5-4-3-2-1 Countdown for Entrepreneurs (4/13/22)
5
Wordle words for entrepreneurship
Certain 5-letter words help founders solve the puzzle of how to create a new product:
Dream. Doubt. Probe. Chart. Build.
Dream – you begin with an inspired idea, usually a vision of how to solve a problem.
Doubt – you then question whether there’s a market and if you can achieve market fit.
Probe – you research and brainstorm, then test the idea through customer discovery
Chart – you map your course based on the desired destination and pathways to profit.
Build – you build the product, build the team, and build a venture designed to grow.
4
Steps to reduce blind spots
The power of positive thinking has huge benefits, but when it comes to our startups, we need more. It’s time to focus on failure.
Sports psychologists train athletes to visualize the result they’re after: “Close your eyes. See yourself make the shot.” This positive reinforcement has proven results, so founders should indeed think ambitious thoughts. Picture yourself achieving all that you want; that’s a valuable, reinforcing activity. But don’t stop there.
Try this 4-step exercise before embarking on your next significant project:
1️⃣ Envision you’ve just completed this project.
2️⃣ Imagine the outcome was not a success.
3️⃣ Describe a realistic scenario causing the miss.
4️⃣ Brainstorm tactics to defend against this.
This “pre-mortem” exercise can work wonders. It uncovers blind spots and identifies risks that might not have been obvious at first.
And if anyone objects, calling you a pessimist, be sure to correct their honest mistake: “Nah. I’m an optimist with a backup plan.”
3
Delusions in customer discovery
Founders with great expertise in a field are huge assets to startups, obviously. But when it comes to customer discovery, more experience can actually hurt.
When a startup is pre-product and has nothing to show, nothing to demo, interviews should have one focus: Listen to a customer’s story to see if there’s a problem worth solving. Refrain from sharing your take on the problem. Don’t describe your “solution.”
When you stray from just listening, you are more likely to:
⚠️ Discount perspectives that conflict with yours.
⚠️ Nudge the interviewee toward your point of view.
⚠️ Generate misleading insights.
As the experience and the authority of the person asking the questions goes UP, so do the chances of generating these problematic results.
So, at the earliest of stages, remember: You are not selling the market your solution; the market is selling you their problem.
2
Fails in fundraising
If you want to ruin your next investor pitch here are 2 surefire ways to make it happen…
1: Don’t do your homework.
Investors have different strategies and objectives. And your pitch may or may not be a fit for them. By researching an investor and their portfolio, you can shape the pitch to the audience.
NOT doing your homework? That’s an unforced error.
2: Make it all about you.
Slide 2: The Team
Slide 3: More team
Slide 4: Our Solution
Slide 5: …yadda...
Slide 6: …yadda...
Slide 7: Still talking about our amazing product.
Robust solutions are paramount. And great teams are critical. But this deck is a miss. Where’s the problem, customer, and competition? If you bury these elements in a pitch or if you skip them altogether, your audience will notice. And not in a good way.
1
Question for your mirror
Let’s stop treating “risk” as a four-letter word -- at least not for startups and their founders. For them, without risk, what would be left?
If someone told a founder facing huge uncertainty, “I can magically make all of your startup risks disappear,” do you think they should take the deal? I hope they wouldn’t.
For most of us, risk evokes images of harm, danger, and loss. And in many cases, that’s true. But “no risk, no reward” is a common saying for a reason. And nowhere is that truer than with a startup.
So the next time you’re staring uncertainty in the face, ask yourself: “How can I use this risk to my advantage?” The results might surprise and inspire you.
Stay safe, stay happy, stay in touch!
Adam
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