A Letter to Startups: "You don't need 1million users, just a committed few"
In Silicon Valley, entrepreneurship has been boiled down to a science. In order for a startup to be recognized, it “needs” to be posted on Angel List. It helps for a developer to gain credibility when affiliated with any of the big tech companies like Google, Facebook, Apple, Dropbox, etc. A startup gains additional financial traction when funded by well-known VC’s like Andreesen Horowitz, Peter Thiel or Brad Feld, after which Series B and C funding can seem like an automated process. Therefore, if you’re a developer from Google, with a startup idea listed on Angel List and funded by any of one of the well-known VC’s, one can reasonably expect to be on their way to an acceptable level of startup stardom.
However, lacking concrete understanding is the several trials and errors behind discovering the particular science of this formula, along with the remainders of those left behind. It is no wonder that 95% of businesses in the United States is a small business enterprise (SBE) because entrepreneurship is the formula that drives economic growth and personal freedom. And yet, only 1% of startups in Silicon Valley are recognized by these top-level VC’s. And despite the size of Apple, Google and Facebook, getting into their company requires an echelon of contacts, in the vicinity, i.e. Harvard, Stanford. Can everyone access such networks? Should entrepreneurship then be relegated to this mere percentage?
What we have seen lately is the astonishing rise of technology-based entrepreneurship and the way technology has fueled the pursuit of entrepreneurship. And some of these networks have predated the facebook.com era. As early as the 1970's, the Kauffman Foundation in its mandate has pledged resources, network and support to foster the growth of entrepreneurship as an individual pursuit. Most recently, President Obama’s administration has partnered with UP Global, the parent company behind Startup Weekend (also affiliated with the Kauffman Foundation) to entice entrepreneurship through tech innovation at an institutional level. Yet, as developers, business-minded individuals, designers and marketers come together in hopes of building a product and turning it into a business, what often is lost is the momentum once the 54-hackatahon weekend comes to a close.
Turning products into a business is a difficult task, as any startup founder and CEO can gleam. Can’t we all be like a Facebook, Google or LinkedIn? “Can’t I develop something that everyone wants; I mean isn’t my product an obvious need?” You definitely won’t know until you test your product in front of a live audience. There is a great saying that a friend mentioned during our time in Kenya, “Do not let perfection get in the way of progress.”
The Lean Startup Methodology espouses progress over perfection and has become like a bible for startups. It is the catchment for those remainders who want to break through the glass of tech entrepreneurship in the highly-competitive fishbowl of the Palo Alto region. The theory is built on the notion of first understanding what your users want. If the product can find users, then the VCs at Silicon Valley will come to you. The Lean Startup model seeks to attract the attention of the same big guns while providing the founder with an opportunity to turn their product into a useful tool. We at Miigle have a platform which allows startup founders to test their product using the Lean Startup model.
Miigle is cultivating a network of entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs. We seek to address challenges faced by startups through a crowdsourcing model; and by understanding how users react to your product, startup founders will have a better way to move forward. We are also trying to build an ecosystem of entrepreneurs online, for anyone to access. No more glass-ceiling or be encumbered by geographic immobility. Showcase your product on Miigle, share your stage in product development and ask from its members, what is needed, then learn and understand. The Lean Startup model quietly teaches that you don’t need 1million users to see if your product is useful. One can test their product and iterate based on a better understanding of what is current and what is needed – a gap better understood when shared with an existing network of committed startup founders and entrepreneurs. That is Miigle. Build a community of supportive entrepreneurs and test your product on the network. You don’t need 1million users, just a committed few. Join us!
Jayne Du, COO at Miigle.com
