Day 1: In Retrospect
The three things I wish I knew the first day of starting a company
On the brink of launching a startup, you’re well aware that it’s going to take hard work. You have accepted the fact that relationships, sleep, and even showering will take a backseat to this new, time-sucking baby that is your company. But that’s OK; it’s worth it. There is more, however, to the startup world; things I wish someone sat me down when the idea of Wideo crept into my head and told me. These are the three points I wish I heard.
1. Your company must have a good product that solves a problem. This is two steps — figuring out something that is needed but that doesn’t already exist and making it the best product out there. It doesn’t matter how much investment you have, how much press you have, or what celebrity invested in your company, if you don’t have a good product that people use, it’s all pointless . For us, the first was easy — I wanted to make an explainer video for another startup, but there were no free, useful tools, which was a problem that I needed to solve — for myself and others who would encounter this problem as well. The second part, however, was not so easy. We launched and gained users quickly without having the best product we could. While our consumer base grew, our product didn’t improve — and that is a huge problem. Eventually we had to stop everything (marketing, networking, any promotions, and, of course, our personal lives) and only work on the product. But now, I can confidently say, we have an amazing product — but we are still continuing to improve it, as our minds are constantly flooded with new ideas, so we’re not done yet.
2. Have a team that can adapt. You hear a lot about the importance of having a team where strengths and weaknesses are evened out. But there’s more to it. Your team must recognize when its time to change course, change the product, change locations, and change team members. The first version of your product most likely won’t be perfect, and your team has to be able to accept that and improve it, without fighting to keep a bad product alive. The unfortunate truth is, if there is an employee that doesn’t fit with your startup, you have to fire them, immediately. For our team, it was difficult — we have an international product, so we needed an international team. This put an extra strain on hiring, but we were able to find team members that fit the bill.
3. Distribution must be a priority. This is a lesson we learned from 500 Startups — the importance of getting your product to your target audience. It’s easy to get caught up in other areas of the startup, leaving distribution until last or until your product is just perfect, but this should be a priority from day 1. Of course, if your product isn’t ready, then don’t over-promote it! Startups are a low-cost laboratory, so what to do from the first day is to test which channels distribute your product more effectively, so when the product is ready, so is the distribution side. For us, we learned that Wideo can be used for internal communication in organizations, so we’re testing out the most effective means to get in front of these people, so they understand the benefits of using our tool.
If you’re reading this, thinking about starting your own company, good luck; hopefully these tips help you along the way.
This blog is by Agu De Marco, Co-Founder of Wideo, a DIY animated video production platform.
