DAY 2: SHOULD I BLAME THEM?
Good evening, How was your day?.. By the way, this is a genuine question when I ask others. I truly want to know the answer.. Immersing yourself in work distances you from your friends more than it should!
Yesterday, while we were discussing why I didn't share with anyone in my surrounding environment what was happening with me or what I was doing (DAY1), we said that the startup environment and its nature are completely different from traditional companies. According to global statistics, the norm in startups is failure, unlike traditional companies, where success or failure is believed to depend on the founder's competence. If a founder fails, they usually face the consequences, which is something people don't like to hear.. But why is failure the norm in startups?
We said that startups seek to find solutions to new problems that haven't been solved yet, often because these problems haven't been adequately identified or studied due to their novelty. So, regarding the problem, for example, there is a challenge in even recognizing the problem itself. It may be perceived as a problem from the founder's perspective, but not from others' perspectives. Another challenge lies in defining the problem. For instance, the founder noticed that passengers wait for a long time before finding a taxi to take them where they want to go. To verify if this problem actually exists, the founder asked people if they saw it as a problem and if they wanted it solved, to which they answered yes. Then, the founder proposed providing on-demand car services, but people responded that they wouldn't ride with drivers they didn't trust. So, after the founder initially thought that the availability of taxis at the right time was the problem, it turned out that the real problem was on-demand availability and trustworthy drivers (there may be many other factors as well, such as a commonly used payment method, etc.). To what extent should the founder define the problem? Nobody knows for sure, but to the extent that they can establish a successful and profitable business!.. The founder should also determine who faces this problem, as there might be individuals who don't mind waiting for a taxi.. They should also determine the size of the group facing the problem and whether they are willing to pay to solve it, and how much they would pay. Additionally, the founder should consider if this problem is expected to grow or diminish over time and whether there are other factors that could affect this problem. And many other issues related solely to the problem!
While I was in the middle of the previous paragraph, a thought came to my mind.. I wanted to tell you: "Do you know how many pages it takes for someone to talk about 'the problem' in entrepreneurship and everything related to it only!!.. All of that should be done, developed, and achieved by the company founder regarding the problem alone.. Can you imagine that?
After the founder gains a good initial understanding of the problem and believes that they are capable of solving it, and that investing in solving this problem may be profitable, they then begin to design this solution. Here, the founder moves on to a more professional stage and designs an initial business model for the company they seek to establish, which will provide the solution to this problem.
The business model is a simpler tool that has been developed to accelerate business building. Previously, companies used what is known as a business plan, which is more complex and detailed than a business model. The business model - as many of you may know - consists of nine key elements in building any business. These elements are: the target audience, the channels the company will use to reach this audience, the type of relationship the company desires with this audience, the proposed value that the company will offer to this audience, the key activities the company will undertake to build and deliver this value to this audience, the key resources the company will need to carry out its activities, the key partners the company will need in its activities, the expected revenue sources for the company, and finally, the amount of expenses the company expects to incur in its operations.
Every part of this model (the business model) requires a lot of effort, study, testing, and regular development in order to produce a cohesive and applicable business model in the end. Any mistake in designing any of these elements can cause major problems for the company.
Here, I want to add something: while working on the business model, there are many factors outside of this model that the founder should study and understand to make their model more applicable. This includes studying the market, competitors, products, laws, regulations, economic factors, and other factors that may directly or indirectly affect the company's operations.
Moving forward, during the process of working on the model or after developing the initial model, the founder begins to build the team and work according to this model. It is their responsibility to ensure that all the requirements of the model for success are met, including selecting the necessary competencies, providing financial and non-financial resources, building partnerships, and implementing managerial practices,.. etc. This requires a lot of learning, patience, and experimentation from both the founder and the team. With time, either this model succeeds and the company becomes profitable, or the model fails and the company closes.
As you can see from the above, most of the decisions related to building startups are initially based on assumptions, whether by the founder or the team. They constantly try to validate these assumptions to make their decisions more accurate. This idea is the core concept that I mentioned in my previous post and would like to clarify: why did I feel disconnected from my surrounding environment when I started working on my project?
Before starting the project, I mentioned that when I shared my ideas, people didn't accept them without contemplating the matter (as I mentioned in WHO ME). Despite the fact that the concept was theoretically applicable! This gave me an indication that my way of thinking may be different from theirs.. The other reason is what I tried to explain in my previous and this posts, that working on startups is an exhausting task with significant risks. It relies on aligning assumptions with reality, and therefore changes occur at a rapid pace. The pressure and fluctuations can be intense, and not everyone can handle them.. At any moment, you may make a decision that completely changes the company's direction. This happens frequently, always. Therefore, since day one and until now, I have tried to protect my surrounding environment from being too involved in my work or even understanding what I'm going through at work, and I do this for their sake.. They probably don't realize it!
Do I blame them for this?.. Definitely not. You can't ask people to be someone other than themselves.
Can I tell you a secret? I feel happy when I come home and find them happy. Perhaps if they knew that the day wasn't good for me, Their happiness will never be the same as it was in that moment!
