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Is your startup in trouble? Turning can be one of the most difficult things to do, where in life or in the operation of society. It takes the courage to acknowledge when you may fight with the losing battle and when to reduce these losses. The second option, howwe, is to go down with a sinking boat. If it’s not for you, then there are some tips.
The first time I had to turn in business was in 2014, when after a few years of attempt and only a few weeks the remaining track remained, my team and I faced an existential risk – our rating, Bugscore, had little adoption. We spent years of conceptualization and creating this global platform. With a budget for lacing of less than $ 400,000, funded mainly by us and several angels, it has always been a long blow – to allow anyone to evaluate anything (even people). There were some maximum; For example, Brainstorm at Home House Members Club in London with the founder of Wikipedia Jimmy Wales on integting with his company or wrapping the multi -year SAAS for BugScore 360 with Ernst & Young (Germany). Unfortunately, these maximums did not translate into enough returned to maintain the vision.
In fact, they fed our confirmation distortion associated with the project and delayed inevitable. Holding a bad project is not to hide from possession of a bad investment, something my training colleague at Goldman Sachs, Elsa Rocha, is very appropriate in his article on investing bias and relationships.
Our infinite thirst for success was given with the reality of decreasing financial financial and the summer of 2014 we had a few weeks of budget before the light went out. Thanks to stagnant data about acquisition of users and the risk of financial oblivion, the discussion of fundraising has become almost impossible because it has been closer to us in an hour.
So instead of moving forward, we close it all and focus on solving the problem we knew well. Part of what was paid accounts on the side was financial trading. This sector suffered from a growing problem of fraud with a broker and many customers in our shoes were given a flower. Our beer was supposed to fix this problem and quickly became and paved the way to our greatest success.
Here are several lessons and tips.
Related: known when – and how – to turn around is the key to survive your business. Here’s what you have to do.
Failure
Teams for visionary management are good, teams goals are better. The statistical probability that your launch will succeed is below 10% in 10 years. Let it drop; Your first startup, for factors that Eith in your hands or outside, is likely to fail. You are too traveling through the way and many familiar, acquaintances of unknown and unknown unknown lurking. This does not mean that the trade is approaching the first sign of refusal, but if after a few years you bank one victory for each rejection of different KPIs, it is time to consider whether this idea is a hill you want to die.
Life is shorts. It is okay to fail ICCE, even twice before it is going to be successful. He doesn’t take it from me – take it from probably the most successful entrepreneur of our time, Jeff Bezos. Whether it’s Kozmo.com or Pets.com, he knows something about failure. Finally, the longer you expect, the harder it will turn.
Communication consists
We have maintained all investors regularly in our project in our project based on all good and bad news. Do not take anything sugar; It is not necessary and it is self -playing. The more you inform and make people to understand the heads you face, the easier it is to organize the execution of the pivot. If the beer includes a new company and receives new money, make your previous shareholders. Even if you don’t have to legally, you should morally, because they were your earlier supporters.
Lifetime
When hacking growth, the focus is on. One idea of a product or service offered by well beats beats to be everyone. As already mentioned, if you support a bad horse, you will fail. If you are a young startup, with cash restrictions and bootstraping your journey to break evenly, it may not be a bad idea to keep the prospect of solving monetizable problems on the side. For us it was financial trading in the branch morally bankruptcy (FX). We were guilty of what we did internally on the service for harassed traders, and it grew faster than experimented. Keep this third eye open for occasions because it could mean your survival.
Related: Are you worried about the market? Here is how Warren Buffett, Ray Dalio and Harvard University protect their portfolios
Turn intentionally
Turn with purposes and Intobe with something you know and you are qualified. Don’t be surprised at another grandiose idea, or what is worse, just about the iteration of your already fighting idea. Otherwise, you will run out of any money and the time you are left.
Research and development
Once you turn the ship and last, it is good to spend time and money for research and development (for example, today, we spend about 12% turnover for research and development). Ussully should be on something related to what your core has returned to the driver. For us it studied intelligent contracts in blockchain – something that was revolutionary in 2015/2016. If we didn’t, we couldn’t move the company to the next level. In the age of 80, Nokia was primary selling rubber products, cables and consumer electronics. Behind the scenes, however, they had a research and development division on mobile phone technology. In 1987, Nokia launched Mobira Cityman, one of the first pocket mobile phones. Everyone doubted them. The then CEO of Nokia, Jorma Ollila, decided to turn the whole company towards mobile phones. The rest is history.
Prioritize health
Starting the launch is similar to navigation in a large city without GPS, without large fuel and in the middle of the traffic. It will try your determination, patience, finance and emotional tanks more than climbing on any business ladder. It’s not performance for Fainhearts. It will take a tax on your health in a way that you will not imagine. Whether activity brings you peace, it can be some sport, yoga or hobby, do it and prefer it. If your health fails, everything you work for is irrelevant in the long run.
My waking up on this front came in 2016. I would be Laul with my friend who would play flute to relax. The joke, as it turned out, was me. It took me almot seven years to calibrate again after burning my characteristic, using a combination of intense physical exercise, some martial arts and meditation. I had to do it while I was building, but I should have started much earlier.
Related: Stressed and exhausted? More than half of the founders say they will never “turn off”.
As we support entrepreneurs these days, we prefer those who have failed several times, turned and survived and survived rather than one -off miracles who do not know how to switch a gear when it moves. Those who have accepted the failure have turned and survived, in our experience, are likely to be much grounding and banking. They will probably have less ego, they will turn faster in future projects and much easier to work with. Ergo, more invested. Whether it is Netflix, Nokia, Instagram, X (Trainly Twitter) or YouTube, all these giants had to turn once to become what they are today.
So, if so, what do you want?
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