jbrasunas

When it comes to trying to predict if a start-up is going to succeed or not, there's no shortage of opinions on what are the key factors that point to success.  Passion of the founders, adequate capital, market focus, protected intellectual property, catching the current trends, well-written business plan, and experienced management are just some of the more popular elements that are named.   Trouble is, it's not too hard to find exceptions, and point to successful companies that lacked one or more of those elements and still made it.   

So, what the hell, I've come up with my own list, based upon what I've seen and experienced.   And I've made it a really short list so it's easy to remember.   I truly think that if a company embodies both of these things, they're going to find success.   So here they are:  Demand and Execution.   Customer Demand for the company's product or service, and Execution meaning meeting that demand consistently and with excellence.   The greatest widget that no one wants, the compelling app that people yawn at, or a service that misses the mark.........try building a company around any of those and you'll fail.  On the other hand, if you've got a widget that a lot of people want but you can't deliver it, or service it, or find a channel to market for it......well, that's a big problem too.

The faster a company can prove that there is market demand and the faster the company can figure out how it can satisfy that demand, the sooner all of the other good things start to happen.  Find a way to get a prototype built and into the hands of who you think will get excited by having it so you can find out beyond a doubt if they are or not.  It's much better spending your time getting that done than spending precious hours doing another iteration of your business plan.  If you find the demand just isn't there, then move on!  Change your product, change your company or change your career.  It's much better to fail sooner than to fail later.  Valuable lessons from failure will serve you well in your next endeavor.   

All of that other stuff, like customer service, financial projections, valuation consideration, marketing plans, etc. are all very important when their time has come.   But it's all make-believe until you really begin delivering value to customers.    Create a very focused plan for yourself that has one objective: getting your product into the hands of a few would-be customers as soon as you can.   Execute that plan and then listen.  Listen to what your first few customers have to say about what you've given them.  They'll tell you how much they'll pay for it, they'll tell you how you can make it better, and they'll tell their friends about it.  That's the quickest way to know whether or not your start-up has a chance or not.  And then you've got a real story to build a business plan around...........and just maybe a real success on your hands.

Tags: Director