Always Start With WHY
Making Emotions A Part Of Your Solution Can Be A Differentiator
Launching startups continue to get more capital efficient. However, markets are increasingly saturated with competition. How can you stand out from the pack? As founders position their startups to find a repeatable and scalable business model, products may evolve and methods will change, but your “WHY” should never deviate.
In a 2010 TED Talk, Simon Sinek spoke about the “Golden Circle”. The Golden Circle defines the different layers or stages of your business model and how your audience relates to your vision or message.
Sinek’s TED Talk, mainly about product development and marketing, argues that the need being answered, the WHY, is what should be determining WHAT you’re building, and HOW.
Sinek argues that when launching your startup, you should always start with WHY instead of WHAT. The WHY can set your brand apart from competing products or brands and to ultimately drive the narrative. Sinek explains how Apple has been able to achieve such exceptional success, while others with the same resources have failed:
“If Apple was like everyone else a marketing message might be: We make great computers. They’re user friendly. Want to buy one? Here’s how Apple actually communicates: everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo, we believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use, and user friendly. We just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?” — Simon Sinek
There are many others trying to solve the same problem that you are. Some times to get ahead regardless of your size and industry your startup must think from the inside out. According to Sinek, “All organizations start with WHY, but only the great ones keep their WHY clear year after year.” People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it. Starting with WHY attracts customers who share your beliefs, sometimes for a lifetime.
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