January 23, 2012
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Eric Ries, author of the bestseller The Lean Startup, has this question for entrepreneurs: Are you wasting your time?
Ries, an entrepreneur-in-residence at Harvard, says in a new interview that most of the energy put into startups is, frankly, a waste.
"The classic mistake is building a beautiful product that nobody uses, to start with," Ries, who was in the U.K. and Ireland last week, told Siliconrepublic.com.
Key for entrepreneurs is to stop thinking of a pivot as bad, or a failure, and to do it as soon as possible.
"We know that every successful startup pivots along the way," Ries said. "If we can get to the moment of pivoting sooner, we can get to the moment of success sooner." He added: “The reason we recommend [in The Lean Startup] you cull out all the bulls--- is so you can figure out if it's time to pivot rather than waste time building something that isn't going to work."
Clinging to an idea because you've already put a lot of work into it does nobody any favors.
"[People] confuse the vision—the destination—with the route. 'I'm trying to get from Point A to Point B and there's a brick wall in my way, do I keep banging my head against the wall over and over again or do I go around?' And I think that is something that startups really struggle with," he said.
You've got to be ready to pivot at any stage, he said. "It's about forming a new hypothesis. There's no guarantee that the pivot is going to work but you have to be willing to try different things until you find what works."
An entrepreneur's best friends: High uncertainty about the future and an ability to iterate rapidly.
“As long as you have those two things together you can do a great startup. You don't have to, I'm not saying everybody has to do it, but it is a framework that people in those situations find helpful," he said.
Another tip: Don't fear failure.
He said: “Failure can't be a stigma like going bust. I heard that a lot when I was in Ireland; people there are afraid of going bust. We have to say no—that it's honorable...at least you tried something, you learned something and that means you will try again."
Photo credit: Courtesy flickr/technotheory
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Matt Dailida 3 months ago
Eric, great article. Having worked for a start-up that many will say missed expectations, Segway Inc., I would have to agree that part of the failure was the inability of the company to "pivot" its technology into other applications - like robotics. However, one of the key successes and I believe something that other start-ups can learn from was Segway's fantastic ability to utilize government to further its business goals. Read more about the "Duality Approach" at http://www.mattdailidablog.com/.