Big Bang… Boom
Overcoming Growing Pains of Startups
“Disrupt, or be disrupted.” So goes the mantra for surviving in the business world today.
Compared to legacy organisations — think hierarchical and resistant to change — a startup is often revered for being fast, nimble, and highly disruptive. However startups are also not all-conquering or immune to disruptions. Successful startup founders continue to face a multitude of growing-up pains up and challenges.
Difficulty Finding a Second Act
In the past, Rogers’ bell curve (1962) is often referred to as a model for the technology adoption life cycle.
However in modern times, Downes and Nunes (2015) observed that the market is hitting saturation much faster than before. Information spreads rapidly, giving buyers near-perfect market information quickly. Almost everyone who wants a product will adopt it immediately.
This also means that if a startup were to devote all its resources to a single product — the first act — it may get caught unprepared when the first act runs out of steam, and finds revenue drying up quickly after that.
