Entrepreneurs are probably one of the most 'advised' groups out there. There's oodles of advice on how/why/when one should start a company and how to keep it going (though the going gets tough on that one). But presumably entrepreneurs need to be told how to know when to pack it in because there's advice out there on that topic too.
Recently I read a much-commented guest post by Mike Troiano on the OnStartup blog, titled 'Be Captain of Your Destiny, Not Prisoner of Wishful Thinking', which listed five indicators which should convince an entrepreneur that it is time to admit that his idea doesn't work and exit. While those criteria are worthy of consideration, I do believe that a true entrepreneur is not in the game because of a single idea, but because of a vision. And if one idea doesn't work, it is highly likely she'd adapt and make it something else. If you read the post, make sure you read the comments, especially the one by 'V' which I think is more in line with those of an entrepreneur who doesn't 'roll over and die' quite that easily.
In my view entrepreneurs have one sure-fire sign that it's time to move on - when the money runs out. As long as there's money, and, even more importantly, as long as there are customers, the entrepreneur is still in the game. An example of this tenacity is a friend of mine who's helping her husband in his startup. The idea is his, but they're partnering on the effort, especially in taking turns bringing in income, and they've been working at it for quite a while. They'd run into various roadblocks, including the 'great' recession, and every time they reached out to customer prospects, or pitched to investors, they learned things that got them to re-tool their product and adjust their market position, and they've done this multiple times. After many months, I got to meet with my friend a couple of days ago when she told me that they're in launch now. The product looks promising and their prospects are exciting. This appears to be the real deal.
One of my early posts was about a VC wondering when to hold on to a company, and in my view, it was when you could see the founder/entrepreneur still engaged and still passionate about making it happen - it was 'know when to hold' without being hung up on the 'know when to fold'. Entrepreneurs who have a vision about a problem that needs solving, are willing to change their ideas on how to solve it, but don't give up on the vision, unless it is something they didn't care for that much in the first place. Someone who's an entrepreneur by conviction, not an entrepreneur by convenience, would rather detour than exit if at all possible.
Frownies and smilies
Customer feedback is what makes the whole venture real for an entrepreneur. Sure, validation is the number of users, the number of units sold, the amount of revenue received - but the quantitative stuff is never enough. You want to know what the users think, how much they like what you're doing and why.
So you actively seek customer feedback, especially in the early stages as that is going to inform your product and marketing strategies. And when you get the 'wow!', 'cool', you're thrilled.
Then you run across the first customer who is not a fan of whatever you're doing and let's you know that in definitive terms with feedback itemizing the many different ways your product fails to impress. Your initial reaction is most likely a sinking feeling, tinged with a little 'what if nobody likes it?'. The next one is that the customer doesn't really get it and you're not going to pay any attention to the feed. Luckily your business sense kicks in and you start looking at what the feedback is about. You put yourself in the shoes of the customer and try to see what could have happened and what you can do about it. And if you're super customer-centric (as you should be) you reach out to the customer with a reasoned response and maybe notch a win. Negative feedback can bring positive results.
Handling feedback in business is pretty much like how you would do it in other areas of your life. Enjoy the kudos, but don't disregard the criticism and don't let it crush you by taking it personally. Take a few steps back (and a few deep breaths!) and try to find value in the feedback. Your product - and you - will be the better for it.
As they say, a frown is just an upside down smile.
So you actively seek customer feedback, especially in the early stages as that is going to inform your product and marketing strategies. And when you get the 'wow!', 'cool', you're thrilled.
Then you run across the first customer who is not a fan of whatever you're doing and let's you know that in definitive terms with feedback itemizing the many different ways your product fails to impress. Your initial reaction is most likely a sinking feeling, tinged with a little 'what if nobody likes it?'. The next one is that the customer doesn't really get it and you're not going to pay any attention to the feed. Luckily your business sense kicks in and you start looking at what the feedback is about. You put yourself in the shoes of the customer and try to see what could have happened and what you can do about it. And if you're super customer-centric (as you should be) you reach out to the customer with a reasoned response and maybe notch a win. Negative feedback can bring positive results.
Handling feedback in business is pretty much like how you would do it in other areas of your life. Enjoy the kudos, but don't disregard the criticism and don't let it crush you by taking it personally. Take a few steps back (and a few deep breaths!) and try to find value in the feedback. Your product - and you - will be the better for it.
As they say, a frown is just an upside down smile.
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