Learning from the past
When I started work on JOE , the app that let you be generous with coffee, it was started with Seth Miller and really had a focus on being a simple way to connect people through generosity.
The start of the project was great. We worked together and really put a lot of ideas out on the table. My coding skills were horrid at the time, but grew as I worked with Seth. We worked on the project for a few months, around the time that Seth had to step into the nitro-fueled driver seat of Rapchat and really started to launch that brand. Seth shifted focus to Rapchat, I kept the heartbeat with JOE but made a critical mistake in not getting together with someone else that could stay on long-term and have a very real, day-to-day vested interest in the app.
What I found was that I had run headlong into one of the many lessons that come out of Feld and Cohen’s “Do More Faster”. Namely “Don’t go it alone”. Here’s the deal, working by yourself is great. You can even get a lot done, the problems set in when you need a second opinion that is equally as knowledgeable about the problem as you are. In this case, what would happen was I’d work on the project, move forward and then run into a problem that usually wasn’t so much technical as it was business process or value-proposition oriented. Then, I’d stare at the problem and ask for help from people that weren’t that familiar with the problem and that really couldn’t offer the best advice. I could pick up on the fact that maybe they weren’t giving me a great answer, which would cause me to bring the problem back into my court for more stewing on. This led to a lot of indecision, and therefore inaction.
This time, as I work on GeoBowl, I’m working with Ian Danner and we’re moving forward because we hold each other accountable and focus on action over waiting on the perfect-circumstances to make the perfect decision. We’re also doubling down on all messages from “The Startup Owner’s Manual”. Perfect may happen, but it doesn’t happen when you just wait for it. Worry less about what you push, and more that you’re moving forward. Keep a tight focus on iteration, and the feedback that comes from those decisions. Indecision is worse than the wrong decision.
Get a partner, someone to hold you accountable and who’s in-the-loop every step of the way. It’s worth it.
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