> The only thing you have to know how to do is build something people want.
"Build something people want" is a popular mantra, but notwithstanding the fact that many entrepreneurs overestimate the potential demand for their product or service, it oversimplifies what's actually required to build a company that's likely to be successful.
In the consumer market, translating popularity into dollars sufficient to support a sustainable business can be very hard. It's easy to look at companies like Snapchat, but most startups will not become so popular that they can obtain the type of funding that allows them to significantly delay the implementation of a revenue strategy. Monetizing a modestly popular consumer property that can support more than a handful of employees is still very, very difficult.
In the B2B market, creating a successful business requires that you build something people want (or, more preferably, need), that you can sell and sell at a profit, and in sufficient volume. B2B sales can be difficult and slow, even if you have a great sales team and a great product, and the cost of sale can be much higher than you anticipate. If you do crack the sales puzzle in a profitable manner, scaling sales to the point at which you actually have a real business is a hurdle many startups never get past.
If you look beyond the top 1% startups, you'll quickly find that Silicon Valley is littered with stagnant startups that are based on seemingly good ideas and that might even elicit comments like "I would use that!" But they're not "wanted" enough to get from great idea to great business.
None of this means creating a company is a bad idea, but starting the journey with the "build something people want" mantra in mind, and little else, is more often than not a path to disappointment than success.
"Build something people want" is a popular mantra, but notwithstanding the fact that many entrepreneurs overestimate the potential demand for their product or service, it oversimplifies what's actually required to build a company that's likely to be successful.
In the consumer market, translating popularity into dollars sufficient to support a sustainable business can be very hard. It's easy to look at companies like Snapchat, but most startups will not become so popular that they can obtain the type of funding that allows them to significantly delay the implementation of a revenue strategy. Monetizing a modestly popular consumer property that can support more than a handful of employees is still very, very difficult.
In the B2B market, creating a successful business requires that you build something people want (or, more preferably, need), that you can sell and sell at a profit, and in sufficient volume. B2B sales can be difficult and slow, even if you have a great sales team and a great product, and the cost of sale can be much higher than you anticipate. If you do crack the sales puzzle in a profitable manner, scaling sales to the point at which you actually have a real business is a hurdle many startups never get past.
If you look beyond the top 1% startups, you'll quickly find that Silicon Valley is littered with stagnant startups that are based on seemingly good ideas and that might even elicit comments like "I would use that!" But they're not "wanted" enough to get from great idea to great business.
None of this means creating a company is a bad idea, but starting the journey with the "build something people want" mantra in mind, and little else, is more often than not a path to disappointment than success.