Perfectionism is a drug (??RIP to your startup)

#storytime

Perfectionism is a drug. Take Raymond, for instance.

Raymond had always prided himself on his attention to detail and his drive for perfection. These traits served him well in his career as an engineer, and he had always assumed they would be equally valuable in his new role as a startup founder.

But as he sat in his home office, staring at the latest version of his MVP, he began to have second thoughts…

The product was functional and had received positive feedback from early testers, but Raymond couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't good enough…

He spent hours and hours tweaking the design, reworking the code, and adding new features, convinced that each change would make the product more appealing to his users. But with each passing day, he fell further behind schedule and further into debt.

One night, after a particularly frustrating coding session, Raymond sat back in his chair and let out a deep sigh. He had just finished up a call with his lead designer, visibly frustrated about his tweaks, reworks and half-thought out features he added the night before. “Its an MVP, Raymond!” the designer said. He realised that his perfectionism was not only holding him back, but was also putting his entire startup at risk, months have gone by since he should have moved on from his MVP, but yet…

In that moment, he made a decision.

He would focus only on the essential features. Those essential features are to become the major features defining his product. He decided to resist the urge to make changes or additions, instead he chose to focus on what is already laid out in front of him. He would trust his instincts, and be willing to accept feedback and make changes only after a process of extreme scrutiny.

It was a difficult shift in mindset, but Raymond found that once he let go of his need for perfection, things began to fall into place. His MVP was completed (although not on schedule), and when he released it to the public, it received enthusiastic reviews and quickly gained traction.

As Raymond watched his startup grow and thrive, he realised that he had learned a lesson his engineering degree could have never taught him. He had learned about the value of flexibility and the pitfalls of perfectionism.

From that point forward, he made a conscious effort to stay open to new ideas and to be willing to adapt to changing circumstances. It was a key factor in his eventual success, and a lesson he never forgot.

Moral of the story: Don‘t get caught up speculating in the details, especially when your startup is on MVP stage. If you recognise yourself in Raymond‘s story, perhaps it would be a good idea to take a step back and zoom out to see the “bigger picture”.