When is bootstrapper terminology harmful?
Lately, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about how a lot of the common words and phrases we use in the IH community actively lead new founders to fail more often.
I can’t be the only one.
What expressions do you think it’s time to retire?
My list so far:
❌ “(business) idea”
❌ “solving” a “problem”
❌ “validating” (an idea, business model, etc)
❌ “product market fit”
❌ (a sales or marketing-) “funnel”
What am I missing?
The reason why founders fail are as many as there are founders to begin with.
I agree with you that this kind of jargon has a lot of assumptions baked in, and people don't question what are supposed to be "best practices".
However, the concepts aren't causing problems. Unreflected implementation of them does. Now that I myself give a lot of advice, both through my writing and in my consulting and mentoring, that success is much more likely to happen if any piece of advice is heavily weighed for its applicability to the situation of the person receiving it.
There is no growth hack to sustainability. There's no shortcut to solid fundamentals.
The difference is between merely using a concept and completely understanding it. Most often, understanding comes from failing to use it, funny enough. So instead of removing the failure part, we should encourage the bravery and discipline that goes into failing fast and often, which will lead the founders to a deeper understanding of the concepts you have listed.
I think it's fair to assume that some founders just don't want to (or can't) put in that work. That's regrettable, but it's an unavoidable reality. I don't think you're missing anything here.
Thanks for the input Arvid.
I think we're talking past each other here though.
My point is that - regardless of whether a business "idea" is a real concept - the very act of naming what you're building/working on an "idea" is going to cause you to think about business in a way that'll make you less likely to succeed.
It's pure semantics, but surprisingly impactful.
Thanks for clarifying that.
I've been quite fed up with the "idea" term as well, as it seems to be constantly misunderstood to mean "a finished product" instead of allowing for it to be "a solution to a problem I have yet to figure out".
So yes, the jargon is damaging if it's not reflected upon. Do you think that, in a time of people trying to find shortcuts and hacks, any definition could exist that would not be immediately over-simplified? It feels like this is a Don Quichote moment.
Haha. I don't know. But I do think there are definitions/terms that simplify in a more useful way than others.
For example, just replacing "problem" with "pain" makes a massive difference. All of a sudden founders are way more interested in their customers.
Or replacing "sales funnel" with "sales loop" - all of a sudden founders do a much better job at onboarding, reducing churn, and getting referrals.
Sure, it's all jargon, but why do you think that it leads to failure?
Because the words you use to describe something have an impact on how you think about that thing.
Talk about "solving a problem"?
Then you'll inherently be drawn to focussing on building the best solution to that problem. Instead of what you should be doing, which is focussing on how to provide maximum value to your customers.
Talk about business "ideas"?
Then you're more likely to fall into the trap of thinking that a product/solution is something you can come up with in your head.
I totally agree that made up ideas are a trap, but I can't agree with putting "solving a problem" on your list.
Doesn't solving a problem in a best possible way imply providing value? Or do you mean that one can focus on irrelevant problems, and the best question to ask is "am I providing value to the customer"? Or is the trap here in jumping right to the solution before talking with customers?
Anyway, I get that your post is about naming things. It would be great to see non only a list of potentially harmful terms, but also a list of words/concepts to use instead. As you already mentioned, seeking maximum value is one of them. Do you have any other suggestions?
@louisswiss don't worry about providing more examples. Now, after a few days thinking about it, I can fully agree that providing value to the customer is the top priority.