When I think about innovation, there is always one Steve Jobs quote that sticks out in my mind: “Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you.”
People who view the world this way are more likely to become entrepreneurs. But the thing you have to realize about this quote is that while the people who make the world may not necessarily be any smarter than you, if you want to innovate, you still need at least three additional things: passion, willpower (a lot of it), and the ability to execute.
It’s a brilliant quote because it’s so inspiring, and yet, it leaves a lot unsaid. So when you add in those three additional things, you weed out a lot of people and distinguish the dreamers from the innovators.
The people who are left standing: those are the people you want to watch. Why? It will be a matter of time before something frustrates them, and they can’t find an existing solution, so they build one themselves.
I built KYA out of my frustration with existing analytics platforms—they didn’t offer the tools and functionality that I needed as a publisher. In my experience, the best products are often the ones that solve real problems, and the best entrepreneurs are the ones who live and breathe the industry in which they are targeting.
Over the past several years, I’ve learned a lot about what it takes to bring a product to market. These 5 lessons stand out in particular:
1. Plan your MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
When you build your MVP, it’s important to fully understand what will make your product unique and differentiate it from the competition. Build out those features first.
There are a couple main reasons why you should build out those features first instead of simply building a “clone” of a competing product before adding in what makes yours unique. The first is time. You will want to get your MVP built and ready to be shown to potential customers quickly. By doing that, you get feedback, and you also get on the potential customer’s radar. The second is if you bring a potential customer a product that is nearly identical to another product they already use, you will lose that customer before you even have a shot.
Remember an MVP isn’t necessarily version 1.0. It’s a way to further gauge the product’s fit in the marketplace. It’s also worth pointing out that there are a lot of smart people in the world. If you explain your vision while showing off your MVP, people will often be able to connect the dots as to how the product will benefit them long-term.
2. Get feedback fast
I honestly can’t stress this enough. Talk to anyone who will listen, and see what he or she thinks about your product. Get fresh eyes looking at it.
In addition to showing off the product, you should also be setting up calls with potential customers and finding out what they are struggling with lately. Maybe it’s something you have already implemented, or maybe it’s something you didn’t think of and could implement or tweak.
Not every piece of feedback is going to be valuable or worth acting on. It is up to you, the founder, to figure out which feedback you will actually use.
3. Make a good first impression
We’ve all heard this before, right? It’s not just the first impression of your product that matters—it’s also a potential customer’s first impression of you.
You need to have an awesome product, and you need to be an expert in your industry. Your potential customers need to be able to believe in you, meaning that you and your product can help them.
4. Prioritize new features and infrastructure improvements
As a founder of an early stage startup, this is where many dilemmas occur (especially if you’re strapped for cash). Do you add this new feature, or do you ensure your infrastructure can handle an influx of traffic? These types of questions become very common, and you need to decide what to do.
Recently, we were faced with deciding between adding an awesome new feature to KYA that our users requested, or revamping our user registration flow to make it more robust, reliable, and easier to sign up. I opted for the registration flow update. There were several factors behind my decision, but the main one was that we were planning to officially launch soon, and I wanted to make sure we could capture as much of the launch traffic and interest as possible.
These types of decisions have to be made all the time, and it never really gets any easier, but if you take a look at your roadmap and keep your vision in mind, you will likely make the right choice. If you still can’t decide, ask yourself this: “Would not doing X or Y keep me up at night?”
5. Be loud
As a brand new company with a brand new product, you have one thing going for you: you’re the underdog, so you can be loud and make a lot of noise. Of course, you should be smart about it.
Chime in on relevant Twitter discussions with thoughts and opinions. Try and start conversations with other people in your industry. Attend relevant industry events and network like crazy—tell everyone how you’re building the best new thing and explain why.
I can tell you that being loud has gotten me invited to competitors’ offices to demo our product, as well as meetings with potential customers, and calls with several people in the digital publishing space.
Building a product, let alone a company around that product, takes a lot of time and energy. Prepare yourself to deal with the unexpected because as you will find out (if you haven’t already) lots of things do not go as planned. All of the twists and turns are why I believe my additions of passion, willpower, and the ability to execute are so crucial to innovation—without those things, people would just give up the first time they experience a rough patch.