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“透視創業家”是一個在線社區,美國創業界一些最有智慧和影響力的大咖會在這里及時回答關于創業和職業生涯的問題。今天的問題是,“對于創業生活的最大誤區是什么?”回答者是餐巾金融公司CEO蒂娜·海。 無論你是創業菜鳥,還是連續第五次創業,你都需要明白,這世間沒有一成不變的成功路徑。每個公司都有自己的時間軸和挑戰。這就是為什么創始人必須保持注意力,不要因一些對創業生活的誤解而分心。這些誤區包括: 成功從一個好想法開始 許多集萬千寵愛于一身的公司,最初都是從另一個完全不同的關注點或產品起步的。Twitter始于播客平臺Odeo;Facebook起源于一款面向哈佛學生的“熱辣”評分應用Facemash;打車應用Uber原本只提供黑色的高端轎車。 這些故事的教益是,好想法固然重要,但它們需要與時俱進。只有當它們能夠解決某個現實問題時,魔法時刻才能到來。在許多情況下,你不知道這個問題或需要是什么——直到你的客戶告訴你,什么最讓他們感到興奮。 餐巾金融(Napkin Finance)最初僅僅是為我以前的公司服務的資源之一,旨在幫助年輕人理解復雜的金融主題。它最終成為我們的核心業務,其影響力和市場需求已經遠遠超出我們的預期。我們發現,市場迫切需要一種使用和理解貨幣的新方式,它要比我們正在做的其他任何事情都重要得多。 產品質量是決定創業成功的唯一因素 在他的TED演講中,Idealab創始人比爾·格羅斯確定了五個決定創業成敗的因素:想法、團隊、資金、商業模式和時機。在悉心研究了他的投資組合公司和100家其他公司之后,他發現最關鍵的因素是時機。 大多數創始人都在全神貫注地打造產品,并將所有的資源一股腦地投放在研發環節。他們沒有意識到,利用市場的力量,或者幸運地在恰當時機出現在恰當地點,是多么重要。唯有快速迭代,在客戶身上測試新概念,這一幕才有可能發生。盡快發布產品,并找到合適的市場契合點,是多少錢或者多好的技術都無法取代的。 在創業早期,你需要很多很多錢 資金對每一個企業都至關重要。只有坐擁充足的資金,你才有望聘請到業界精英,才能打開新機會之門。 然而,在創業早期籌集大量資金,往往會帶來很多其他問題。這些問題包括放棄大量股權,必須對投資者負責,做決策時受制于外部壓力。此外,你不能保證你能在未來再次籌集到企業發展所需的資金。 著手打造餐巾金融的平臺時,我們非常小心地保持“瘦身”。我們發現,除了籌集資金,還有其他方法能夠保護寶貴的資源。創業早期,我們就與旨在幫助更多年輕人上大學,由第一夫人米歇爾·奧巴馬倡導的Better Make Room計劃展開合作。于我們而言,這項合作是一個拓展分銷渠道,提升品牌知名度的絕佳機會。它要比任何融資輪或投資都更有價值。 初創公司的創始人都是穿套頭衫的新新人類 在創業界,尤其是金融科技領域,我發現越來越多的女性正在啟動極具創新意識和顛覆性的公司。這些由女性執掌的開拓型公司包括在線保險比較網站Policy Genius,小額信貸網站Tala,以及Digital Asset Holdings,后者是一家致力于將區塊鏈技術引入華爾街的公司。 看到如此多女性創業者正在沖擊傳統上由男性主導的行業,比如比特幣、區塊鏈、貸款和保險,真的令人非常興奮。這些女性正在打破只有身穿套頭衫的白人年輕人才能創業這一刻板印象,并迫使我們重新思考創業者的形象特征。(財富中文網) 作者:Tina Hay 譯者:Kevin |
The Entrepreneur Insiders network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in America’s startup scene contribute answers to timely questions about entrepreneurship and careers. Today’s answer to the question, “What are some of the biggest misconceptions about startup life?” is written by Tina Hay, CEO of Napkin Finance. Whether you are working on your first or fifth startup, there is no single path to success as an entrepreneur. Each company has its own timeline and challenges. That is why it is critical for founders to maintain focus and not get distracted by the misconceptions of startup life. These include: Success starts with a great idea Many of our favorite companies originally started with a different focus or product. Twitter started as Odeo, a podcasting platform; Facebook started as Facemash, a “hot or not” game for Harvard students; and Uber started as an app to request only premium black cars. The lesson is that ideas are great, but they evolve. The magic happens only when they solve a real-life problem. In many cases, you don’t know what that problem or need is until your customers show you what they are most excited about. Napkin Finance started off as a resource for my previous company to help young adults understand complex financial topics. It eventually became our core business and has surpassed our expectations in terms of impact and market demand. We discovered that the need for a new way to use and understand money was much more significant than anything else we were doing. The quality of your product solely determines its success In his TED Talk, Bill Gross, the founder of Idealab, determined five factors that account most for companies’ success or failure: idea, team, funding, business model, and timing. After studying his portfolio companies and a hundred others, he found that the most critical factor was timing. Most founders get stuck on building their product and investing all of their resources on development. They miss how important it is to take advantage of market forces or get lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time. This can only happen if you quickly iterate and test new concepts with customers. There is no amount of money or technology that can replace getting to launch and finding the right product-market fit. You need a lot of money early on Money is critical for every business. It buys great talent and can open doors for new opportunities. However, raising a lot of money early on brings with it a lot of other problems. This includes giving away a big chunk of equity, having to answer to investors, and making decisions based on pressure from outside forces. Plus, there is no guarantee that you can raise money again when you need it. At Napkin Finance, we were very careful to be lean when we started in order to build our platform. We found that in addition to funding, there are other ways to secure valuable resources. Our partnership early on with Michelle Obama’s Better Make Room initiative was a great opportunity for both the distribution and visibility of our brand. This was much more valuable than any funding round or investment. Startup founders are all millennial guys in hoodies In the startup world, and especially in fintech, I find myself surrounded by more and more women launching innovative and disruptive companies. Some examples of these pioneering women-led companies are Policy Genius, an online insurance comparison site; Tala, a microfinance site; and Digital Asset Holdings, a company bringing blockchain technology to Wall Street. It is very exciting to see women shaking up traditionally male-dominated industries, including bitcoin, blockchain, lending, and insurance. These women are puncturing the stereotype that startups are only founded by young, white men in hoodies, and forcing us to rethink what a startup founder looks like. |