I’m Addicted to Going from Zero to One

Which Could Be A Problem In The Future

I love taking ideas from zero to one.

There is something intoxicating about taking an abstract concept and bringing it to life with just enough fidelity to test whether or not it is valuable to someone else.

In fact, I love this process so much, I’ve built my freelance career around helping others take their ideas from zero to one using design.

What exactly does this mean?

I value speed and simplicity because I know how quickly ideas can wither and die on the vine.

My job is to help take those ideas, grow them on that vine as quickly as possible, and then pluck them off to give to others.

This is why I have focused on working with other entrepreneurs and startups as clients. For the most part, we see eye-to-eye on the importance of speed and testing ideas with real people.

Over the years, I’ve developed specific design services that focus on creating minimum viable brands, products, and tests, all with a focus on learning as much as possible, as quickly as possible.

Other designers may call me lazy or claim I have a disregard for detail, but in my opinion, they just value different things.

In the world of design, there are those that help bring an idea to life (starters) and there are those that help grow it (scalers).

By this point, you can probably guess which one I am.

There is nothing wrong with being one or the other. In fact, both types are crucial when taking an idea from concept to a sustainable business.

The trouble comes when designers try and bridge the gap, especially with their own ideas, products, and companies.

I’ll be honest. I fall directly into this category.

Like countless others, I have notebook after notebook with half-baked ideas and endless landing pages that have been abandoned for the next big thing.

My starter tendencies have made it difficult to scale any of my own ideas into sustainable businesses for the future, mainly due to an overall lack of focus.

In the past, I have constantly wondered whether or not my current project is worthy of the time and effort it takes to scale it.

Admittedly, this is something I will inevitably have to tackle if I ever want to see any of my own ideas succeed in the real world.

To battle this, I began studying how other companies have scaled into the future, using design as one of the many lenses.

Scaling a company with design as a competitive advantage usually means creating flexible design systems that grow with the company.

Whether it’s Starbucks capturing and systematizing their design process for building their “stores of the future,” or Google creating extensive branding guidelines flexible enough to apply to any new product, these companies have grown intentionally with the help of design.

In studying these companies, among others, I’ve realized in order to eventually scale my own ideas, I need to practice patience and commitment.

No amount of long-term success happens overnight.

Instead, success tends to be an accumulation of a few things:

• The ability to ruthlessly prioritize day-to-day
• An effective method for decision making
• A procedure for the systemization and implementation of processes
• Enough perseverance to keep up momentum during times of uncertainty.

With this in mind, I will stay the course and use my starter tendencies to capture small wins along the way while honing the above necessary skills.

If all goes according to plan, I will eventually be able to take an idea from zero to much further than one.

And so will you.

What type of designer are you? Do you have a hard time taking ideas across the finish line? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below or on Twitter at @williamfrazr.

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