Clarity in execution
I gave a difficult “no” last week to a company. The no’s aren’t easy, but they’re the name of the game in my world. I really liked their vision: I honestly think they’re the first education-related startup that truly understands how tech can be integrated into curricula.
But, the company fell short on execution.
I should say that the company fell short on clarity in execution, not just execution as a whole. They already managed to build distribution channels across the states in some major retailers, an impressive feat.
They didn’t have clarity in what they were executing on: their product launch plan fell short. Whenever we pressed them on specifics, they never seemed to be able to give a solid answer for exactly what product they were going to ship later this year. There were a lot of good ideas, but the founders did not specify which ideas would make it to the next step. Especially with consumer-facing products, it’s crucial that a company knows the near-term execution plan. If you don’t have a near-term plan, you certainly don’t have a long-term plan.
Being able to execute is one thing. That’s just a matter of hitting the pavement hard enough. Being able to execute from a plan is entirely different.
