Those following my startup Social Agent’s blog – I’m so excited to have confirmed a new member to our technical team – Dan from Canada will be a PHP developer with us and has alreadyjumped in head first in the code this week. Its exhilarating. Its about showing your passion, and selling
It’s About a Vision, a Mission, and THEN a product!
Its a pyramid, with the foundation being the vision of the business. For Social Agent, its about helping Western businesses do business in China via social media (and then SMEs to do international business online everywhere).
The mission is a short term goal. For Social Agent now, its about getting 100 foreign businesses on the system and successfully getting business leads and interacting with Chinese consumers.
AND THEN its the product. Which is the solution to helping the business achieve its mission and vision.
I know, I used to think Mission and Vision was kinda just marketing buzzwords, but it seriously helps to make a company that is bigger than you.
Validate Your Business Before You Build It
So many people wait for a technical co-founder to come and build it. And they use that as an excuse to starting their startup and executing. You can get a MVP (minimum viable product) mostly with a front end that takes much less technical expertise than one thinks. And the sooner you show your customers, the better you will learn and adapt. Lean is what its called.
But this also helps you find technical team members. They are tired of seeing a lazy business guy waiting around to find a technical dude to do their work and then go to market. By trying your best to execute, and having market feedback and showing the technical team that this is a viable business – then you will give them a much more informed decision.
Selling to Your Team, Your Investor, Your Customers
My friend Leo Liu reminds me that the CEO has to be the top salesperson for the company. And its not just about getting customers, its about getting people to buy into the idea. And delegating.
And this isn’t just getting customers. Its getting a community. And man, do you work for everyone else – not the other way around.
You have to prove to everyone that this business is viable. And make them proud to be part of it.
Don’t Give Up
This is critical. The longer you keep at it, the more you’ll learn, and the more you’ll prove to the public that you are committed to this. Technical people especially, but also the general public, is tired of seeing some entrepreneur shoot out a cool idea, work on it for a while, hit a speedbump and give up.
The longer you keep at it, the lower the risk is for new team members to feel that you’re going to throw in the towel and give up.
Hope these points help out. But the last one is the main point – Do not give up, at least not if you are passionate about your vision and the problem you are solving.
If you’re passionate, others will see that and get excited to be part.