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Entrepreneurs, Think About Objections

Why isn’t an idea already in the market and being successful? Maybe the key question is, “why isn’tthis idea working?”
A good way to tackle a new business idea is to think about the objections. That is, think about why problems exist today – what are their hurdles? Why hasn’t this idea been developed already? How is this problem being addressed today, and how did the market get here? How can these challenges be overcome?
Addressing these challenges (read: objections) is similar to approaches in brainstorming methods such as the Disney way and Six Thinking Hats.
When you ask these types of questions, you might find out macro trends are removing hurdles – maybe, then, it’s great timing for success. For Instagram, for example, anyone with a smartphone almost instantly became talented photographers. For Instagram, the technological evolution of cameras in smartphones lowered the barrier for general consumers to have “good” cameras. Instagram capitalized on this opportunity further by providing filters. These filters enabled everyday photographers to alter and beautify pictures, much like professional photographers could do before.  
Addressing how traditional models operate has made countless companies successful – finding ingenious ways to alleviate the shortcomings of today. They addressed and removed barriers that held back huge markets from capitalizing on huge potential.
In fact, an accelerator program here in town challenges its startup cohorts by pointing out the reasons why the startups will fail. It’s up to the startup, then, to address those challenges – removing the objections of why a buyer would not buy – turning objection discussions into must-haves.
Think about hurdles. Think about the objections – why do these hurdles exist today? How can entrepreneurs move them?
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When We Ignore Our Previous Experience for Our Great Startup Idea

I met up with a friend recently who is noodling over an idea. What was interesting was how she was so deep into her idea, and didn’t use her life’s skills and work to help validate the idea.
Like me, she started her professional career in consulting. Like me, we both ignored our acquired consulting skills when building a startup (my example was Body Boss, as described in Postmortem of a Failed Startup).
It’s a funny and sad mistake I’ve seen a lot – starting with yours truly. There’s excitement in the initial idea that people put on the blinders. They (we) ignore experience in the previous “corporate” world. I attribute much of this to emotions running high. Emotions have ways of clouding our judgements and processes.
This happens especially in endeavors we get excited about but do not have explicit professional experience in. For myself and my Body Boss cofounders, that area was fitness. We loved fitness, but we came from outside the industry.
For example, what makes consulting so effective is the initial phase of any project – discovery. In startups, you throw in “customer” in front of the word, and you have a critical foundation of building a company – “customer discovery”. In this phase, consultants interview stakeholders, assess processes, gather surveys and analytics, etc. to formulate a plan. The same should happen in building a startup.
If you have an idea, be careful of being emotionally attached. Balance excitement with grounded thinking. This doesn’t mean shooting down ideas so early on. Instead, take a moment, and recognize how you can apply previous lessons to the opportunity in front of you. Sometimes, that means playing the role of pre-idea. Be the third-party.
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No Good Time to Let Aspirations and Inspirations Delay

“exit by feature set or by a deadline, but above all, exit” – Intercom’s Des Traynor on launching (exiting) a product.

I’ve been thrilled to hear two entrepreneurs I met with last year take to heart the importance of launching quickly, even if they did not feel “ready”.
In one case, the entrepreneur was building pitch decks trying to get funding on the idea before any development started. No bites for funding, and I finally asked if she believed in the idea enough to fund the initial development herself (and trim scope to MVP). She said yes, funded the initial development, launched, got great traction, and raised a sizable seed round.
In the other case, the entrepreneur needed to believe in her idea more, and share her product. She needed to share her story. With a few connections, she’s gone viral, and has been getting great traction, great mentoring and advisement… doors are now opening easily for her.  
Then, I run into the occasional wantrepreneur or idealist who claims to want to start something so bad, and then spins wheels on trying to make things “perfect”.
The funny thing about perfect is that there can be no improvement. It’s already the best. That is the very definition of perfect. The problem is that “perfect” doesn’t exist… and while chasing perfect, “good enough” or “great start” don’t occur.
First-time entrepreneurs struggle hard at this concept as they enter this new world full of energy, passion, and vision of “what should be” rather than “what could be”.  
Today is too fast-paced to “reach perfection” as we are constantly evolving – improving or otherwise, we change too often. Our perspectives, our desires, they all change. So what lofty visions we aim for and try to build before launching will ultimately delay our ability to launch, test, learn, and iterate towards a reality that evolves.
Invest today, launch sooner rather than later, and iterate while on your journey. Rare is it that your journey requires so much investment, so little room for error that you can’t give it a go now.
Like Des said – define a line to launch, and launch. Don’t sit there dreaming and moving the line farther. There’s simply no good time to let aspirations and inspirations delay.
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Two Entrepreneurs, Two Ideas, Two Approaches, One Style

