Overall Guidance:
1. It is very important to do marketing for your product or beta. A full lifecycle will include marketing, which distribute your product to the customers.
Trap1: Don't do marketing.
A full lifecycle starts from an idea, and ends with users usage and feedback. Marketing is the process to bring the product to customers, sell it to them, and ask their feedback, and also create more demand from customers.
Trap 2: Can't adjust the feedback from potential users.
Anyone can be a user, and also anyone may not be a user. The founder needs to be careful about the feedback from users. For some of the feedback, the founder shall listen. Some of the feedback, the founder needs to understand why they say so. Is it really a pain for user, or is it just an opinion from this person.
Trap 3: Once they get idea, they didn't talk with potential customers to validate the idea
They may be too busy on their staff. They may not have the connection or habit to do it. They may not like talking to people, and so don't want to do it.
Showing posts with label Failure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Failure. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Common Startup Failure Traps - Product
Overall Guidance:
When the founders develop a product, you need to be aware of few things.
Trap 1: Don't develop a full product first, and then reach to customers.
Don't spend months to develop a product, and then try to convince to customers. This will not work. Customers may not need the features, which you spend weeks implemented.
Advice: Do develop one feature, and then reach out to customers and ask if they like it and want to use it. If the answer is yes, then continue the development lifecycle. If not, don't develop the 2nd feature. If you can't find one user to use your first feature. Your 2nd feature will not help.
Trap 2: Develop a bad UX, and then ask customers to use it.
Even it is a prototype or one feature app, you shall make the UX good. Bad UX will turn customers away. Do develop a good UX even with one feature.
When the founders develop a product, you need to be aware of few things.
Trap 1: Don't develop a full product first, and then reach to customers.
Don't spend months to develop a product, and then try to convince to customers. This will not work. Customers may not need the features, which you spend weeks implemented.
Advice: Do develop one feature, and then reach out to customers and ask if they like it and want to use it. If the answer is yes, then continue the development lifecycle. If not, don't develop the 2nd feature. If you can't find one user to use your first feature. Your 2nd feature will not help.
Trap 2: Develop a bad UX, and then ask customers to use it.
Even it is a prototype or one feature app, you shall make the UX good. Bad UX will turn customers away. Do develop a good UX even with one feature.
Common Startup Failure Traps - Founder
Overall Guidance:
Many people failed to do startup because of many reasons. Here are some common mistakes people make.
Failure Practice:
Trap 1: Don't have time for business.
Startup needs lots of time. If don't have time for any excuse, then the startup is doomed to fail.
Trap 2: Too many Excuses for failure
Excuse is not acceptable in startup.
Trap 3: Spend too much time on product, and don't spend time on promoting the product.
Many people from IT background like to develop product, but once it is done, they may lose the faith of the product, and don't promote the product.
Trap 4: Don't know what to do.
Startup is like adventure. It is uncertain and full of wonder. Many time, people will get lost about they shall do.
Advice: Have a weekly plan, execute the plan and try to get users.
Trap 5: Look for success, instead of users.
Success is a long goal for a startup. It may take years to come true, and many startup will fail in the middle. Founders shall not use success as self-evaluation criteria, because it is like a star you don't know if you will get it. But users are short term goals which you can try to get if you work hard enough.
Trap 6: Do market research first, and then try to find best idea.
The founder is one-man or two-men army. You don't have time to do the market research first, and then try to find the best idea. This will not work. As founder, you shall analyze and observe your surrounding living experience and life experience, and see what problems you face, and can we identify it as an opportunity. Observation of the life shall be the source of idea innovation.
Trap 7: Location is not good.
Location is critical. In good location, you will see many people like you, and you can easily find cofounders, and there are many social events available, and many good opportunities for you to learn. In normal location, there is not many things going on. People are late back, and don't want to do business.
Trap 8: Give up idea, when other people say no.
You need to find the right potential customers, and ask if the product solves their problem. Wrong customers will say no to good product. So it is important to find right customers and ask them if they can use your product.
Trap 9: Lose the faith of your idea.
As long as the problem exists and people feel pain about it, then your idea has value. No one can tell you it is a good idea or bad idea. You have to test it, and have belief about it.
Trap 10: Don't have good advisor
Many people start from a poor family, didn't have right education to do startup. But they want to do startup. Once they try, they will fail. Good education can help avoid many mistakes. So it is important to find an advisor and can help you whenever you need.
Trap 11: Do startup by yourself
Startup has lots of work. One man can't be enough to do a business. The goal of startup is to start a business from idea, and hire and grow team to build the startup. It takes a team to do startup, not just one man person.
Trap 12: Didn't do research after getting an idea before prototype.
After you have an idea, you shall start to do market research for this idea, and see if this is a growing market, dying market, or new market. See if anyone has already had a proposal to solve this problem, and what is your competition. Many people found out that there is already a strong competitor or a stable solution, which many customers like to use.
Many people failed to do startup because of many reasons. Here are some common mistakes people make.
Failure Practice:
Trap 1: Don't have time for business.
Startup needs lots of time. If don't have time for any excuse, then the startup is doomed to fail.
Trap 2: Too many Excuses for failure
Excuse is not acceptable in startup.
Trap 3: Spend too much time on product, and don't spend time on promoting the product.
Many people from IT background like to develop product, but once it is done, they may lose the faith of the product, and don't promote the product.
Trap 4: Don't know what to do.
Startup is like adventure. It is uncertain and full of wonder. Many time, people will get lost about they shall do.
Advice: Have a weekly plan, execute the plan and try to get users.
Trap 5: Look for success, instead of users.
Success is a long goal for a startup. It may take years to come true, and many startup will fail in the middle. Founders shall not use success as self-evaluation criteria, because it is like a star you don't know if you will get it. But users are short term goals which you can try to get if you work hard enough.
Trap 6: Do market research first, and then try to find best idea.
The founder is one-man or two-men army. You don't have time to do the market research first, and then try to find the best idea. This will not work. As founder, you shall analyze and observe your surrounding living experience and life experience, and see what problems you face, and can we identify it as an opportunity. Observation of the life shall be the source of idea innovation.
Trap 7: Location is not good.
Location is critical. In good location, you will see many people like you, and you can easily find cofounders, and there are many social events available, and many good opportunities for you to learn. In normal location, there is not many things going on. People are late back, and don't want to do business.
Trap 8: Give up idea, when other people say no.
You need to find the right potential customers, and ask if the product solves their problem. Wrong customers will say no to good product. So it is important to find right customers and ask them if they can use your product.
Trap 9: Lose the faith of your idea.
As long as the problem exists and people feel pain about it, then your idea has value. No one can tell you it is a good idea or bad idea. You have to test it, and have belief about it.
Trap 10: Don't have good advisor
Many people start from a poor family, didn't have right education to do startup. But they want to do startup. Once they try, they will fail. Good education can help avoid many mistakes. So it is important to find an advisor and can help you whenever you need.
Trap 11: Do startup by yourself
Startup has lots of work. One man can't be enough to do a business. The goal of startup is to start a business from idea, and hire and grow team to build the startup. It takes a team to do startup, not just one man person.
Trap 12: Didn't do research after getting an idea before prototype.
After you have an idea, you shall start to do market research for this idea, and see if this is a growing market, dying market, or new market. See if anyone has already had a proposal to solve this problem, and what is your competition. Many people found out that there is already a strong competitor or a stable solution, which many customers like to use.
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