The phrase has its origins from boxing, referring to a fighter who is punching above his weight, fighting an opponent who is heavier and more dominant. Isn't that what startups do everyday, especially those who are disrupting their industry?
Being a start up means that there are often many existing companies who are already well established in your space. Many of them have perfectly adequate solutions to the problems you are trying to solve. Why do you think you can be better than them?
Because you have the passion to succeed, to convince customers that your solution is better and that customers operations will perform better than their competitors if they adopt your solutions. So how does an entrepreneur survive?
- Never take no for an answer--This applies both to prospective customers and investors. On the customer side, it's going to take many more sales interactions to dislodge incumbent solutions...you have to create a sales plan for target customers that includes these interactions. The same is true when dealing with potential investors.
- Not having enough money is no excuse--I have yet to meet a founder who thinks they have enough money to succeed. Being able to set the right priorities with the money you have is the key. Everyone, including your investors, have their own ideas on what your priorities should be. It's up to you to make the hard decisions, based on #3 below.
- Visit the future and come back and tell everyone about it--that's your Job #1 as the entrepreneur, understanding where the world is going and designing your solutions to help your clients get there. Don't be seduced into looking at how your competitors succeeded in the past. It's not useful guidance when technology is changing so rapidly.
Comments