1) Building any technology before you need to

You can test and learn a ton with non-tech tools and approaches.

We often assume that because our final product will be technical, we should rely on technology every step of the way. Not only is this untrue, but by starting to develop technology too early, we risk spending too many resources before we’ve learned enough to move ahead. Worse still, a tech-first approach sometimes entices us to skip testing altogether. Challenge yourself to test your market and assumptions in the most low-tech way possible first. Only turn to tech once you’ve exhausted every other path.

2) Mistaking a small product for a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

Small products can trim away the unique value, making them of little value and creating limited opportunities for learning.

Eric Ries, of The Lean Startup fame, helped popularize a valuable idea: Build as little as needed to learn. However, the MVP is easily and often applied in the wrong way. We often assume the “learning” requirement is a given and focus entirely on the “least effort”. We build a small application with few features. Development requires few resources and moves quickly. We take pride in our speed and efficiency, without realizing we may have lopped off what was compelling and unique.

When crucial elements are missing, we can’t generate valuable learning and are left with only obvious or unuseful information. We create little opportunity to see the next clear step for our product. This is the equivalent of buying that paperback from a discount bin. Sure it was 80% off, but since you’ll never read it, it was 100% too expensive. 

3) Assuming your tech will be your venture’s most valuable asset

Incredible technology with poor execution still leads to a failed product.

Far too often I see early-stage entrepreneurs focusing almost exclusively on building their great technology. They are banking on first-mover advantage or a patent to ensure their success. While those may be valuable assets, I’ve never seen a product good enough to overcome failed execution. Neglect for the competition, customer or team is enough to sink even the most inspired and unique new technology.

4) Getting consumed by the search for a technical cofounder or CTO

These early hires are not nearly as necessary as we’re led to believe.

When I meet non-technical founders trying to develop a technology-based venture, I hear one request more than any other: “Any tips for finding a technical cofounder?”

Yes, it’s crucial that any venture based on technology needs high-quality technology leadership. However, in their frenzy to find these resources, founders often forget two important points. First, the search for a great tech leader takes time, effort, and sometimes a bit of luck. Second, while a potentially lengthy search is underway, there’s still a LOT of technical progress that can be made.

By not pursuing other options — part-time resources, contractors, advisors, low-tech options — founders are losing valuable opportunities for testing their market, developing an early product, and generating the type of traction that makes attracting technology leaders easier and faster.

5) Spending too much effort making technology choices up front

Technologies and company needs can change rapidly and a startup’s environment is highly uncertain. Delaying tech execution in order to “future-proof” the technology or prepare for future scale is a mistake.

No one wants to build a great technology product and then watch it collapse under the weight of future growth. Thoughtful, forward-thinking founders worry about this often, and they should. But when “worry” turns to inaction, delays or missed opportunities, these entrepreneurs are needlessly harming their ventures.

Startups are uncertain by their very nature, and technology is no exception. The future usage and needs of a tech tool are very hard to predict, yet entrepreneurs attempt to do so often. Some build big, robust, expensive tools that can handle huge volume... before they’ve launched their first product.

Should the need to upgrade — or possibly even replace — your technology arise in the future, address it as it comes. But when entrepreneurs are busy using their scarce resources to optimize their tech, new competitors can emerge, market opportunities can shift, and critical moments can slip away. 

6) Believing an estimate of how long the tech will take to build

Even the most skillful and disciplined tech teams can fail to hit deadlines or estimates. Putting too much faith in those projections is a mistake.

The development of software is notoriously difficult to predict. Even in the case of established companies updating long-time products — think Microsoft Word — deadlines can extend and unexpected costs can mount up. When we add in the uncertainty of a game-changing startup, we have an even harder time making reliable estimates.

And often these changes aren’t even the result of bad news. Entrepreneurs can generate exciting and valuable insights while testing their product, but implementing those changes were not in the original plan.

When entrepreneurs hold too tightly to estimates of the time and money their tech will require, they can miss valuable opportunities and introduce unnecessary risks.

7) Adding bells and whistles with the assumption that removing them later will be easy

Users become attached to functionality and it is costly to “pay off” technical debt.

Ask any parent and they’ll tell you saying “yes” is so much easier than saying “no”. The same applies to entrepreneurs creating exciting new technology. Watching a product come to life can be intoxicating, and when it comes to adding more features and functions, we can easily assume that “more is more”.

On their own, each of these additions may be useful, but they come at a cost. First, they require resources to build. Next, they may introduce more complexity to the code and a user’s experience. And third, as a software product grows, the costs to run and maintain it increase as well.

Should we decide in the future that we want to remove one of these enhancements, the costs keep stacking up. More resources are required to update the code and the user’s experience. And inevitably some portion of users will have grown attached to the feature you’re about to take away. They are often quite vocal about their frustration, adding potential customer service and reputation costs to the tally.

8) Taking a “customer is always right” approach to improving your product

“Great customer service” does not mean implementing all the feature requests of your users.

When entrepreneurs launch an early version of a product, feedback is hugely important. After months or years of anticipation, real users have started paying real dollars to use your real product, and now they’re sharing what would make it “even better.” Many founders assume they can ride a wave of positivity by giving customers whatever they want -- a tweak here, a quick addition there... What entrepreneurs sometimes forget is that their customers generally aren’t software engineers, usability experts, or product visionaries. Their requests are centered around their personal experience, not that of a diverse base of users.

Certainly users’ insights are incredibly valuable and often lead to some of a product’s most needed improvements. But without a strict plan for collecting, assessing, and prioritizing feedback on a technology product, an entrepreneur can quickly turn a great product for most users into a poor product for nearly everyone. 

9) Forgetting that your market appreciates your “game-changing, disruptive technology” less than you do

Even the greatest technology advances require behavior change on the part of users. Many aren’t ready for it yet.

As entrepreneurs, we’re in the business of solving problems by building ventures around new products and services. Unfortunately, we often forget that only our customers can determine whether our improvements are solutions worth their time. We might believe our innovative email replacement tool should kill off the inbox for good, and maybe much of the world does too. But unless lots of customers are willing to endure a big behavior change now, our “ahead of its time” technology might be a bit too disruptive and it could struggle to find success. 

With every challenge comes opportunity. When an entrepreneur strikes the right balance between too little and too much innovation, they can inspire a market to catch on to something new — one step at a time. Executed well, a small change today can drive a much bigger one tomorrow, and your “game-changing” product can still find a path to breakout success. Just be careful not to bite off too much too soon.
 

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