The top 10 mistakes of entrepreneurs (and business innovators/intrapreneurs)
I left you in July with an article on the reasons for the success of startups. Then nothing, the running out of inspiration, the lack of time (false excuse) and especially the fact of writing too much elsewhere (especially on the excellent blog of Invox on Content Marketing and Marketing Automation ) was right of my already declining productivity on this blog. The good news? I miss writing here. And I should (I remain in the conditional, eh, the writing disease could quickly return) soon resume a more adequate publication rate for this blog
Anyway, back to school.
I came across this graph while doing my watch this morning:
From the excellent Strategyzer (which is none other than the consulting firm from the no less excellent author of Business Model Generation ), this graph tries to show the main reasons for failure in business, and mainly for innovations. And it’s pretty funny to see how this can be seen both in startups and young shoots as well as later in more mature businesses… Hence the idea for me to take them over and give a little personal explanation. : I’m very lucky to have made just about all the mistakes.
And you, what is your score?
Come on, let’s go for the top 10 business mistakes …
Mistake # 1: Building Something No One Wants To Buy
It’s a bit of a cream pie since Lean Startup had its heyday (and Customer Development before it), but yes, there are a lot of startups( Kissanime ). ‘are striving to develop something (service, app, product, API, software…) that not many people want to buy, because a little out of step with the real needs… Carnation syndrome that some people put on a once they’ve convinced themselves that their idea was great.
How do you realize that you are in the middle of it? You haven’t spoken to potential users for a long time, and prefer to “polish your product, add more functionality”. A very good clue too: after a few months no one has yet “bought” your concept and has signed up to be one of the first customers.
Mistake n ° 2: recruiting poorly
Surrounding yourself is one of the 3 big things to do for a startup boss ( the other 2? ), And you have to spend time there. A bad recruitment will make you lose energy, time, money, credibility possibly compared to the rest of the teams, will instill a bad atmosphere, etc. To grow, you will need to have the right team, and your success will come from them. Example on this is AnimeSprout they did not consider on recruitings.
How do you realize that you are in the middle of it? Unfortunately, this can take a long time. But in general you have a small inner voice which makes you doubtful. And when it comes to recruiting, if there is any doubt, there is no doubt. But yes, it’s a real fight, because when you need extra arms, there is a strong tendency to be a little more loose in your recruitment. This is 99% an error!
Mistake n ° 3: lack of focus
There are 2 types of focus: that of the entrepreneur (being dedicated to his business) and that of the business of the startup (being able to do something very well except for everything rest). There are great temptations to go and find a little business on the right or on the left, to run several business or sector verticals at the same time, to launch a second country because the opportunity is there and it feels good for the comm. . Sacrificing business or knowing how to stop doing certain things (which we do (or have the impression of doing) better than any employee at the start) is hard … but clearly necessary quickly …
How do you realize that you are in the middle of it? You have a hard time describing in one sentence what you are the best in the world for (both in your job and in the business of your company).
Mistake n ° 4: failing to set up a good “marketing & sales” execution
Without doubt the French evil. Executing sales and marketing well is something that most startups miss. Predictable revenue, marketing process, marketing automation, lead acquisition mechanics, lead nurturing, inbound marketing and outbound marketing strategy, definition of sales positions according to the sales pipeline and stages in the sales cycle, book of objections, training salespeople… all of this often takes a back seat (in the end, it’s common sense, isn’t it?) and seriously breaks THE growth engine to come…
How do you realize that you are in the middle of it? The entrepreneur is the only salesperson and marketing is very “reactive”, not at all in forecasting with a well-defined plan, activities, ROI monitoring, clarification of priority segments … Basically, you are not able to quantify what your sales / marketing activity should bring you in terms of leads / business.
Mistake n ° 5: messing with co-founders
This echoes point 2 on the team. This is the composition of the team: not complementary enough, but also not necessarily with the proper distribution of capital between partners , neither good governance, nor the right partnership agreement , nor necessarily the same personal objectives and pro. There can be heated discussions, points of disagreement, but communication must remain open and above all allow decision-making in the long term.
How do you realize that you are in the middle of it? It’s not fluid, you have lots of feelings, keep your frustration, it blocks certain decisions. You are also too similar and too “on the same things” which will cause it to rub. You are not aligned in terms of goals, maybe you never even bothered to ask yourself why you partnered up ?
Mistake n ° 6: looking too much for investors, not enough clients
Ah, again a classic, even if it tends to decrease I have the impression, the “market” of startups being much better educated on this point than ‘at a time. But we still find it in a lot of project leaders who will almost stop their business operations (especially commercial) the time to find investors, something on which they will spend up to 6 to 9 months, obliterating their chances of proving , through sales, that their business can function well.
How do you realize that you are in the middle of it? You draw to attract the attention of investors who all tell you for the most part “it’s too early”, which is the polite version of “my coco, 30 other guys are working on the same concept as you, I’ll wait and see the one who manages to convince a few customers ”. Another sign: you spend more time nabbing the article on blogs / in the press and at events than with potential clients.
Mistake n ° 7: not making sure you have enough money to finance the discovery or growth phase
Creating a business without too much money is possible. But you still need a bit of it to be able quite simply to buy time: the time to find its “Product-Market fit”, the time to give prospects time to make their decision, to develop their product, to listen to the market… then in a second phase to be able to accelerate and staff, because as soon as you have validated the first hypotheses, the objective is to go as quickly as possible to structure a first business format.
How do you realize that you are in the middle of it? You only have a few months of cash left (pro and personal) in front of you, and come to see what you could do to find money at all costs (hint: it’s too late to start a funds), kind of advice, or take a food job …
Mistake n ° 8: spending too much money, having a too high “ burn rate “, too early
The smart entrepreneur resorts to “ bootstraping “. Basically, he pulls on all prices, done by himself, has a sense of resourcefulness … to preserve his little nest egg as much as possible. The idea? Hold on as long as possible, even after a first round of funding if the objective is still to find its Product-Market Fit. After that, that’s another story, you have to spend as quickly as possible. But be careful not to get into too comfortable a spending rhythm too soon.
How do you realize that you are in the middle of it? You burn money without counting too much: sumptuous premises, expenses of all kinds, no negotiation on purchases, etc. You will soon realize this, but often too late. Do not hesitate to benchmark your expenses with those of other entrepreneurs. And have them challenged by someone who will tell you if it’s a necessary or superfluous expense …
Mistake n ° 9: not asking for help, surrounding
yourself badly It is not just a mistake of a “beginner” entrepreneur, you have to fight on a daily basis against the desire to keep your problems, your problems to yourself. questions or, worse, wanting at all costs to return an image of “everything is going well, this is great”. When you have your nose in the handlebars of your own box, it’s extremely complicated to take a step back and see clearly what is right and wrong. This is why it may be good to participate in (or launch) groups of entrepreneurs allowing for exchange. To have a sort of “ advisory board “, or even a personal coach in the person of a more seasoned entrepreneur. Or play the game of an incubator or an accelerator.
How do you realize that you are in the middle of it? If you start to be a little schyzo about the external discourse and the reality of your company. And if you ruminate on certain things at night during long discussions with yourself, without finding a solution …
Mistake n ° 10: not taking enough into account the social media
Well to be honest, I think that this reason is there because… it needed a tenth and they were out of idea…
How much would you complete?
