Surviving the Seas of Startup Uncertainty
Sharpening Your Hunch for Success — Introduction to the Startup Series
Hunch — a blessing early-stage startup founders rely on as they build their MVP (Minimum Viable Product) and navigate through uncertainties (Going after sales, figuring out pricing, setting their operational guidelines, you name it).
A lot of startups are built on founders’ ‘Leap-of-faith assumptions’ — a term Eric Ries coined in his book The Lean Startups. Here’s how he describes it:
“Leap-of-faith assumptions are those kinds of assumptions that you take for granted, you don’t know if they’re right or wrong, you just go with them.”
One thing founders should keep in mind: as you steer your startups to a sea where the blues extend to a land of nowhere; the waves are more potent and the stakes are high, you better be ready to sharpen your hunch in order to survive.
The Build-Measure-Learn feedback loop is a proven approach; the ability to accelerate the feedback loop also increases your chance drastically to conquer the vast blues.
There are contexts that you need to know to truly make this work, I’d love to share them in the right size, sequence, and portion over time.
I will also be mixing in concepts I learn from other books that I think would be useful to build a strong foundation and the right mindset to propel you further.
For now, know that you can’t bet your way to success; just as you don’t see a lot of gamblers becoming billionaires, it is risky and could destroy your mind if you are obsessed with the method.
A poker player will tell you sometimes you need to take bets, but in an ideal scenario, you want to be able to understand your hand, the opponent’s hand, and the table. You want to be in control of the match, you don’t really want to always plan for a big comeback if you're going to survive in the competitive scene.
I’ll gradually share more about what I think I know about startups. I would be happy to hear your opinions, have different voices, discuss, and be refuted because entrepreneurship is a path shed pink not by roses, but by blood, sweat, tears, and limping warriors.
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Continuing Post: Don’t Play the Game of Luck with Your Startup’s Product Release — Startup Series #1
You can find the beginning of the startup series here:
Sharpening Your Hunch for Success — Introduction to the Startup Series
