It is not new for anyone that we are in the startups era. This means that was never so easy to start, promote and expand your idea and faster than anytime before.
Nowadays we have plenty of business angels, private investors, public funding, competitions, startup weekends; you name it! However there are 2 constant comments that bother me quite a lot when interacting with startups founders, managers or team members. Those are:
“There is not enough public and private funding to support the growth of my startup.”
“I can’t find investors to sell percentage of my startup or increase my team.”
Those comments and complaints get me to the nerves. While I understand the financial investment in a startup can leverage its positioning, brand and even increase the team to actually make it work, does not seem the right approach. Looking at the news of TechCrunch Startups it is amazing the amount of news about investment given to startups, new CEOs coming that will impact our business, and many other news that, in my perspective, give you the wrong perspective on the true environment of startups.
Honestly, you should first look at your product, see if actually you have a business model behind and if you can sustain it and then, if it works, you can try to find investors to probably help you grow faster than otherwise. But looking for investors first and then figuring out the business model or if actually people would buy your product does not seem the best approach.
Seriously, make it work by yourself (by yourself I also include a potential team) and don’t try to find a cheap escape where the money you will get only delay the truth that is out there: You can’t make a business out of your idea.
A final note that I do love the startups era we are living. It is a lot of innovation, inspiration and empowerment for any young person. Just that when we enter in an era of abundance, some of the essence of building a company or bringing a product to the market are lost.
Keep being bright. Don’t forget that if you are launching a product to know why are you doing it, what are you trying to solve and how do you sustain it across time ;)