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Lakshmi Shenoy
I have the privilege each day of meeting early-stage technology startups applying to Embarc Collective. I love when I get to meet a startup leader who is manically focused on their prospective or existing users, spending time each day learning about the goals and pain points they experience.
It feels obvious to say “focus on your user,” but you’d be surprised how easily a busy startup leader can let other priorities limit one’s time learning from the company’s prospective or existing users. Years ago, I met a Chicago-based founder who said that she only cared about the problem she was solving and knew the solution she was building would evolve over time. This is a mindset I encourage all entrepreneurs to take. If you’re not solving for a person with a critical problem, you may be wasting your time. Build something that matters by talking to the people you’re trying to help each day.
For startup leaders, I offer a quick pulse check (be honest about your answers, you don’t need to share the results with anyone):
If you answered “no” to either question, this is a great opportunity to reset and focus on your prospective or existing users.
Often avoiding user conversations stems from a fear of failure. There are few things that are more vulnerable than launching a company. Getting feedback about where to refine your hypothesis, incorporate improvements, or that what you built isn’t addressing a core need, can feel like a personal attack. And that’s an understandable response—you’ve put everything you have into this company to build something that matters to your target users. A rejection of the product can feel like a rejection of you.
If you don’t talk to users, it can be challenging to get off the starting block of growing your business. No company has been successful by not talking to users. A product can only evolve if you put your plans in front of your target user. When you set out to build a company, you are on a quest to solve a critical problem for your prospective customer (and if you’re not, then check why you’re building in the first place). Attach yourself to the needs of the target user rather than the initial idea of what you planned to build. Your idea can only evolve into a successful business when you’re guided by the insights of the people you want to help. Without that input, you’re stuck in place. The feedback – good or bad – is required to get you off the starting block and to continue to build your business.
If you’re working to launch your product:
If your product is in market:
I’ve seen the most critical feedback turn into big a-ha moments for business and the toughest audiences for a startup turn into the biggest champions. User input is not a phase of a company, it’s an ongoing process. The strongest startup leaders have ingrained their maniacal focus on listening to the customer into how they operate.
How Fear Helps (and Hurts) Entrepreneurs
At Embarc Collective, one of our organizational values is Inspire Iteration. This is because we believe feedback (especially from existing and prospective customers) is a positive thing that makes what you’re working on matter more. If you’re a Florida-based startup interested in joining a community that reveres feedback, consider joining Embarc Collective’s membership.
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