Reflecting on first month of Constructor Labs
One month ago I left my developer role at an investment bank to start a programming school. I have been teaching and running workshops at other organisations for over two years. During that period I formed a strong idea of how I envision an ideal programming course. Using an iterative approach, providing context first and explaining theory second. Plenty of exercises to develop core skills. Lots of open ended projects to let students’ creativity run wild. Strong focus writing clean, maintainable code. In the end, I decided to take the leap and set up my own school.
Launching a startup is an exercise in tackling complexity and uncertainty. In my case this is even more challenging as a result of being a solo founder. Not having a co-founder to share the workload with or bounce ideas off, is a significant limitation. One way I tried to get around this is to reflect, spot weaknesses or opportunities and respond. I decided to share the lessons learned to keep myself accountable and help other entrepreneurs.
Talk to your potential customers
Find folks who you would like to buy your product. They could be buyers of a competitor’s product or those who show interest. Try to understand their motivations for buying, their objectives and how they make purchasing decisions. This will be key to how you market your product later. Pay attention to any suggestions for improvement. That material will be gold dust to you to help differentiate your product from incumbents.
In my case, I spoke to two dozen budding developers, graduates of other bootcamps and their mentors. For many of them, cost played a huge role in choosing a bootcamp. Many learned about their chosen bootcamp from friends or family in the industry. Also, most were looking to get a job as a software developer afterward and employment prospects are crucial. The main criticisms of existing programmes were large class sizes and instructors with limited professional experience.
How did I do? 7/10
Talking to lots of people gave me a great understanding of not only the objectives of potential customers, but also some of the fears holding them back. Where I could have done better, is including the outcome of lessons learned in my marketing material. I need to add more testimonials from past teaching to the website. I also need to formalise and announce a list of companies who have expressed interest in hiring Constructor Labs graduates.
Start building an audience as soon as possible
Once you have started to talking to your potential customers, you should have a good idea what they are interested in. Use that information to start creating content that will be of use to them. Also, if you have little experience with public speaking or blogging start practising immediately. Create a strong following before you launch your product, so you will have an audience excited to buy your product when it comes out.
How did I do? 3/10
I tend to find writing difficult and as a result put off creating a blog until after I launched Constructor Labs. To call it a missed opportunity is an understatement. I give myself a three, rather than a big fat zero, because I have a decent following on Twitter which helps to carry my message. I have also set myself a target of one blog post a week to become more comfortable with writing.
Ask for help
When asked how things are going, entrepreneurs are inclined to say “things are great” or “we are killing it”. Painting a picture of success is a missed opportunity to get valuable support.
My friends and acquaintances have been instrumental in providing me with introductions to potential customers, marketing channels and sharing my announcements on social media. People want to help so let them know what they can do and what would add the most value.
At the same time, be sure to help others, especially if it costs you little to do so, even when there is no obvious benefit to you. It may make a decisive difference to someone’s life, which alone is worth the effort.
How did I do? 8/10
I have been quite open and honest about some of the challenges such as recruiting students or finding office space. The result was that I got lots of recommendations and introductions that helped the business progress. Had I kept quiet, that help would have quietly passed me by. The main area for improvement for me is the speed at which I take up the suggestions. It took me several weeks to approach some potential marketing channels and others are still on my to do list.
Learn to sell
Software developers tend to regard sales as dishonest or plain evil. There tends to be a desire to automate the entire process and get on with the honest craft of building a product. As a new company with little track record you are unlikely to benefit from free flowing customers or enjoy word-of-mouth marketing. Each sale will have to be earned with empathy and understanding. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Try to understand their fears and reservations. Learn to concisely and persuasively communicate the value you are offering and how it will benefit them. There is no point in building a product you are unable or unwilling to sell.
All, bar one, of the sales I have achieved so far, came from me approaching potential students and persuading them to sign up. In every case, I had to address their fears and explain how the course will support their objectives.
How did I do? 6/10
Let’s be honest, I am not a natural salesperson. As a result, I feel I missed lots of opportunities and failed to convert some promising leads. On a more positive note, understanding the importance of sales has helped me to focus my effort better. Although I wish students would just come to my website and sign up, the reality is that I will need to enlist them one at a time. The objective for the next few weeks is to find more potential students and start the conversation with them about joining Constructor Labs.
Reflect daily on your work and let it guide you
I end each work day with a 10 minute session to reflect. This is very similar to a retrospective, as practiced in Agile, only with one person participating. I look at what happened in the day and what contributed to those events. It is powerful and empowering because this exercise helps to connect indirect causes and effects which may otherwise not be immediately apparent. It can be used to spot weaknesses that need improving or highlight strengths that may have been taken for granted.
Each day as an entrepreneur can vary wildly from another. Many entrepreneurs compare their experience to being stuck on a roller coaster. The highs are incredible and the lows can be devastating. Rather than focusing on each event in isolation, look at them over a longer timeframe. This way, the positive and negative experiences can be combined and smoothed out. The emotional impact of a lousy day will be reduced by balancing it against recent wins.
Another activity that boosted my productivity is creating a To-Do List each evening after reflection for the next day. Picking it up first thing in the morning helps me to get started immediately rather than losing half an hour establishing priorities for the day.
How did I do? 7/10
Averaging out my experiences over several days helped me to reduce stress. An assessment of what’s working lead to a quick termination of paid ads and a refocus on blogging and speaking at events. Overall, I need to make this exercise more frequent and start taking notes to look for longer term trends.
Identify what makes you productive and utilise it
In a regular job, you work the hours your boss tells you at the location they specify. I admit I find this kind of imposed structure helpful to maintain focus and direction. Without it, it took me several weeks to find a productive rhythm. Now, I aim to be up at 7am each morning, avoid unnecessary midweek drinking, and get a good night’s sleep to be productive the next day.
How did I do: 6/10
I am still working on becoming productive. Getting an early start each day helps me maintain momentum throughout the day. Appreciating when I am no longer effective in the evening and stopping work helps me get a bit of down time without losing output. Unless it’s urgent, the problem you are tackling will still be there the next day and you may be more successful approaching it from a new angle. Be mindful that this does not become an excuse to procrastinate.
To continue developing, I would like to make this reflection post a monthly feature looking at challenges, successes and lessons learned. I have learned lots from entrepreneurs such as Patrick McKenzie, Joel Gascoigne and Paul Graham. They have been very candid about their experiences and helped shape my ideas. In the last few years, as startups have become a mainstream theme the narrative has changed. The focus seems to have shifted away from the struggle of entrepreneurs to the glossy allure of so-called unicorns. There are thousands of entrepreneurs looking to build solid, sustainable businesses. Let’s share the experience and help each other learn.
Constructor Labs runs a 12 week course in London teaching full-stack web development with JavaScript. Classes start on 22nd January and fees are reduced to £3,000 for the first cohort. Applications are open now and places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
