?? Hit a WALL With Your Idea? Failing? Let's Talk About It.
Aron Meystedt ??
200,000 startup entrepreneurs: ValidatorAI.com | Symbolics.com owner (first .com ever registered)
(This article originally appeared in the ValidatorAI.com newsletter to 200,000 subscribers on 11/8/2024)
?? Hello!
Let’s talk about the frustration of failing.
???First — Keep Your Day Job
This is the single best piece of advice that can help you. I get it — you have huge dreams, and you are excited about your idea.
? But, starting something brand new takes time — more time than you realize — (more on that in a bit) because your product’s first version won’t be the one you actually launch. ?
If you quit your job, you’ll put intense pressure on yourself to figure this out too quickly, and you’ll likely skip steps and you’ll fail to validate correctly.
Because…
??? Remember, You’re a Detective
Launching a startup is more like being a detective who puts together a puzzle — and it’s less like the excitement you see in movies where people are writing code and then magic happens.
If you approach your startup as if you are a detective and not a founder, you’ll have the right mindset to handle failures.
???Failure is Important and Common
?? What’s the point?
???Failure is Inevitable in the Startup Journey
You absolutely can’t start something new without failing. A lot. So, you need to be able to handle rejection, ridicule and messing up. If you can’t, then starting something might be too stressful.
?? But remember, you aren’t really failing. You’re performing tests. You’re learning what people want and what they don’t. And you have to have conversations with people to find that out. And you’ll get rejected along the way.
And you need to create SOMETHING to find out what works and what doesn’t. And that’s where the real heartache comes in — because you’ve actually created something new, put it out there into the world, and sometimes — no one cares.
That is the part that is extremely frustrating. It’s one thing to fail privately, but to fail publicly, it’s tough.
?? But, you know what, it’s not as embarrassing as you think.
Less people are keeping track of your life and failures than you think. No one wakes up with you on their mind — which is good and bad ??.
It’s bad because you have to fight for attention and traction, but it’s good because you can repeatedly fail in virtual anonymity.
? I test things with my newsletter every day. I write about certain topics… I experiment with formats… and I monitor the open rates, polls and responses to determine what the readers really want. It’s part of it. You have to experiment and see yourself as a researcher and implement what you learn.
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???I want you to see this
This might make you feel better…
? If you feel like you are onto something, and are facing failure, keep going.
Yes, there is a time to quit — but if you’ve validated there’s a clear need in the market, it might be a matter of time until you solve this.
? Perhaps you need to dive back into the customers, find out why your current solution isn’t the one for them, and roll out a new iteration.
??????
The best advice is to launch something. Get SOMETHING in front of customers and take their feedback (even if it’s negative) to help you put the puzzle together.
???Our AI Tool:
?? Here is the direct link if the image doesn’t show up: Market Feasibility AI Tool
?? What Others Say About Failure
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?? Let’s connect on LinkedIn here: Aron Meystedt’s LinkedIn
Aron Meystedt