Stories from the field: Clarity
I talk a lot about focus and hard work when it comes to entrepreneurs. I’ve always had in the back of my mind though, that each have their flaws as core entrepreneurial qualities; focus can easily become narrow-mindedness, and activity does not necessarily translate into progress. So I always kind of felt like there was a “higher power”, but I wasn’t quite sure what to call it.
Two separate conversations over the last week have convinced me. That higher power is: Clarity.
Entrepreneur #1 is focused in the telecommunications market and has developed a product based on intimate knowledge of a particular platform. Given the entrepreneur’s expertise with the platform, several proprietary elements of the product have given the product good initial adoption within the market, with several thousand users. Based on that success the entrepreneur had hired a resource to port the product to a second platform.
I introduce the entrepreneur to another (non-competing) startup in the same space with broader market knowledge. They love the first entrepreneur’s product and see several applications for it, perhaps a joint venture. However, their feedback points out that the secondary market they are trying to enter, while currently much larger, has much more competition and existing solutions.
The entrepreneur achieves clarity:
- Discontinues work on the new platform development
- Begins work immediately on pricing strategies and product road map
- Embraces a strategy of owning one market versus merely having a competing product in multiple markets
Entrepreneur #2 recently received some seed funding to begin work on her startup. The entrepreneur has fantastic business skills and is doing a good job of supplementing technical skills onto her team when needed. From our conversations, this entrepreneur is doing all the right things and making good progress.
The entrepreneur attends an industry-focused conference in New York. Not only does she make a couple important contacts, but the content of the conference proves to be critical in developing her understanding of the direction, impact and business models within the sector her startup is focused on. The conference helped her clarity around not only how to develop her startup, but how to secure her next round of funding.
So clarity is the whetstone that hones your focus and hard work and potentially takes your startup to it’s next level. No one can tell you how to acquire clarity or where to look for it, but make sure to make the continuing search for clarity a priority.
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