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Great perspective from Paras in the article. No doubts the way his business has grown is actually a story of how determination and simplicity in an established
by tuhin 16y ago
Great perspective from Paras in the article. No doubts the way his business has grown is actually a story of how determination and simplicity in an established industry can lead to great businesses.
However, using a blanket statement to characterise the potential of a startup might not be the best way forward. From what the author says, it would be impossible to see Twitter, Foursquare, Square ever be born. I for one would not be happy if they did not exist.
Just because one has never seen an idea getting successful might not always mean it is impossible. It often means no one has tried hard enough. I know the pragmatists would thrash me by saying the contrary.
The truth is that there are many ways to go about founding a company. One is to actually set off to found one because to you the joy of founding and working for yourself while solving a real pain is what is of prime importance. The idea or the sector you are in might not be the closest thing to your heart. (Though it must not be too distant too). This is the way that Paras speaks of and for most of the folks it is great.
Another way is to just work on something that solves a real problem for you. It might be just a simple app that tells you all the cool places in a city maybe just your city but something that you want to do and feel there is a real need for. A point to be noted is that by now you have not thought of how it will make money or how the server bills will be paid. Well do not worry you are not the first person to go this way nor the last one.
The other route is to just come up with a crazy idea that everyone who hears has just one thing to say: "Why won't I use this with that or why do I need that". Don't worry if others cannot see what you clearly see. In such a case the final product is already in your head and you can see hundreds of uses for this. Every day you refine it in your head till the reality and vision of the product converge. Chances are that if you actually stayed around to see them converge then you have something going on for you. Either you actually believe in the product and it is a great product that the world did not see the need for till they started using it OR you were just being delusional. I would say the chances of being delusional if you stuck around till a final MVP are not very high.
Each of the above 3 paths are for different types of people. So before you follow any advise as a rulebook, step back and do some soul searching. You already know what way to go for.
- paraschopra 16y agoYep, correct. My approach is not the only approach. The reason I documented is because I wanted a manual for doing a startup from scratch if I had to do it. I usually get goosebumps thinking what I would be working on if I had to start today! Now I am relieved that I have a blog post to read whenever I need to do it.
- sammville 16y agoI am also going to use this as a manual. I use the market-first approach for any app i want to build while i wait for the "EUREKA" moment when the great idea strikes and by then i would have money to build it.
- triviatise 16y agoThere are 3 key areas of risk when doing a startup 1) management risk 2) technology risk 3) business model/market risk You could take a risk in a all 3, but for many people it is appealing to reduce some of the risk. In this case the author is saying reduce market and probably technology risks. When I started my company we decided not to take technology and business model risks so we started a consulting company. The model is simple, if boring but it allowed me to learn without my mistakes being completely fatal and generates a good amount of cash to fund more risky ideas. The downside is it isnt as exciting. Now that I think I can run a company Im willing to take business model risks, but using technology that is proven. Most of the YC startups dont seem to take risks in all 3 areas either. Typically just management and maybe business model.
- tuhin 16y agoJust to be sure, what exactly is a management risk? Risk due to founders being naive about business strategies and its complexities?
- triviatise 16y agoNot just about business strategies but how to run a company. How the pieces like marketing, finance, sales, operations etc play together. How to create a functioning and lasting business culture. For example, when we started we had turnover of close to 100% because my partner loved to win. He viewed every hiring negotiation as a challenge to win which started the employee relationship off very badly. Initially maybe you recruit from friends, but how do you create a recruiting process that can feed the engine? How do you price your products so that you have enough gross margin to cover overhead, what is accrual accounting, when do you hire people if you are growing through cashflow etc.
- RealGeek 16y agoTwitter and Foursquare haven't made any profit yet. Square is not a new idea, but improvising on an existing established industry. Square is probably a great example of what Paras' prespective in this article.