A startup might feel like a racehorse, but you can't afford blinders
I often mentor at “startup bootcamp” weekends, and I see a lot of emphasis on “product-market fit” and “minimal viable product”, but in general I don’t see teams asking questions and analyzing risks across enough aspects of a startup concept.
Customer development, while essential, is not a replacement for business development, or rather, “business model development”. If something is to be a business, not a hobby, you must answer core questions such as:
- Are you building the right product?
- Are you building it for the right early adopter, near-term, and customer, long-term?
- Are you building it for the right market?
- Do you understand the competitive environment?
- Does product align with, even enhance, the revenue model? And is the model believable?
- Does product align with, even enhance, the customer acquisition model? And is the model believable?
There are no sacred cows — you need to challenge everything. Every startup has different assumptions and risks. Analyze yours across the entire spectrum of your business. Prioritize. Then test as leanly as possible, and in parallel where possible.
Small, clever tests won’t 100% validate an assumption (only truly getting in the market will do that), but they can easily invalidate them, saving you tons of wasted time, or at least increasing your confidence.