Recently, I’ve done one-on-one brainstorming sessions with successful individuals looking to branch into the SaaS/ product-oriented worlds. Both sessions were fun with entrepreneurs approaching their ideas very differently. 
  • 1 individual came to an idea that he recognized in others everyday. It wasn’t a problem he’s experienced, but one that he’s been aware of by way of colleagues.
  • The second individual came with several ideas born out of her work and her employees. She had several ideas to solve the many challenges she and her industry constantly face. 
Both individuals will face uphill battles (expected). The first will spend lots of effort getting the first 10 customers, and build a solution that fits their needs as they go along. 
The second will leverage her experience and her day-to-day as the testbed for her idea. Then, she can rely on her network to gain traction. She has a great foothold already in understanding the complexities. On the other hand, the first entrepreneur will need to run more cycles in customer discovery and build a solution from the ground-up. 
What they both have in common is an appetite and openness to learn. Even as one is well ingrained in the industry while the other is approaching as a foreigner, they are approaching their target markets in very organic, focused strategies. Their ideas are great starts, but they know they’re just that — starts. They’ll need to be open to adjusting their direction as needed.
There’s no one way to approach startups… with experience or without… with connections or without… but they’re starting similarly with very bottom-up approaches, and are avid to learn and build from a focused beginning. 
Looking forward to seeing how their paths go from here!
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Two Structured Brainstorming Methods to Fill In The Gaps

I’m following up on last Thursday’s post on brainstorming and collaboration with a couple known brainstorming methods. The two methods listed below come immediately to mind. Each promotes collaboration amongst team members and thinking more holistically – helpful for many small startups who may lack expertise in key functional areas.
  • Disney’s Brainstorming Method: Dreamer, Realist, and Spoiler. One of the largest, creative companies in the world has a process to identify new opportunities by establishing “rooms” where all ideas are brought to the table with little prejudice. After the ideas are brought forth, the team evaluates the realism of each idea (shortening the list). Then, the team runs through a “spoiler” room where each idea is scrutinized for actual value and viability. Here, ideas are tested for sustainability. Disney’s method compartmentalizes the ideation process so all ideas are brought to the table before shooting any of them down. Based on their track record, seems helpful.
  • Six Thinking Hats. We’re all aware of the “Jack of All Trades” associate in the office. He wears “multiple” hats – each hat representing a specific role (product development, marketing, developer, etc.). In the Six Thinking Hats method, team members are designated specific hats which Edward de Bonosays represent the way the brain thinks in six distinct ways. The hats represent: Managing, Information, Emotions, Discernment, Optimistic, and Creativity. By designating resources to each hat, ideas can be thought of in a cohesive, challenging, and holistic way.

Most brainstorming sessions like my recent ones (and many others) are unstructured. Here, individual(s) must step up to fill a gap the team lacks to help shape an idea more holistically. This could be tricky, however, if teams don’t know what they don’t consider. Structured brainstorming methods could help mitigate these oversights. Things to ponder…

What other brainstorming methods have you heard of or used? Without structure, how has your team mitigated the risk of thinking in silo or lacking the holistic view?
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