Viability is Subjective

My website sucks. I’m not ashamed to admit it. I don’t like it. I think it needs to be redone on a different platform than the one I’m using. The issue is navigation links at the top move around based on the page you are on. It is an aesthetic issue. Operationally, the links, forms, and buttons all work.

The reason this issue exists is the software I’m using, Strikingly, has limitations, and this happens to be one of them. I can build a new website on different software that will no doubt fix this issue, but how important is it to do that right now? And what new limitations will I encounter?

I just finished building this website and frankly, I still have a lot of work in front of me if I hope to launch this company this week as planned. Building a new website on unfamiliar software will push everything back and my financial situation is too dire to do that. But it does nag at me that there is this imperfection.

I want to overcome this nag. I want it not to exist. I want to be able to move forward and execute with imperfection. Because it is tragic when I see others make the same mistake, letting the pursuit of perfection hold them back. The truth is the website is only one marketing tool among many. One small imperfection is not going to make or break the deal with most people, and if it does, then I have to ask, was that the right customer for me in the first place?

It is all subjective.

The mantra of the lean startup movement is Minimum Viable Product. But in much the same way that Quality is subjective, Viability is subjective. A professional designer might find my laundry company website not to be viable because of the navigation issues. But a successful laundry company may find that exact same website to be much better than the one they have.

The thing is I’m not building a design company or a tech company, I’m building a laundry service. What would not be viable for those companies may be viable for this one and vice versa.

This story is part of a series documenting the journey of a 2016 Dallas startup called Feather. If you would like to read more, here is the Table of Contents for the series.

Previous story: Why a Startup Should Never Start as a C-Corporation

Next story: Why I Created an S-Corporation

Thanks for reading!