Lean Startups Launch with Nothing

Lean startups launch with nothing.

His basic point is to partner up with people who can get your product out the door, ASAP.

Right now, we’re busy duct taping our initial product together, with a really minimum set of features. In fact, it’s killing me that we can’t show it off just yet, but we’re only a few weeks into actual development (part-time), so that’s probably to be expected.

I will say this: we had a working prototype last week, and though it was broken in places, it did clearly demonstrate the basic concept (it worked — mostly). And, damn, if it wasn’t exciting. When you see an idea roughed out and it delivers — even a tiny bit — on what you’ve promised, well, that’s pretty exciting. I can’t wait to use it myself.

But as a lean startup, we’re just as concerned with finding our customers, so while we’re working on the product, I’ve put together some background on what the company is all about, and a short presentation about what we’re trying to do, and we’re searching for people to talk to. Even though we don’t even have a product anyone can sign up for.

Now taking your ‘baby’ out and discussing it publicly this early is really hard. Sternberg recounts the advice he gives startups, that they’d better get to launch ASAP because 10 other people had the same idea at the same time, and whoever executes to market first is probably going to win.

Now, your natural inclination is to get secretive when you realize you’ve got competition, but what Sternberg actually said is that the race has already started. You don’t see Usain Bolt wearing a skirt so nobody can see how his legs move. Nobody’s secretive during the race. If the race has begun, it’s too late for that. If people seem secretive it’s probably because they’re busy.

The nice thing about sharing your idea with people is that they’re generally interested in what you’re doing. They’re probably friends or acquaintances, so they’ll probably be very supportive and offer criticisms constructively. The truth is that people aren’t sitting around waiting to steal your ideas. And even if they did, you’d both end up with two completely different products.

What I’ve found so far from my research and talking to people is that we’ve got an interesting idea, and that it’s going to be challenging to get people to pay for it (what else is new?). But more importantly, I’m learning about potential customers and what makes them tick. And hopefully, we’ll be able to turn that knowledge into a compelling sales proposition.

It’s still early, but I think we’re creating more value having conversations and sharing our ideas, than blindly building a product we don’t know if anyone really wants.