How I fucked up and had to pivot my startup
So I spent the last 9 months building a startup that I've now realized is worth nothing.
It's not about the Product, it's not about Distribution - it's about Validation
From most content you can read about startups, you'll probably get the idea that if you find a problem and you can think of a solution, the next step is to build an MVP and test it with a few initial users. That couldn't be more wrong, at least for most cases.
That's exactly what I did. I started to build my startup in public, announcing my idea and getting some initial feedback for it, without ever going through a proper validation process, and quickly jumped right into an MVP. Started to get a few initial users, got to see some initial traction and for a certain period of time things seemed to be going in the right direction.
After getting into Startup Lisboa, a startup incubator from Portugal, I realized how important it is to do a proper validation of your hypothesis, because at the end of the day that's all your startup is built on initially - hypothesis.
After I started to really try to understand the problems of my target customer, by going on interviews and making question in the right way, I realized I wasn't solving a problem that was relevant enough and I would never be able to monetize my product because there was no willingness to pay.
Start with the Riskiest Assumption
You may think you found a huge problem yet to be solved. That can be true, but it can also be a false hypothesis.
Start by trying to validate your riskiest assumption about the problem, that assumption that if proven wrong will completely invalidate the whole idea. Depending on what that hypothesis is, you can use different methods, what matters is choosing one that will help you learn the most about your assumptions. If an assumption gets validated, move on to the next one.
If you can consider your problem as validated, meaning it's worth trying to solve, then that's when you should start thinking about the solution. And the process repeats: you have an hypothesis and you need to test it with your target customer who you believe has the problem you want to solve.
If your solution is validated - congrats, you may now start working on your MVP and you just saved yourself months of work.
Continuous learning
But validation doesn't stop after you come up with a valid solution. Context changes, markets change, customers change. You must constantly try to learn as much as you can about your customers, their pains, and the best ways to solve those pains. Continuous learning is your key to not get to the point you realize you've been working on something no one wants to use or needs.
I'm now working on a pivot and trying to do things the right way. Just trying to find the next thing I'll fuck up with.
🔥 Roast My Landing Page
True enough, I'm in the validation process of my product now. BUT, my experience when I tried some soft validation with just the idea, was that the ones I spoke to found it complex or maybe couldn't grasp the idea, so for me to get validation, I wanted a product to refer to. That's why I built an mvp, recently finished, for now to reach validation of my solution. I will say tho, that this is a product I wanted myself, that's why I wanted to build it regardless of the validation from the target customers!
May I also recommend Business Model Canvas!
I understand. But for me, at least right now, what I'm doing is trying to talk to people about the problem, not any solution. Then to validate the solution, I rely on some demos of a product I haven't built yet, to test if there's any interest.
Business Model Canvas is great!
Awesome post, @leo_rsousa!
I've wasted at least 2 years of my life making this exact mistake, and it's actually the reason I'm building my current startup.
I was tired of having to spend hours on calls with people to validate my ideas. So, I made a tool that can rapidly test hypotheses by interviewing real people in my target market.
heyprobe.com if you want to check it out, and maybe help with your pivot. Best of luck! 😊
Interesting! How do we know it actually interviews relevant people from our target market?
You get to choose from hundreds different segmentation variables, and it has access to over 150,000 real people to interview. If you’re B2C, there’s a strong chance it has your audience on there!
Grasp the travel of enterprise! Your readiness to memorize from botches appears flexibility. Keep improving, repeating, and accepting in your thoughts. The another step is fair another opportunity for development. Keep pushing forward!
As someone who's been through the ups and downs of startup life, I can completely relate to your experience, Leonardo. Your candid reflection on your journey is both refreshing and insightful. It's all too easy to get caught up in the excitement of building something new without taking the necessary steps to validate our assumptions.
thanks for the input
Happy to share it
A very honest post!
Thanks, hoping it can save some time and resources to someone else
All this article goes in line with the Indie Hacking mindset!
Validate first, conclude later.
Thx for sharing your journey!
Thank you!
Thanks for the article. I continue to run into stories similar to yours, or atleast advice talking about the stages. I'm stuck in this endless overthinking and validation loop.
I recommend watching this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhoducyStMw
Great way to validate hypothesis
Thanks for sharing the hard truth, I did this twice before realising it is always better to think of these 3 things before jumping in.
I’m not sure how that relates to validating an idea
Derisking existential threats (esp before you've invested too much) - definitely wise advice!
I didn't see anything on your profile around the product (outside of it being web3) - was this your own itch you were scratching or did you not have much overlap with your target customers?
This was a problem I had felt as the founder of a small Web3 development agency. I did some (bad) validation with the wrong target customer. A target customer that would never have enough budget to spend on a solution like mine. For bigger companies, this solution would only be a nice to have and not a must have
In today's market, success hinges on validation more than ever before. Validating your product or service idea through market research, customer feedback, and testing ensures alignment with consumer needs and preferences. Rather than focusing solely on the product or distribution channels, prioritizing validation ensures that resources are effectively allocated, reducing risks and increasing the likelihood of achieving market acceptance and sustained growth.
That's about right
Agree to some extent. But one could get stuck in an endless loop as well.
If you try to validate your assumptions based on pre-defined specific criteria, you can even give yourself some time limits to validate them. If you fail to do so, you know you must move on to the next one. I believe that if you can't validate an idea, it's very unlikely you will build a product out of it that a lot of people want to use and pay for
What was your riskiest assumption?
Believing all startups and companies were unsatisfied enough about their current solutions to find strategic partners. Turned out to be true only for very early-stage startups with lack of experience and unfortunately also with lack of budget for a better solution