It seems that it's time for sleep (yawns)
Take care of yourselves, and have a good night.
Yesterday, while we were discussing why I didn't share with anyone in my surrounding environment what was happening with me or what I was doing (DAY1), we said that the startup environment and its nature are completely different from traditional companies. According to global statistics, the norm in startups is failure, unlike traditional companies, where success or failure is believed to depend on the founder's competence. If a founder fails, they usually face the consequences, which is something people don't like to hear.. But why is failure the norm in startups?
We said that startups seek to find solutions to new problems that haven't been solved yet, often because these problems haven't been adequately identified or studied due to their novelty. So, regarding the problem, for example, there is a challenge in even recognizing the problem itself. It may be perceived as a problem from the founder's perspective, but not from others' perspectives. Another challenge lies in defining the problem. For instance, the founder noticed that passengers wait for a long time before finding a taxi to take them where they want to go. To verify if this problem actually exists, the founder asked people if they saw it as a problem and if they wanted it solved, to which they answered yes. Then, the founder proposed providing on-demand car services, but people responded that they wouldn't ride with drivers they didn't trust. So, after the founder initially thought that the availability of taxis at the right time was the problem, it turned out that the real problem was on-demand availability and trustworthy drivers (there may be many other factors as well, such as a commonly used payment method, etc.). To what extent should the founder define the problem? Nobody knows for sure, but to the extent that they can establish a successful and profitable business!.. The founder should also determine who faces this problem, as there might be individuals who don't mind waiting for a taxi.. They should also determine the size of the group facing the problem and whether they are willing to pay to solve it, and how much they would pay. Additionally, the founder should consider if this problem is expected to grow or diminish over time and whether there are other factors that could affect this problem. And many other issues related solely to the problem!
While I was in the middle of the previous paragraph, a thought came to my mind.. I wanted to tell you: "Do you know how many pages it takes for someone to talk about 'the problem' in entrepreneurship and everything related to it only!!.. All of that should be done, developed, and achieved by the company founder regarding the problem alone.. Can you imagine that?
After the founder gains a good initial understanding of the problem and believes that they are capable of solving it, and that investing in solving this problem may be profitable, they then begin to design this solution. Here, the founder moves on to a more professional stage and designs an initial business model for the company they seek to establish, which will provide the solution to this problem.
The business model is a simpler tool that has been developed to accelerate business building. Previously, companies used what is known as a business plan, which is more complex and detailed than a business model. The business model - as many of you may know - consists of nine key elements in building any business. These elements are: the target audience, the channels the company will use to reach this audience, the type of relationship the company desires with this audience, the proposed value that the company will offer to this audience, the key activities the company will undertake to build and deliver this value to this audience, the key resources the company will need to carry out its activities, the key partners the company will need in its activities, the expected revenue sources for the company, and finally, the amount of expenses the company expects to incur in its operations.
Every part of this model (the business model) requires a lot of effort, study, testing, and regular development in order to produce a cohesive and applicable business model in the end. Any mistake in designing any of these elements can cause major problems for the company.
Here, I want to add something: while working on the business model, there are many factors outside of this model that the founder should study and understand to make their model more applicable. This includes studying the market, competitors, products, laws, regulations, economic factors, and other factors that may directly or indirectly affect the company's operations.
Moving forward, during the process of working on the model or after developing the initial model, the founder begins to build the team and work according to this model. It is their responsibility to ensure that all the requirements of the model for success are met, including selecting the necessary competencies, providing financial and non-financial resources, building partnerships, and implementing managerial practices,.. etc. This requires a lot of learning, patience, and experimentation from both the founder and the team. With time, either this model succeeds and the company becomes profitable, or the model fails and the company closes.
As you can see from the above, most of the decisions related to building startups are initially based on assumptions, whether by the founder or the team. They constantly try to validate these assumptions to make their decisions more accurate. This idea is the core concept that I mentioned in my previous post and would like to clarify: why did I feel disconnected from my surrounding environment when I started working on my project?
Before starting the project, I mentioned that when I shared my ideas, people didn't accept them without contemplating the matter (as I mentioned in WHO ME). Despite the fact that the concept was theoretically applicable! This gave me an indication that my way of thinking may be different from theirs.. The other reason is what I tried to explain in my previous and this posts, that working on startups is an exhausting task with significant risks. It relies on aligning assumptions with reality, and therefore changes occur at a rapid pace. The pressure and fluctuations can be intense, and not everyone can handle them.. At any moment, you may make a decision that completely changes the company's direction. This happens frequently, always. Therefore, since day one and until now, I have tried to protect my surrounding environment from being too involved in my work or even understanding what I'm going through at work, and I do this for their sake.. They probably don't realize it!
Do I blame them for this?.. Definitely not. You can't ask people to be someone other than themselves.
Can I tell you a secret? I feel happy when I come home and find them happy. Perhaps if they knew that the day wasn't good for me, Their happiness will never be the same as it was in that moment!
It seems that it's time for sleep (yawns)
Take care of yourselves, and have a good night.
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