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People usually "fall in love" with ideas, which is why its so hard to pull away from it. Its hard to be rational and objective when you're in love. This isn't
by kevt 16y ago
People usually "fall in love" with ideas, which is why its so hard to pull away from it. Its hard to be rational and objective when you're in love. This isn't so much of an issue in a relationship (in love with a person) because how you feel is what matters. However, in a startup, what matters is how the customers feel, and that love potion will be your Archilles heel if not treated carefully. I generally try to fall in love with problems before an idea (solution). When the idea comes before the problem, its been disastrous. Customer Development helps, but its still a rough ride.
- thewordpainter 16y ago"I generally try to fall in love with problems before an idea (solution). When the idea comes before the problem, its been disastrous. Customer Development helps, but its still a rough ride." i think that's a great way to put it...the problem will remain until somebody fulfills, but there can be a variety of potential solutions to just about any problem. reminded me of a quote i tweeted recently & then saw @bmull include today: "As long as I listen to my customers, I never need to have another original idea" -@nielr1 in Do More Faster
- hallmark 16y agoSometimes advice sounds perfect for any situation but actually needs to be applied judiciously. It is easy to succumb to the "wow" factor of another person's story of their success. I will use Henry Ford to counter nielr1: "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses."
- thewordpainter 16y agoagreed. the way i interpreted neil's quote was that a startup has a certain trajectory in mind, but once they release and start collecting feedback (surve.io anybody?), then the inspiration for the pivots will come from the users of the product. of course you can't listen to what everybody says, but as a team, take all of the generated ideas and determine which are the best. i think it removes a lot of the assumptions that are present going in.
- kevt 16y agoha, I just bought that book yesterday (Do More Faster). I'll get to that quote soon.
- thewordpainter 16y agogreat book. get your highlighter out ;) lots of memorable quotes. stuff that makes complete sense, but until somebody phrases it a certain way, it just never clicks...ya know?