Most people in the entrepreneurial world feel that startups succeed or fail based upon the quality of the team running the show and their ability to handle the challenges that come their way. It’s not the idea, or the industry, or the marketing plan — it’s THE TEAM.
I subscribe to this philosophy and firmly believe that, for the vast majority of startups, it really does come down to execution. My definition of execution relies upon the unofficial Marine motto: time to improvise, adapt, and overcome.
All startups must adapt or fail
The reality is that very few startups ever do exactly what they set out to do. You must be prepared to improvise, adapt, and overcome your obstacles or you won’t find acceptance in the marketplace.
So, to all the current and future entrepreneurs out there, remember this: you are only as good as your ability to handle the unknown.
Improvise and do whatever it takes to get things done, adapt to the changing landscape and marketplace, and you will be in a position to overcome your fears and your competitors.
Categories: Entrepreneur
Tagged: adapt, Entrepreneur, execution, improvise, overcome, startup, startups, tips
Earlier this week, I came across this great article by Roger Ehrenberg:
It is definitely one of the most objective and well-written startup post mortems I have read by a member of the actual team. His list of Seven Deadly Sins, which in my opinion is not complete but a great list nonetheless, consists of:
- The lack of a single, “the buck stops here” leader until too late in the game
- No separation between the technology organization and the product organization
- Too much PR, too early
- Too much money
- Not close enough to the customer
- Slow to adapt to market reality
- Disagreement on strategy both within the Company and with the Board
Now, depending upon the situation, some of those may or may not hold true for all startups, but I would like to highlight the first one “the buck stops here” along with “not close enough to the customer”. You need a strong leader who can come to final decisions and be responsible for them (but be ready to change as the market or situation requires) and you also need to truly get in bed with your customers. Now, by that, I don’t mean you need to cowtail to each and every whim (especially on the features side) but you do need to truly understand their pain and come up with a solution that directly addresses it.
I want to send out my thanks to Roger for sharing his insight into the problems and struggles at Monitor110. It is great to see others willing share their real-life experiences building startups and doing it without placing blame all around. That’s a hard thing for most people to do and I applaud those that are able to successfully accomplish it.
Categories: Entrepreneur
Tagged: blame, growing, learning, lists, post mortem, startups
