How to Test Drive Your Business Idea Before Quitting Your Job
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Re: How to Test Drive Your Business Idea Before Quitting Your Job
#2Nothing really new here that isn't covered in Lean Startup materials.
>We've spent millions of dollars ... so you don't have to.
This two person company that's had, from what I can tell, a hand full of clients, has spent millions of dollars testing their marketing? I find that a little hard to believe.
That said, their Playbook page is pretty cool and informative, even if seemingly most of it is behind a paywall. It'd be nice to have more information about how these ROIs were calculated. If it's a sample size of three it doesn't mean much. Or whether it was done in combination with other things, and how long those results were measured for also matters a lot. As it stands right now it just sort of comes across as marketing bullshit because it's impossible to tell how meaningful the ROIs are.
The case studies are also pretty weak. Your solution is two sentences? Really?
Re: How to Test Drive Your Business Idea Before Quitting Your Job
#3The biggest issue for me is to identify meaningful problems in the first place.
I mean, when I work for other companies I can crack down on problems they identified and have customers for and often I have good solutions for them. But finding these problems is hard.
Re: How to Test Drive Your Business Idea Before Quitting Your Job
#4Good write up! Learnt some new points.
Re: How to Test Drive Your Business Idea Before Quitting Your Job
#5Is quitting your job for your own startup idea, when working in tech, really that big of a deal? Especially if you are a software engineer? You'll probably end up doing the same thing as on a corporate job but for yourself while learning a lot of new things about building software (marketing, sales, design, etc.) and about yourself (grit, character, etc.). You are still gaining experience. If shit hits the fan, with all digitalization going on everywhere, finding a new job won't really be that big of an issue.
Re: How to Test Drive Your Business Idea Before Quitting Your Job
#6Is quitting your job for your own startup idea, when working in tech, really that big of a deal? Especially if you are a software engineer? You'll probably end up doing the same thing as on a corporate job but for yourself while learning a lot of new things about building software (marketing, sales, design, etc.) and about yourself (grit, character, etc.). You are still gaining experience. If shit hits the fan, with…
For some it is, for others it isn't. Remember that not every potential entrepreneur is in the same boat. Some are non-technical founders. Some just graduated college and are flooded with debt. Others are risk-averse.
But they all want to do something big. The test-drive concept is to go into building your new startup with data-backed reasons for why it's the right thing to do.
It helps you justify your decision to yourself and those around you. It's not just the job, but the people involved. At the end of the day, the entrepreneur is NOT the only one affected by the decision of starting a new business.
Re: How to Test Drive Your Business Idea Before Quitting Your Job
#7The biggest issue for me is to identify meaningful problems in the first place. I mean, when I work for other companies I can crack down on problems they identified and have customers for and often I have good solutions for them. But finding these problems is hard.
Totally get that. You've already got a great way to identify the meaningful problems - it doesn't come out of thin air, but out of your experience working with people, clients, etc...
That's the point of Step 1: Wanna know what problems a client is facing? Ask. If you don't ask, you'll never know what solution to build.
The quitting of the job can come later :)
Re: How to Test Drive Your Business Idea Before Quitting Your Job
#8Good write up! Learnt some new points.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
Re: How to Test Drive Your Business Idea Before Quitting Your Job
#9The biggest issue for me is to identify meaningful problems in the first place. I mean, when I work for other companies I can crack down on problems they identified and have customers for and often I have good solutions for them. But finding these problems is hard.
Totally get that. You've already got a great way to identify the meaningful problems - it doesn't come out of thin air, but out of your experience working with people, clients, etc... That's the point of Step 1: Wanna know what problems a client is facing? Ask. If you don't ask, you'll never know what solution to build. The quitting of the job can come later :)
I'm already a freelancer, so I don't need to quit much, haha.
Point is, the people I work for see me as a tool. They pay me money for my time to solve the problems they identified themselves.
Re: How to Test Drive Your Business Idea Before Quitting Your Job
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
Totally get that. You've already got a great way to identify the meaningful problems - it doesn't come out of thin air, but out of your experience working with people, clients, etc... That's the point of Step 1: Wanna know what problems a client is facing? Ask. If you don't ask, you'll never know what solution to build. The quitting of the job can come later :)
I'm already a freelancer, so I don't need to quit much, haha. Point is, the people I work for see me as a tool. They pay me money for my time to solve the problems they identified themselves.
Ah - well you're directly tapped into the problems they all have, even if they see you as just a tool. You're working with so many different businesses that you have a bigger sample size. What's a recurring problem? How can you solve it at scale? Not saying it's easy at all, but you probably have an advantage over someone who just works for a single company.