Entrepreneurship is all about making mistakes. But you don't have to do all your learning the hard way.
We've pulled together seven business leaders from around the country to explain mistakes they made early in the lives of their startups.
What mistakes have you made? Would you make them again or avoid them?
Leave your thoughts in the comments section.
Trying to build the perfect product on your first try - Zoe Pointon, Co-CEO, Open Agent
We were once told that if you aren't really embarrassed about your first version of your business, then you haven't released it fast enough. Take out - if you try for perfect you will fail to get a product to market quickly enough, and with a low enough investment that lets you iterate it based on your customer's needs. Never build a product for yourself, build it for your customers!
Forgetting about company culture - Alexis Soulopoulos, founder at pet minding business MadPaws
Building for robots, or other people that don't really exist - Martin Hosking, CEO and co-founder, Redbubble
You can only start a company, or write a book, if you deeply get the problem/situation. This almost always means that you and your co founder/s (yes you have to have them) will build to solve a problem you personally and deeply feel. If you are not standing in the shoes of the customer probably no one is.
Thinking running a business is easier than having a job - Nati Harpaz, CEO, Catch of the Day
Starting a business is hard and requires hard work and dedication. If you are thinking of this as "easier than having a job" you got it all wrong. It's going to be harder and a lot more stressful.
Not talking to your customers - Jackie Bull, CEO, Sidekicker
The most valuable insights you can get come from your customers. I've seen people spend endless time and money on a product they think people will use, without ever asking those people for feedback. Constantly seeking insights from your customers and target market is extremely valuable. Tools like Ask Nicely and Survey Monkey are great for getting user feedback.
Thinking you can do everything - Jonny Wilkinson, co-founder of Equitise
In the early stages you really do need to do everything within your business to keep costs down and maintain control. But to succeed it's important to surround yourself with employees that you trust to take on some of the workload, while you focus on the direction and growth of the business.
Lack of forward planning - Nigel Mendonca, ANZ manager, Tableau
As a startup it's important to be agile. However, not taking the time to plan and set realistic goals can put your business at risk of failing. Creating an open, safe and encouraging environment for managers and employees to share, discuss and set realistic goals and deadlines has been an important focus for Tableau. As a team, we regularly track and review milestones along the way and evaluate and adjust the strategy if required to ensure that we continue to meet our set goals.
0 comments
New User? Sign up