1. Here’s Why Many
Startups Fail
Photo Credit: http://funnyfails.net/

2. “Failing should be seen as
a learning opportunity for
you to move on to your
next bigger project.”
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3. Introduction:
The Customer Development process was
developed specifically by Steve Blank,and the
Lean Startup theory by Eric Ries to reduce
risk for startups, but still, a lot of them fail.
Here are key steps from this process to ensure
you put them into practice so your startup has
less chance of failing.
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4. 1. Prove your assumptions fast!
Don’t keep your product “top secret” for a very long time. Joel
Gascoigne, founder of Buffer, learned a valuable lesson about this.
They tried to launch OnePage years ago. But they soon found out that
thousands of miles away, another person also had the same idea and
had acquired the domain name ahead of them. This stopped them in
their tracks.
Someone else might have the same idea as yours, but it’s up to you to
work on it and prove that it can be a success. Best to share what you’
re building to others. Their insights will prove to be what you really
need in the long run.
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5. 2. The Customer Development Process
Do you collect customer feedback? But the more important question
is, what do you do with them?
You have to understand the type of market that you have. Different
startups face different challenges.
Are you trying to build a new market with a new product? Or do you
want to break through an existing market with a new product?
Having a clear understanding of the challenges of these markets can
help you increase your chances of succeeding.
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6. 3. The Customer Validation Process
A lot of times, startups don’t have the benefit of customer
relationships that can be analyzed to really know if a product
will be a success once it’s launched. Thus, they have to depend
on educated guesses which can prove very risky.
Good thing, the founders of Backupify wrote this great post on a
great number of customer validation experiments they did and
tested, and rated the success of each. This can prove useful for a
lot of startups.
Be honest with yourself. Building a startup is totally different
from pursuing a hobby. Start your own customer validation
experiment. You’ll be glad you did.
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7. 4. Learn to celebrate failure.
“Everybody fails, and you should strive to fail as
quickly as possible and understand that it’s a
constant evolution. Hopefully, we can change the
perception that failure is bad.”
- Sarah Prevette of Sprouter
How can we celebrate failures, you ask. The first step, and the most
important one, is to change your paradigm & redefine them. Stop
considering them as failures, and instead view them as learning
curves that’s getting you ready for your future success.
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