Blog 3.4 - Lesson #4 about year 1 of Start-up
Blog Caveat
? This isn’t going to include the obvious ‘lessons’ that aren’t really lessons because they’re inherently known and understood to be fact: "It’s hard" "takes a lot of work" "requires a lot of patience" "a little bit of luck" "it ain’t always pretty" etc...etc.
? After writing the list with full explanations and getting to 3,000 words, I’ve come to the conclusion that ain’t nobody got time for that! So due to the limitations of the style of blog LinkedIn allows I’ll release the details of each 1-day at a time. #Cliffhanger
? Comments and questions are greatly appreciated. Let’s start a conversation.
Lesson #4 about year 1 of Start-up
4. Think as big as possible
Issue this alleviates: In the beginning, you’re probably doing it because you had an idea that you see through your own eyes as something that’s viable and could be a real business. However, this is limited because you’ve never really immersed yourself WITHIN the industry and might be selling yourself short in the long run by thinking too narrow.
What happened for us: While grateful for the province-wide name of Ontario eSports League, we realized even that wasn’t big enough. I will disclose, the persuasive instruction to “think as big as possible” came from mentors (see lesson 5) who believed this to be imperative for any entrepreneur’s success. So we decided that we needed to make an affiliate organization and brand to conduct another area of eSports that didn’t make sense under OeSL, introducing Northern Express. And we decided to create a ParentCo that sits above even our existing business name but will ensure our scope can literally have no limitations.
Why this was important: First off, have any of you ever stubbornly asked yourself to “think bigger” when discussing an idea? It’s actually amazing how deep you can go when you’re literally brainstorming how wide an initial idea can run. This applies to ANYONE from ANY LEVEL of business; start-up to proven business. Just think about it, Amazon started off by selling used books. Facebook was a site for students at Harvard to become friends. Red Bull was an energy drink founded in Asia. These examples speak to both Product Evolution and Brand Identity. We are extremely driven by our MASSIVE ambition and vision for the footprint we look to make not only in Ontario, Canada, North America, the eSports industry, the technology industry… but the footprint we can make world-wide and in every demographic.
Lessons 1-3, 5 - 10
1. It really helps when your product serves the needs/interests of your friend group
2. How you portray yourself to your market is more important than the reality
3. You need to be cocky enough to believe you will be the 1% that is successful
5. Identifying and asking someone to be your mentor is the most invaluable relationship
6. Don’t be afraid to take a step back and pivot
7. It’s okay to take up a job when you realize you need money to keep you going
8. It’s really hard to motivate people without paying them
9. Talk to your parents about what you’re doing
10. Every platform is super important to be on, even LinkedIn for the eSports industry
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6 年Natalie Elliott credit for meaningful advice!