Opportunity vs. Risk There’s this one thing that most of us get wrong over and over again when we start working on our ideas, be it a startup, a product or what not. And it’s something that I did wrong many times as well. When we start working on our ideas we are usually super stoked about it, fall in love with it, tell everyone about it and see it as the next big thing. Were all going to get rich!!! For most of us, our product/service/invention is the biggest opportunity out there since Bitcoin or the introduction of the internet. But the truth is that it’s not an opportunity at all (at least not now), except for ourselves maybe. It’s actually a risk for most of the people out there. It’s a risk for potential co-founders, investors, partners, customers and so on. It’s not an opportunity for them at all. The thing is that we have to compete with hundreds if not thousand of other options that are already available. Options that are save. Options that pay the bills. Options people trust already. A potential co-founder probably already has a daytime job. A job that pays the bills. A job that allows her to survive. A job that you and your startup have to compete with. And you can’t pay her bills yet. So working with you is a risk for her. Not an opportunity. A potential investor has hundreds if not thousands of alternative investments. Alternatives that are a safer bet than yours. Alternatives where he can predict the return of investment a lot easier than with your project. Your project is unpredictable. So investing in your company is a risk and not an opportunity. A potential customer might already be using a similar solution to yours. A solution that she’s familiar with. A solution she trusts. A solution she knows what to expect from. So switching to your solution, a solution she doesn’t know, doesnt trust is very risky for her. It’s not an opportunity for her. Its a risk. So instead of seeing your idea/product/service as an opportunity, put yourself in your counterpart’s shoes and see it more from his angle. See it more as a risk and try to understand how to decrease everybody’s risk… yanngirard.typepad/
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 13:08:28 +0000
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