I wonder if that is due to the very low barrier to entry with software.
There're a couple of pitfalls to be wary of when doing market research, like:
1.) Confirmation bias. At my last employer, we had an intern spend all summer calling prospective customers. He called 30-40 organizations and got through to a grand total of 2 executives, who were sorta lukewarm about the idea. Then my boss said, "Well, I think there's enough interest to move forwards with this project." Then we busted our ass for a year, put it in front of a bunch of other customers, incorporated their feedback, and it still didn't sell.
2.) Not having something for people to react to. People don't know what they want, but if you show them something, they can often tell you whether they like it or not, and possibly suggest things they do want.
3.) Calling the wrong people. It doesn't help to get the input of people who won't use your product anyway. This can be kinda tricky though, since you often don't know who'll end up using your product ahead of time.
"Since men for the most part follow in the footsteps and imitate the actions of others, the wise man should always follow the roads that have been travelled by the great, so that if he cannot reach their perfection, he may at least acquire something of its savour. This is like the skillful archer, who seeing that the object he would hit is distant, and knowing the range of his bow, takes aim much above the destined mark; not intending that his arrow should strike so high, but, in flying high, it may land at the point intended."
I tend to think aiming higher has a better chance of hitting a decent mark. So where he says to know your aim but also know your limit, perhaps you should still aim at $10 million if you're trying to hit $5 mil. Not saying everyone's goal should be to overtake Google or MS, but just aiming at your exact target means you're likelier to fall short.
The flip-side I guess is that you need to recognize what success is for you personally, and reaching your lofty goals 100% maybe shouldn't be a requirement of that, since if you're aiming at $10 mil, $5 mil is still quite successful by most peoples' standards :)
In internet startup especially, I often think too many of us are too focused on growth and monetising "later" rather than slower growth which actually incorporates a revenue/profit model.
Something I will add is that the power of these observations are not obvious when you have never started your own business. But having been on this path I have to completely agree with what is being said.
Thanks for posting this great article.
They say 9 [out] of 10 entrepreneurs fail because they're undercapitalized or have the wrong people. I say 9 [out] of 10 people fail because their original concept is not viable.
Totally agree. I can vouch for this from my personal experience and also as I watch older business people who should have no business managing or running companies.
An important point for those of us who may seek angel or VC funding for our startups at some point. It's all too common to hear entrepreneurs say things like "Investors are going to be looking for better growth than that...."
As I hacker, I love #11 the most: Accepting that it's "not possible" too easily rather than finding a way. Whenever I hear that, I become that much more determined. My mentor once taught me, "We can always find a way to do the right thing." The words "find a way" still get that Pavlovian response from me. </wipes slobber from keyboard>
