Rocking the Boat
It’s been a couple of weeks since the last story, and my my has it been a whirlwind. So much has happened, from our field trip to starting proper on interviewing stakeholders and target segments to celebrating the Lunar New Year.
Things are in full swing now, with Pam and I all hands on deck talking to people and planning our next steps. As much as I would have wanted to say things have been rosy and smooth sailing, running an enterprise hasn’t been a breeze at all.
Time and Tide
Time and tide wait for no man, as the saying goes. There are only so many hours in a day and how quickly a venture progresses depends on how efficiently the team uses and multiplies their time.
Run solo and a founder has only twenty four hours. Go in a pair and the team now has forty eight. Make it double and it’ll have ninety six a day.
Given we’re constantly stretched for time, we’ve naturally started to see where each of us can take a task on single-handedly. This has been especially useful in conducting interviews: something as simple as talking to people separately doubles the rate at which we can garner data and process them.
If anything, I learned during the course of this venture that time is one of the most valuable resources an entrepreneur can have!
Swimming with the Sharks
We’ve all been assigned mentors and instructors as part of the Venture Builder programme. One of the best parts of the programme is having second, third and fourth (expert) opinions on every step we take.
Seriously can’t imagine going at this with nothing but our wits and guts. Yet that’s what many of the mentors have been through and it’s only right that they get pissed at us underlings for making classic mistakes they warned us about.
Having mentors who are unafraid to show us perspectives of the realities of the world outside our cozy and comfy four walls (while dreaded at times) has been much needed.
In addition to their wealth of experience, they serve as really great avenues to keep us accountable for our targets, without which our progress would be a lot slower.
Sink or Swim
Even with all the help and guidance from mentors, there’s only so much they can do, lest they be the ones running the venture. In the end, we have to make the hard decisions and solve our own problems.
How will research labs respond? How many of them even will? If they don’t, how will we get the numbers we need to come to a sufficiently conclusion?
Just some of the thoughts that run through my mind as we continue our journey in the market validation phase.
Adjusting The Sails
Each challenge comes with its own solutions, just as with crisis comes opportunity. I strongly believe that in the coming weeks as we refine our methods and get our hands dirty, we will certainly be better at navigating the waters of entrepreneurship.
According to the mentors, we’ve got to get those interview numbers up and that’s what we’re going to do. Start small, start simple and keep executing. We’ll run into difficulties along the way, but that’s part and parcel of the process.
After all, a ship is safe in harbour; but that’s not where a ship is meant to be.
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For a light hearted read about our field trip, head on over to Pamela’s story!