In the world of startups, an entrepreneur has a lot on their plate in order to climb the ranks and become successful. So, anything that will give a company an advantage is valuable information. With seemingly so many things going on, it’s important for an entrepreneur to step back and focus on what’s important. In a previous lecture, Jon Hart of PraxisLabs discussed 2 things every startup should focus on. First, always be building the product. Second, always be selling the product. Let’s take a deeper look at these two categories…
- ) Always be building the product –
- For a small startup entering the market, it’s important to drive value. The more a company improves and expands a product, the more value they create for a consumer. A company that is constantly making changes to improve their product, is much more reputable than a company that remains stationary. Also, by focusing on product improvement, you can ensure that your company is working towards a consistent and achievable goal.
- Always be selling the product –
- As a startup, sales is everything. No one knows what you do, why you do it, or why they should choose your business over any competitors. Sales is the bridge between your company and consumers, so make sure it’s a strong one. By constantly communicating with consumers about your product, you can build long-lasting relationships and product reputation; which will ultimately turn into profit.
A startup faces many challenges in it’s early stages, and there is a lot for the entrepreneur to focus on. However, by focusing on the importance of these two points, an entrepreneur can gain customer trust and ultimately pave their way to success.
BoweryJE22
I also really enjoyed what Jon Hart discusses in his talk. Both these things are absolutely essential for startups to ensure that you are improving your company for the good of your customers, and to ensure that your business is constantly growing and expanding as time goes on.
In addition to these two ideas of either building or selling, Jon also stressed the importance of a startup maintaining a focus and not overextending themselves. Jon talked a little on the temptation of startups to try and do everything for their customer in making their product/service attractive, but that always isn’t possible because of limited resources in the beginning stages. Narrowing their focus on what they found their niche to be and driving that home is where I found encouragement for thinking about my ideas for the future.
This is a wonderful summary of Jon’s lecture on startups – thanks for sharing! I agree with the previous comment that focus is also a huge part in these 2 points. Constantly moving and talking about your product can make it really tempting to jump from thing to thing in your business, however as Dr. Powell says, “Lose your focus, lose your shirt.” This is true of both startups and corporate businesses.
It is extremely important to continuously build and sell the product. Also though, I fall back on what Coach DiDonato taught us as well, and that is to make sure you don’t forget about the buyer as well. I believe if you can combine both ideas, it would be great.