Lean Startup #2 - Validated Learning

"Validate learning. Startups exist not just to make stuff, make money, or even serve customers. They exist to learn how to build a sustainable business. This learning can be validated scientifically by running frequent experiments that allow entrepreneurs to test each element of their vision."

Starting Dealing with Fear and Ego

Who wants to do something and have people laugh at you, especially in business? Nobody.

The same answer is for entrepreneurs. We are fear to have a crappy product, then people laugh at us. We also have so much ego that we have to create the best product / service to serve the utmost unsatisfied customers. We all want to make the customer smile, not cry. However, it is not true. We have to start somewhere. What we need to do first is getting rid of our biggest badass ideas is the most perfect solution for customers. We need to detach emotionally from your “baby” idea and take a hard cold look at it as a business. Then, when we look at it purely as a business, we’ll low our ego to listen to the true facts and feedbacks from our customers.

An “OK” product is a good starting point

An “OK” blog is a good reason to start writing

An “OK” facebook page is a chance to start conversation

As you see in life. Lot of things we use right now is just “ok”. It is once in a while that we have something called “Iphone”, “Ferrari”, or maybe “Hawaii”.I like basketball and I like to relate it to this context.

• I am rather a daily “ok” basketball player, than a guy who is always watching basketball every Friday.
• I am rather a daily “ok” blogger, than waiting for something happen.
• I am an “ok” person, but I will express myself to the world.

So, please right now start launching whatever you would like to start. Don’t wait. Customers are ready to give you their comments and feedbacks (even money too) and they are not as scary as you think.

Sustainable Business Requires Evolving and Adapting

Sustainable business is not static. It is evolving. For examples, Starbucks started when Howard Schultz wanted to bring the European coffee shop to the US; meanwhile, US coffee drinkers were drinking their coffee by purchasing coffee in can and making their favorite joe at home. Zappos started when Fred, a co-founder of Zappos, thought of people could buy shoes through websites. He began only by running into shoe stores, asking for permission to take pictures of shoes in stores, and posting pictures on his websites to test out his idea that SHOES CAN BE SOLD ON WEBSITE. Period.

Both Startbucks and Zappos are now main players in their industry. Zappos is known as delivering happiness for their well-rounded customer service and Startbucks is knows as inspiring and nurturing  human spirit. However, people just see the spotlight of their success. They all started being poor and dirty like us now. Zappos is only an ecommerce website to sell shoes, Starbucks is only a copy cat of Italian coffee shop. Zappos NOW and Starbucks NOW are both great examples of the business evolution, no more no less. They are living well because they adapt to the environment and grow. 

Starting a business is like having a baby. The time it is growing the most is when it is an infant, because the baby needs to evolve himself / herself to survive in the environment. During the infant stage, both the body and the mind have to grow fast and absorb so much information to learn, to grow, and to function in a more constantly changing outside environment than a safety environment of a mother’s womb. That is true for a startup too. Startup stage is like infant stage.  It is not static. You plan maybe doesn’t work and you need to change your plan when it is necessary. When your idea is realized, you still can keep your big vision, but you have to survive to pay the rent, pay the employees. You startup must survive before it can put a dent in the universe.

Also, taking startups as open questions like “Why” and “How”

• Why don’t your customers like your product?
• How can you sell more?
• Why do people care about your product?
• How can you appeal to customers in a better way?

And don’t be afraid of admitting that you don’t know and you are wrong because the sooner you admit those two things, you can change and go around your problems. Startup is a well-defined idea, not the best idea. You will have to try many experiments to test your products and improve your products.

Be open-minded and embrace change.