You’re talking to a friend at a party and they’ve told you they’re going to build their own house, by themselves. Bold.
Things get dicey when they tell you that they haven’t drawn up any plans, don’t know much about building houses, but they’ve seen ‘The Block’. The overriding message is that they think it’s a good idea so they’re going to do it.
This is essentially what too many people do with app development. They jump straight into an area they may not know much about. They skip the market validation part, the planning part, the set up to make sure they’re on the right track. Ok so it’s a substandard analogy but hopefully the message comes through regardless.
only 0.01 will become financially successful
This kind of approach is a big part of the reason that only 0.01 will become financially successful according to Gartner. We’re willing to bet that some more focus on Market Validation could help to increase this number dramatically.
Should you be new to the space, you may not have built a website, app or e-commerce store before, but this is by no means a piece to discourage you! Think of it more as encouragement to do it right, so that you can be successful.
I’m not perfect either. I essentially started Ping on a mix of gut feel and anecdotal evidence.
If you’re initially gathering anecdotal evidence there are some super simple things to remember. Talk about the idea as ‘something you heard about’ with everyone that you talk about it with. This will help to remove bias, because well, they’re your friends so they’re nice to you.
Find someone that will pay for it as soon as you can. There are a number of ways to do this and you’ll likely find your own way there, but focusing on that clear goal can help to guide you towards any assumptions you might have made and surface some hard truths.
Stay positive.
You’ll get set backs no matter what your idea
You’ll get set backs no matter what your idea is, the important thing is to simply listen and adapt. Then continue on the new course. You’ll find out soon enough if you’re moving in the right direction or on a wild goose chase.
Getting out there and asking around will take you out of your comfort zone which is good for growth regardless of the outcome, so either way you’re winning.