Waiting to become an overnight sensation
Mette Dyhrberg, an economist turned diagnostician, shares tips from her journey.
In these recent quarantine times there’s nothing we’ve become more accustomed to than waiting and uncertainty. Not only do we (im)patiently wait, but we do so without knowing for how long. This is not so different for entrepreneurs. We often have to wait for the market to catch up with our transformational product or service. There’s an old joke that it takes a long time to become an overnight sensation. It often takes time for novel ideas to gain wide acceptance, dispel old paradigms, and filter down into actual practice. So, how can we “wait” for product-market fit (or at least, the door to be cracked open?).
- Rely on your purpose. Profit isn’t a purpose, it’s a result of purpose. To have purpose means the things we do are of real value to others. The upside is a huge profit potential. It’s often true that necessity is the mother of invention, and allow that necessity to drive your purpose. As you wait for product-market fit, rely on that purpose to maintain your motivation for the marathon ahead. Focus on your essential role as a change maker for good. Personally, after my own experience with chronic autoimmune diseases, I was dissatisfied with ineffective diagnosis and treatment. Channeling those frustrations, I developed a new approach to managing my own, and subsequently others’, autoimmunity. So, like many other entrepreneurs, my business started with solving a major pain point. Knowing you and others need something is a good clue that a larger market may exist. However, the market might not be ready for it yet. Until then, it’s all about your purpose to get you through.
- Apply strategic intuition. Don’t be deterred by lack of industry knowledge. Unconstrained by existing, “known” solutions, (I am an economist, not a doctor), I approached my personal health from the perspective of process improvement and operations management (Deming, Toyota) by applying an individualized approach to identify the underlying triggers. Sometimes the best ideas come from an analogous field. Understand it may take a new approach to solve a problem that has not yet been solved. Remember, you’re not alone. Other people (including industry experts) will be excited to be involved in introducing a winning solution to a previously confounding problem.
- Believe in Yourself. Our mission at Mymee is to empower those who suffer from autoimmune diseases to reclaim their health. When we founded Mymee, I made the assumption that if we could solve a huge health problem, someday payers would be willing to pay for it. Since our transformational program was unheard of in the market, we first launched with value-based contracts that were 100% at risk to us. I had to make the decision to launch our product into a market, without knowing if it would be receptive. But I believed in our product and the problem we were trying to solve. Finding a way to launch, even at complete risk, was paramount, and ultimately, we were able to validate outcomes, alleviate suffering and document reductions in healthcare spend.
Some products and services find a waiting market. Other entrepreneurs are ahead of their time. Your job is to steer your company out of early struggles and into a growing market. Understanding the length of your runway and its implications is critical to your survival and ultimate success.
Mette Dyhrberg is the founder and CEO of Mymee. An economist turned diagnostician, she’s the Sherlock Holmes of anamnestic data. Mette is a digital health innovator committed to improving the quality of life for those with autoimmune disease. Mymee was conceived after years of being frustrated with being disempowered by a healthcare system that did not understand the challenges of autoimmune diseases. From the very beginning, she believed that capturing a body’s signals and decoding the hidden patterns, would lead to the world’s first truly personalized approach to health optimization. As an authority on autoimmune issues, Mette speaks regularly on how to reinvent healthcare.
