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Startups take off because the founders make them take off.
Generally, startups take a push to get them going. Once they are on the track, they will usually keep going, but there is a separate and robust process to get them on a roll.
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Nearly all startups have to recruit their users manually. You can't wait for users to come to you. You have to go out and get them.
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Almost all startups are vulnerable initially, like a newborn baby. It's harmless if know-it-alls dismiss your startup. Thinking "there's no way this tiny creature could even accomplish anything" is faulty thinking.
The danger is when you dismiss your startup yourself and fail to see the full potential of what you're building.
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You should take exceptional measures to make your users happy. Your first users should feel that signing up with you was one of the best choices they ever made. Then think of new ways to delight them. You can provide a level of service no big company can.
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Your attention to your users should be insanely great, to the point of being obsessive. It is not only the product that should be that great but especially the experience of being your user.
For most successful startups, over-engaging with early users is a necessary part of the feedback loop. It helps to make the product great since your product will initially not be quite right and will improve with applying the feedback you get form your earliest users.
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Focus on an intentionally narrow market. It's like keeping a fire contained at first to get it really hot before adding more logs.
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Hardware startups face a problem where they need a minimum order for a factory production run, but don't have the funds. Without a product, they can't generate the growth to raise the money to manufacture the product.
While crowdfunding, (pre-orders) can help a lot, it is advisable to assemble yourself if you can. The benefit is that you can tweak the design faster when you're the factory, and learn things you'd never have known otherwise.
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The initial user can act as if they are consultants. Keep tweaking till you fit their needs perfectly, and you'll generally find you've made something other users want too.
A consulting-like technique for recruiting initially indifferent users is to use your software on their behalf. It will teach you firsthand how it would feel to merchants to use your product.
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An extreme variant is where you are your software, where you do by hand things that you plan to automate later. It helps to build muscle memory from doing it yourself. It also lets you launch faster.
If you can find someone with a problem that needs solving and you can solve it manually, do that for as long as you can, then gradually automate where required.
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Think of startup ideas as:
Try to be imaginative about them and work hard on them.
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IDEAS CURATED BY
Working with people is hard enough, being a boos is not enough. Being a leader is what we should strive for.
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