THE REASONS WHY MY PROJECT IS STALLING

Is there a methodology for startup creation?

This might be ironic of a question coming from somebody who has yet to reach this goal. But why haven’t I actually jumped off the cliff?

Well, there are multiple reasons. From stubborness and trying to do things too quick, to uncertainty and lack of knowledge, the setbacks pile up. But I’m still grinding, trying to achieve that goal, which would actually not be the end I am looking for, but the beginning of everything.

What’s the project?

What I am trying to achieve with my project is the simplification of the process of starting a company.

Yes, I decided to create a startup that will facilitate the creation of startups. Yes, this seems to be my personal rendition of the french phrase “c’est le serpent qui se mord la queue”. Meaning it’s a snake biting its own tail. My thought process is basically creating an endless loop.

I’m thinking otherwise. Contrary to the traditional (para-)governmental agencies that already exist and use lots of staff members, offices, money, events and campaigns, to not only promote entrepreneurship but also accompany those who dare trying it, I believe the new generation of creators, especially those operating in the tech world, could use a quicker way to get from point A (the idea) to point Z (the company and the revenues). These traditional staff members could be former entrepreneurs themselves, with huge experiences and networks, or just regular 9-to-5ers (nothing against them), trained to do their jobs a certain way. One thing for sure is, they could never be as invested in anyone’s project as if it was their own.

And as for the other startups, web schools or innovative incubators that tackle this issue from a different angle, well, good luck and see you down the road.

Before I tell you more of what my project is about, let me explain why I haven’t created the company yet, which, ironically enough, also explains why I believe this company needs to exist.

The reasons

My “why” was not clear

My decision to leave my corporate job and got the entrepreneur route came at an unexpected time. I was a consultant. And my client decided that I had been working with them for too long of a time, they would not try to make me a permanent collaborator and somebody else could provide my services.

Like I said in a previous post, I always had ventures on the side. I decided to go full-time. Gear 6!! Making that decision is a good thing. Not knowing exactly what you’re going to build at the time you’re making the decision is a very bad one.

My idea was very vague. I only knew that my previous ventures made me experience lots of difficulties in the process of creating a company and that my clearest and most helpful responses always came from more experienced entrepreneurs. People who have already walked down the road I was engaging myself in. So I decided to create a platform based solely on that assumption. Quite thin, right?

Time management is a different sport from a corporate job to a startup

Once you decide to take the matter into your own hands, you also accept to be responsible for any and everything that goes on, whether in favor of the end goal or not. At any other kind of job, it’s likely that you have a direct boss to respond to, delays to respect and a more-or-less clear plan to execute. All that vanishes when you decide to jump. You have to create all these things for yourself.

Several months later, I still struggle with this part of my transformation into an entrepreneur. There are techniques, tools, apps that I use(d) to better organize my days but I haven’t quite found the perfect routine yet.

That’s actually the funny thing about this: you need a routine. A boring yet efficient routine. Routine can actually the reason why you might have escaped your former life and tried to fly solo. But the routine at the other jobs is not comparable to the one you need to achieve your entrepreneur goals. I am still working on mine. If you have any tip on how to get things done every day on a timely basis, please share in the comments below.

A specific network for a specific project

I didn’t really know how powerful it is to know people who know people until I made the jump. I used to be the effective guy at work who doesn’t bother sympathising with the hierarchy for no reasons. As a matter fact, I despise coworkers who spend a lot of time in the boss’ ears and try to stand out for different reasons than their work. Needless to say, I am not a great networker.

Networking has nothing to do with your character, I found out. It has everything to do with what you have to offer. The more you have knowledge, ideas, talent… and network, to share with others, the more they will follow and support you. It is as basic as that. Networking is not only a talent but a business. Once you get used to it and you understand the real power behind it, as introvert and quiet as you are, you’ll find yourself attending more events than you participate in your friends’ birthday celebrations.

More importantly, your network must be tailored to your project. Do not attend meetups about poetry and arts if your project has to do with robotics. Follow contributors of the right blogs, Medium pages, Twitter accounts, that only make sense with the type of topic you are dealing with.

Can people actually understand what I’m working on?

I had to work on how to present my idea and my project. Communication is an art. Work on your pitches, work on its several versions. Get an elevator pitch, a 5min pitch. a 15min pitch. Edit a powerpoint presentation that blows people minds. Work on a demo, a mockup, a beta version of your product. Do anything you can to help translate your vision, the ones that are only clear to you in your head, into something that’s tangible, viewable, testable and can be experienced by your audience. By any audience.

Even more than the understanding, it’s the need for the solution that you are proposing. I figured soon enough that I had probably started my process from the wrong end. So I had to reverse engineer myself, get close to my core audience again, put myself in their shoes and identify the way they address their issues in order to determine how to make it easier for them in the future.

Also, endless conversations with more experienced entrepreneurs give you a sense of the feasibility of the idea. It’s difficult to be a trendsetter with very low resources, but you can definetely listen to trend-followers. Those who know what’s going on and what is going to be. Their support acts as a validation. But it’s obviously not a guarantee. Actually nobody can guarantee anything. The end customer is king and decides.

What’s my plan? How do I get there?

Let’s say you have a clear idea of what you’re trying to do. Your network is great, supportive and resourceful and people actually buy into your vision. You still have to execute.

“A goal without a plan is nothing but a dream”

I’m certainly paraphrasing Antoine de Saint-Exupery but you get the concept. I spent a lot of hours just writing down what I had in mind about how I would make it happen. The business plan, the executive summary, the company’s strategy… All these documents and the brainstorming that generates them, are absolutely necessary. It doesn’t mean they will never be changed. I belive the sooner the milestones and deliverables are defined, the smoother the journey can be.

I need $$$$$$$

I don’t really think I need to expand on that one. The reality of budgets, resources, loans and debts hits you hard, fast and quite often.

My business is bootstrapped for now. This can obviously not last long. I have already wasted cash on actions that deemed unuseful in the end. I have been bad at cash management. For instance, I ordered an online market research in the form of a survey, interrogating my future clientele on their uses of the internet in their day-to-day business. That was a money thrown out the window. The questionaire was so vague that the thousands of responses in return simply do not carry enough information to be exploited. Moreover, the survey took place at the time when the target audiance had yet to be clearly defined, the need and the solution were not completely clear yet. Waste of time and money.

There are definetely tons of other reasons why someone would delay a project but I believe these are the most important ones.

I plan on addressing these common problems and offer my solution in the form of an online virtual incubator, that would be nothing more than a network of people passionate about making ideas come to fruition, and eager to work together in order to achieve the vision of one of the members of the team. Said otherwise, my idea and my goal is to build a platform where any dreamer could find the information, the advice and the support from other members, to turn their idea into a project. Then, still on the platform, our dreamer would build her/his project team and try to achieve the goal, partnering in the meantime with the investors and experts or freelancers that she/he networked with on the platform, and using the tools that the platforms offers to manage the project and its team.

I believe these tools should contribute to the so-called methodology to create a startup. Even though I keep thinking there is actually none. Or more precisely, there are as many methodologies as there are markets and solutions. But at least a common denominator of steps that are necessary to go from an idea to a company was identified a long time ago by the successful entrepreneurs and has been shared and updated ever since:

Gather Info. Gather People. Prototype. Monetize. Execute. Iterate

Is that the ultimate response to the needs of people with ideas? I don’t know. I haven’t experienced success building this platform yet. But it is my response and I believe it could very well change the way we build startups.

Wish me good luck.. I would love to see an unicorn in my lifetime.

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