Don’t "Fail" in Love with Your Product
<![CDATA[Being too attached to your product, to your idea can have a negative impact on your growth and chances of success. Ross Kingsland even says this is the biggest problem entrepreneurs face and advises to remove your personal favoritism to be more o
Listening to interviews and speeches of mentors and investors, there are a few recommendations to entrepreneurs you hear again and again. One of them caught my attention: “Don’t fall in love with your product”. Being too attached to your product, to your idea, can have a negative impact on your growth and chances of success. Ross Kingsland even says this is the biggest problem entrepreneurs face and advises to remove your personal favoritism to be more objective about what you deliver.
Customers are the ones who define your product. Focus on them, they are the ones with whom you can build a relationship. They are the ones who might love you and you should love them back. Although, keep in mind they are customers so their reviews are not often strategic, you have to understand what they need when you get their comments. Depending on the feedback they give you, you might have to change your initial idea and it’s OK. This is not failure. It’s evolving to meet your customers’ needs which should be your main preoccupation. Many successful startups did not succeed with their initial idea. Sometimes it’s the product itself, sometimes it’s the way you communicate about it but you will most probably have to change something from your original plan. You don’t believe me? Read the stories of Instagram, Twitter and other famous successes in this Forbes article.
Many entrepreneurs have the feeling that they came up with the next great idea, surprised that no one thought of it before as they are sure this will change the world. Well, in most cases someone has thought of it before and in a few cases some might even have tried to make it happen. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t believe in your idea, but focus on what your product does rather than what it is. How are you solving a problem? What is your value proposition? Those are the questions you should be passionate about. Passion is one of the core attributes of entrepreneurs and is necessary to bring an idea to life. However be sure you are not crossing the line to stubbornness. Accept feedback, seek feedback, learn and adapt.
You want to hear it directly from the experts? Watch this short interview of Ross Kingsland, the mentorship session of Ozan Sonmez and Murat Kansu’s talk.
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