Being intentional about our products

Building an innovative product is much more art than science.

If it was pure science, there would be no room for startups, incumbents are usually pretty good with science: executing on a clearly defined plan. What’s left for entrepreneurs is being the first to navigate the fog of war, going where no one has been.

Yes, you will need distribution, you will need to find your competitive advantage, but in the beginning it’s all about solving a problem that either incumbents think is not worth solving or solving it with an innovation that no one has a clue if it’s going to work. Lack of proof that an idea is good is not proof that it’s bad.

So fellow entrepreneurs, let’s listen to our customers, but also be very intentional about our products, don’t be afraid of the unproven when we believe it’s the way to go.

What if other people think you’re too crazy? That might be a good thing, it probably means incumbents will also think that, and you’ll have time to get to distribution and build your moat.

Inspired by Jerry Neumann’s blog post: http://reactionwheel.net/2019/11/startups-and-uncertainty.html