| Fred Wilson and Ben Horowitz, both agreed that, | | | | mean a huge one will be satisfied by that idea in the |
| "entrepreneurs should build the product that | | | | future. Often the bold visionaries shape the future to |
| everybody wants, then raise enough money to build | | | | make the potential customers see the need and the |
| the company." I asked this question on LinkedIn and | | | | ones that succeed are the businesses that tend to |
| 22 well thought out answers later resulted in some | | | | have extreme success. |
| very powerful points. I would like to share a few of | | | | 3. If you have good people with good skill you can |
| them with you. | | | | build the business |
| 1. You need both a great product and a good way of | | | | Veronika Gultom, Business Intelligence Consultant & |
| getting it out there | | | | IT Software Specialist |
| Heather Vitaglione, Tutor, Translator, Editor and | | | | Agree, if you can expose the capability of that |
| Writer | | | | product to customer and if you have people with |
| Is this the 21st century version of Ralph Waldo | | | | good skill and knowledge to implement that product. |
| Emerson's technique of building the better mousetrap | | | | Sometimes good product that everyone wants |
| and having folks beat a path to your door? | | | | cannot be implemented because of no one can show |
| I think that you need both a great product and a | | | | the capability and proof that it is a good product |
| good way of getting it out there. Let's see. I worked | | | | everyone needed. |
| in a branch of IT that made a good product but the | | | | 4. Without this evidence, nobody will invest |
| bells and whistles version wasn't necessary or user | | | | Mike Van Horn, Author of "Grow Your Business |
| friendly enough to be adopted. I think that even | | | | without Driving Yourself Crazy" |
| though everyone might want a product, they have | | | | If you don't have a workable product, then you |
| to be willing to pay a good price for it. You have to | | | | cannot demonstrate that everybody wants it. |
| consider the competition as several others have | | | | Without this evidence, nobody will invest in you. |
| commented on. | | | | Creativity and innovation are hard; building a business |
| If you create a fuel efficient car and think that | | | | around these is much easier (though still difficult). |
| everyone's going to want it, you haven't contended | | | | Creativity and innovation are rare, business skills are |
| with the mentality of many people who figure that | | | | much more common, investment capital is plentiful. |
| freedom means buying the biggest flashiest gas | | | | But investors want strong evidence that you can |
| guzzler on the market. | | | | give them a 5x return. |
| I say both views must be considered. | | | | Thus most businesses are initially self-funded, or rely |
| 2. Often the bold visionaries shape the future to | | | | on "3F funding": family, friends, and fools. You go into |
| make the potential customers see the need | | | | hock to build your prototype and see if you can |
| David Saintloth, Chief Software Architect, Apriority | | | | generate some market buzz. Then you go after |
| This can work but recall that revolutionary services | | | | angel or VC backers. You get some seed capital, do |
| often spring whole cloth out of no where to create | | | | more marketing, produce more results, then go after |
| solutions between technological bridges that no one | | | | 2nd round financing. |
| ever saw. Twitter is a perfect example of this, it | | | | You build stepwise in this manner. You hire only those |
| was a solution looking for a problem...and found that | | | | who are essential to get your product to the next |
| "problem" in the form of an easy way for | | | | level. |
| entertainers, sports stars and media figures to | | | | Pre-dot-bomb and pre-"great recession" rules were |
| interact with their fans, to feed and receive late | | | | much different, but this is 2010, and investors hold |
| breaking information...to shape the conversation of | | | | their cash with an iron fist. |
| their brand in a way that was not possible, barely | | | | 5. Building a business around one product is a very |
| imagined before micro blogging services came along. | | | | risky idea |
| Many businesses today are built on ideas and theory | | | | Andrei Kolodovski, Entrepreneur, Investor |
| that were mere curiosities in the past and now are | | | | 1) Product and company building are closely related |
| the foundations of entire lines of business. Could | | | | and iterative processes, impossible to separate; |
| Fourier and Laplace have forseen the use of their | | | | 2) Product always evolves as new information comes |
| mathematical tools inside communication devices and | | | | in from the interaction with the customers and |
| art creation programs (photoshop). Could Einstein see | | | | markets; |
| the light emitting diode and the modern digital camera | | | | 3) Many products require venture capital to build, |
| photo sensor that came out of his explanation of | | | | even to the working prototype stage; |
| quantized light via the photo electric effect 105 years | | | | 4) Building a business around one product is a very |
| ago? Those are distant examples but it just goes to | | | | risky idea. I would rather build it on an intellectual |
| show that an idea without a need today doesn't | | | | platform allowing multiple products and markets. |