In this new weekly column, Marco Greenberg, a long-time PR and marketing jedi specializing in venture-backed start-ups, will share his experience of the most common mistakes young entrepreneurs make that keep them from getting the love—and the buzz—they so justly deserve.
Chapter 3: Because you have lousy timing
That great American philosopher, Yogi Berra, had it just right when he said that you really didn’t have to swing hard to hit a home run. “If you got the timing,” he quipped, “it’ll go.”
He was right about baseball, and even more so about business. Start a company, and it might seem that the cliché was true and that timing wasn’t everything but the only thing. So just when’s the right time to launch that company, that new service, that promising product? I’m not sure there’s any one formula for doing the right thing, but I’ve seen a couple for doing the wrong thing. Here, then, are some archetypes I’ve witnessed over the years that you want to avoid at all costs:
The premie: The rush to be first to market is understandable, especially if you’ve got a technology you think is going to be game-changing. But if the product isn’t ready, or the company isn’t ripe yet, hurrying out the gate can be a mistake. A few years ago, for example, I represented a company backed by one of America’s best-known investors. Their product was a very interesting application, which, when they engaged us, was about three-quarters of the way ready. We launched the company successfully by talking about the product’s promise; then, however, some executives insisted that we load the app on an iPad and overnight it to a well-known reviewer. Against our better judgment, we did, and our worst fears were realized when, a few days later, the reviewer panned the product and the company was stopped in its tracks. Willie Nelson understood situations like these quite well: the early bird may catch the worm, he said, but it’s often the second mouse that gets the cheese.
The later alligator: If being too early is bad, being too late is worse. And for too many entrepreneurs, analysis paralysis is a real condition. Show me just another bit of market research, says the Later Alligator, or wait for just one more round of product release, or watch our competitors make just one more move before we dip our toes in the water. When one of their kind asks me with trepidation when’s the right time to launch, I take pleasure in sounding like Yoda: It’s never the right time, I tell him or her, and yet it’s always the right time. Just don’t wait too long.
Debbie deferential: Their VC firm says X. Their PR firm says Y. Rather than make a decision, this start-up is happy to just listen and listen and listen. There’s only one ending to this never-ending deference, and it ain’t pretty: eventually, these guys get blindsided, which is what happens when you allow events to lead you rather than the other way around.
The crystal baller: Do you believe in chance? This founder doesn’t. Instead, he or she believes that if you only time the launch to coincide with the latest industry conference or the biggest trade show or the newest research report or the general news trend, you’ll experience a perfect and smooth landing. It may be a good idea in theory, but in reality, sadly, there’s clutter and noise and a thousand of one other factors that upset even the best-laid plans.
Mr. Evergreen: This founder is an organic type who is convinced that if he builds it right, his customers will come, and that the whole press thing is hype and won’t drive adoption anyway. As such, he or she even sees the term launch as passé. I’m inclined to like this type—there’s something refreshingly honest about anyone who just cares about getting the product right—but let me tell you what happens. Eventually, some blogger is going to catch wind of Evergreen’s venture and write about it. And that blogger would likely get it all wrong, because Evergreen isn’t really talking to the press. And then when Evergreen wants to take control of his story, or improve his search results, or speak on his own terms, he or she discovers that it’s too late and that no one cares anymore because the company is already old news.
How, then, to avoid falling into these traps? It’s tougher than you think, and I’m not sure there’s any one clear-cut answer. But begin by asking yourself the following: Have we aligned mission, core team and investors? Can we take it further and showcase users or customers who love what we do for them? Will we have everything together in time, from website and testimonials to good enough product design?
It’s tempting to just go ahead and say yes—entrepreneurs, after all, are an optimistic bunch, and they usually giddily underestimate the amount of time required of their team. But as my wise friend, a high-profile venture capitalists, likes to say, if you’ve at least asked yourself the above questions, you’re probably more ready than not.