's successes and failures, and it seems there's no simple pattern that fits all.
"You are asserting that, despite the presence of 7 billion other people on the planet, ... you have come up with an idea, a business, a company that none of those other wonderful human beings have thought to invent yet."
Tell that to the Chinese immigrants running the convenience store around the corner. Their unoriginal idea is putting the kids through college.
Re: How can I tell if I am failing at my entrepreneurial venture or start-up?
#23That seemed awefully smug and discouraging to me. I've been studying up on other people's successes and failures, and it seems there's no simple pattern that fits all. "You are asserting that, despite the presence of 7 billion other people on the planet, ... you have come up with an idea, a business, a company that none of those other wonderful human beings have thought to invent yet." Tell that to the Chinese immigr…
Hi Phu -- the topic is addressed to internet entrepreneurs, not hard-working small business people. I agree with you.
M
Re: How can I tell if I am failing at my entrepreneurial venture or start-up?
#24So products which take a long time to initially build and release simply can't be successful? That just seems like an extreme and limiting economic theory to me, and one which requires a lot more data and lot less rhetoric than the current hype about launching quickly is producing.
The underlying principle is that you have to understand and control the factors affecting your startup's success. If you're not doing so in a meaningful way, you're exposing yourself to large / unknown risk factors, where "large" means "very likely to lead to your failure".
Not having launched the product (esp. in the consumer market) as early as possible is definitely one such factor.
Re: How can I tell if I am failing at my entrepreneurial venture or start-up?
#25That seemed awefully smug and discouraging to me. I've been studying up on other people's successes and failures, and it seems there's no simple pattern that fits all. "You are asserting that, despite the presence of 7 billion other people on the planet, ... you have come up with an idea, a business, a company that none of those other wonderful human beings have thought to invent yet." Tell that to the Chinese immigr…
Hi Phu -- the topic is addressed to internet entrepreneurs, not hard-working small business people. I agree with you. M
Marc, he law of the land here on Hacker News is not to sign your messages. Cheers!
Re: How can I tell if I am failing at my entrepreneurial venture or start-up?
#26You're failing from the moment you start. Your whole mission is to get to a point where you're not failing anymore.
If each day you're making progress towards the things that will make you're specific venture sustainable then you're on the right track. otherwise its time to adjust.
Re: How can I tell if I am failing at my entrepreneurial venture or start-up?
#27So products which take a long time to initially build and release simply can't be successful? That just seems like an extreme and limiting economic theory to me, and one which requires a lot more data and lot less rhetoric than the current hype about launching quickly is producing.
The underlying principle is that you have to understand and control the factors affecting your startup's success. If you're not doing so in a meaningful way, you're exposing yourself to large / unknown risk factors, where "large" means "very likely to lead to your failure". Not having launched the product (esp. in the consumer market) as early as possible is definitely one such factor.
I agree with what you're saying, but I think the original post went much further. Even with respect to what you're saying I think the paradox is that if you discover that people don't like the product you rushed out the door, it might be because you rushed it out the door. And the lessons you learn from customers saying "it doesn't look that valuable" may or may not outweigh the effort it took to launch quickly. Sort of like the way A/B testing can help you make small corrections but probably won't actually create value where there is little to begin with.
Re: How can I tell if I am failing at my entrepreneurial venture or start-up?
#28"RT @pkedrosky: Polite, patient, purposeful founders fail. http://bit.ly/gXA282 /via @cenedella" http://twitter.com/pkedrosky/statuses/48017595332440064
It's a great sound bite that I think is completely wrong.
It's been my experience that purposeful founders do not fail. Patience is always reqired for success and politeness costs you nothing. If a founding team has a sense of purpose, a realistic idea of the amount of work it takes to succeed (patient), and is able to encourage others to assist them (polite) I normally see these as markers for success.
I think the behaviors he is actually highlighting are perfectionism (not patience), an unwillingess to test your vision by getting out of the BatCave and talking to prospects, and being afraid to take prudent risks.
Re: How can I tell if I am failing at my entrepreneurial venture or start-up?
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, no, a hundred times no. "Am I Making Progress?" is the worst question you can ask yourself. It results in answers like: "I've decided on which web framework to use, so yes." "My tests now have 100% code coverage, so yes." "I added a new feature that I think may or may not help 1% of my hypothetical customer base, so yes." As someone who hasn't launched yet, it's easy to wrap yourself in the security blanket of "p…
I think progress means : How many users, pageviews, leads (or whatever other metrics matters to your bottom line) you are adding daily/weekly/monthly.
and $$$$....
Re: How can I tell if I am failing at my entrepreneurial venture or start-up?
#30"RT @pkedrosky: Polite, patient, purposeful founders fail. http://bit.ly/gXA282 /via @cenedella" http://twitter.com/pkedrosky/statuses/48017595332440064
It's a great sound bite that I think is completely wrong. It's been my experience that purposeful founders do not fail. Patience is always reqired for success and politeness costs you nothing. If a founding team has a sense of purpose, a realistic idea of the amount of work it takes to succeed (patient), and is able to encourage others to assist them (polite) I normally see these as markers for success. I think the b…
While I agree with you mostly What I saw in this quote is "don't be shy, go for it even if you are a bit rough on the edge" #hustle - Cheers