There are some mistakes that I see startups make across different industries regardless of the type of product they are working on. Now, these mistakes happen for many different reasons. It is important to discuss both the mistakes and the reasons why such mistakes happen. This way, we not only bring the issues to light but also the root cause of said issues. A few mistakes I have noticed:
NO PROBLEM: One of the mistakes that I have seen is people jumping into building/creating without an actual/existing problem in sight. Ideally, you first identify a problem, validate the problem, understand the problem, talk to potential users, etc. Meaning you confirm if it is even a problem in the first place. If yes, you check if said problem is worth solving at all! It is easier to solve a problem that exists, than create a solution that is looking for a problem. Most people just jump and build, that is wrong!
Features machine: Releasing features just for the purpose of having more features rather than trying to identify where REAL VALUE is and what it looks like for the customer/consumer/user. This is a mistake that seems to have increased with the recent AI hype. Now features can ‘roll out quickly’ but no one is asking if it ADDS VALUE to the people in the target market. Really, does it solve the problem of the user/customer? Will the user/customers find the need to USE THE FEATURE? No one is asking the critical questions anymore, it seems. And this is bad.
Beyond execution: From the beginning, achieving success is beyond execution! Another mistake startups (and the people within them) make is that they are stuck in execution because they think it ends there. NO, it does not! After execution there is operations, distribution, delivery, support, success, etc. Now, many startups make the mistake of skipping all these other areas and just focus on execution. Do not get me wrong, execution is great but without including all these other areas that I have mentioned there is going to be bottlenecks from the start. My argument, include all the critical areas at the drawing board, have them in place (to some degree) from the start
How do these mistakes happen? A few reasons:
Hubris: At every section of the organisation. From experience it is not just top-level management that displays hubris it can also crop up at lower levels as well. When individuals cannot separate reality from their delusion, that’s a problem. I insist that CONFIDENCE is not COMPETENCE, so COMPETENCE must be CONFIDENT. I am for confident actions but it has to be backed by ACTUAL COMPETENCE and NOT delusion and complex.
Culture: At this point it is not the Product team alone but the entire organisation. There are organisations where critical thinking is a crime, experimenting new avenues is a curse, having misplaced priority is normal, it is culture not to balance product with sales and all else. In this situation there is a nothing a ‘world-class’ Product team can do.
FOMO: 'Fear is a powerful thing'. I argue, wisdom is stronger! Even in a rush, if you are calm, you can achieve even greater success than others without joining those in the rush. Read that again and let it sink in.
There is nothing wrong with making mistakes but there is a serious problem when you do not learn from those mistakes. The learning bit makes the difference and it is what separates stupid people from brilliant achievers.
Image credit: Quilia on Unsplash
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