web-development, ideaSay an internet startup
But the website gets little traffic, because its conceptualisation and design are so appallingly bad. The founders don’t know how to implement their idea, they can’t even write good copy, and their site comes across as if it’s a turnkey mom-and-pop store trying to look like a global bank, with a couple of texts thrown in that look like a cross between Christmas round-robin letters and a high-school student’s attempt at journalism. Their investor can’t help much either, being used to funding some flops in with the occasional gem, a known operational hazard in dotcom investing.
Some of the founders prepare to move on. Others know the idea is brilliant :) but what they’re waiting for is…someone who
The person they’re looking for probably has no great business or startup experience, but he understands the concept and its workability, which few do and which the venture capital investor doesn’t. And in about three hours he could show the founders that
The poor founders didn’t even know about X, Y, A and Z, but they will get the point right away, and together with the person who has approached them they could shift the startup into the right direction for being a big-time success. Because the idea was always brilliant, right? :)
Obviously they can’t advertise for such a person, because essentially they’d be saying they don’t know how to implement their idea, which doesn’t look good. But they want to be open to an approach from such a person if one exists among their users.
Let’s turn it around and look at it from the point of view of the user who knows how to implement the idea properly. The last thing he wants to do is to email the startup and say here’s what you’ve got to do. If they get what he’s saying, they’ll just do what he says. Thanks, mate. He won’t get anything for his troubles. He’ll just have helped them multiply their turnover by 100 and start reaping large profits, for free.
Essentially he wants to tell them stuff but on condition that they can only use it if they pay him - both a consultancy fee and in shares, and also in a share option. The problem is that what he tells them isn’t necessarily easily showable to be something that they couldn’t work out for themselves, even if in practice it’s clear at the moment that they’re not working it out for themselves.
My question is this: what are some standard methods of approach that the said user might use?
Before I begin with a few pointers that may help lead you in the right direction I think it is necessary to start with the harsh reality.
Going off of what you said, it is clear to see that there are a number of issues with this startup, and almost all of the issues have to do with execution. It is good to keep in mind that an original idea is great (and almost always is a fallacy) but everything in a startup is about execution and if there really isn’t anyone on your team that can execute the idea then maybe it is time too look and ask 2 questions…
But beyond that, here are some things I would suggest.
It seems that your startup “idea” suffers from a lack of customer development. There are many books out there on this subject but I would suggest starting with “Running Lean” by Ash Maurya.
The premise is this. It doesn’t matter how groundbreaking your idea is, if you do not have a market that is interested in it then all of your work is for nothing.
You need to think about who your target customer is (place a bet as they say) and then go out and find these people to interview, you are looking to see if they have the problem you are looking to solve. When you can validate that a specific (identifiable) group of people have the problem then you can show them the solution, let them play with it and then get their honest feedback about it. This could be a clickable prototype but should be something that changes and iterates over time as you get more feedback.
It will be difficult to find a user who will tell you exactly what to do, but what you are looking for is someone who feels the pains you are trying to solve, and feels them enough that they are willing to give good feedback, meet with you multiple times, and eventually pay for the product.
There will likely never be a “do Y to get X” scenario because each startup is different, but startups are all about learning. Learning about your customers (as shown above) as well as learning the mountain of things that your particular startup needs. In your case you mentioned copy writing (lots of great advice both online and in books on this), design (every startup needs someone who is competent in design!). If your team is incapable of learning these things then it is time to start earmarking people who would be good hires and reevaluating if your current team should be kept on board (evaluate what each person is contributing, dead weight founders can lead to a sinking ship).
If you cannot find some excited users to have as early adopters then it is time to assess the idea and see if it offers enough value for customers to pay for in the first place. If not, then it is time to cut your losses and move on.
I wish you all the best of luck!
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