I had this amazing business idea for an online tool and a website.
It was so beautiful in my head – the functionality, the design, the value proposition – I could basically hear people banging on my door for access to it, and clogging up my servers to download it. Then I told people about it and my bubble burst.
Somehow my explanation didn’t do justice to the amazing product I envisioned. That’s ok, I thought, I’ll draw it!
Then I wrote about it and drew prototypes – and it just wasn’t what I had envisioned. It was close – but that grandeur wasn’t there. Finally, I started building it. 6 Months later it was NO WHERE near the vision in my head, nor what I explained to people, nor what I had drawn. Yes, it was an #entrepreneurfail.
The Morals of this Story
Firstly, entrepreneurs must have a vision, but you have to build from the ground up. You have to create simple ideas in your head and then grow them into reality to eventually become that vision. That’s why the idea of a minimally viable product (MVP) is so compelling. It forces you to remove all the bells and whistles and create a basic product to test all the consumption assumptions before wasting time.
As Tim Minchin attested in a recent graduation address:
“Just be aware that the next worthy pursuit will probably appear in your periphery. Which is why you should be careful of long-term dreams. If you focus too far in front of you, you won’t see the shiny thing out the corner of your eye.”
The other moral of the story is that entrepreneurs often overlook the importance of crystal clear communication. Each thought, word, piece of writing, sketch, bit of code, and prototype all must have cohesion, otherwise it is very confusing for potential customers. The best way to ensure consistency is to simplify and focus your thoughts to one concept, shaving the unnecessary pieces, and then sharing that concisely.
Have you fallen into this trap? Do your words match your vision, or are you disappointed with the translation? Let us know about it in the comments below.
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asha chaudhry
I LOVE THIS ONE KRITI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
very few people appreciate the greatness of simplicity.
this line says it all: “It forces you to remove all the bells and whistles and create a basic product to test all the consumption assumptions before”
and this should be framed!!!
“The other moral of the story is that entrepreneurs often overlook the importance of crystal clear communication. Each thought, word, piece of writing, sketch, bit of code, and prototype all must have cohesion, otherwise it is very confusing for potential customers. The best way to ensure consistency is to simplify and focus your thoughts to one concept, shaving the unnecessary pieces, and then sharing that concisely.”
well done kriti! you’ve picked up a totally relevant topic everyone needs to remind themselves about!
Kriti B Vichare
Thank you Asha!!! I know many of us are guilty as charged 🙂
Darshan Bhambiru
Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication – Leonardo Da Vinci~
Angelo Lobo
Lovely post! Will make sure to check out the site!
Kriti B Vichare
Thanks Angelo! Have you fallen into that trap?
Stay tuned for much more to come:)
Kriti B Vichare
Couldn’t have said it better Darshan!
Omkar Nisal
Awesome post! And yes I have had #EntrepreneurFail moments when I lost sight of shining couple of dozen current, happy and gladly paying clients while aggressively focusing on massive growth and yes #FounderEgo too played a big role!
About info loss in communication, yes I’ve experienced that as well!
What I learned is that there are some people who will understand you and you will understand them irrespective of your word choice!
My focus has been to find them and hold on to them.
Did you notice this as well!?
Kriti B Vichare
Definitely 🙂 And I think it deserves another comic 🙂
Omkar Nisal
Haha!
After reading your comment, for a brief moment of time,
I found myself inside a comic strip
and saw the entire world in sketch-form!
Rohit Kuttappan