Entrepreneurs wear many hats
The recent trend of new businesses moving towards software or, more specifically, the web, seems to lead more and more would-be entrepreneurs into falling victim to the myth that building a solid product is necessary and sufficient for success. Some would go so far as to believe that cool technology alone does the trick. Many from-thesis-to-market product failures demonstrate the naiveté of current entrepreneurial thinking. All to often, we are led to believe that awesome products sell themselves.
Conversely, the other end of the spectrum finds no shortage of MBA’s looking for “code-monkeys” to implement their visions. The mode of thought here centers around the million-dollar idea, from which execution supposedly willingly falls into place. Here we are led to the believe that awesome ideas lead to awesome products that sell themselves.
The code-monkey and MBA both fall prey to the instant-noodle brand of business development: “1) idea 2) build 3) ??? 4) profit.” Battles are fought over whose position is more important, the tech guy or the biz guy. Techies are all too-often devoted to proving themselves to be in no need of the MBA types, while the business minded are just a lost looking for hired guns to prototype a lost cause. Lost in all this back and forth is the unerring truth that none of it matters.
For centuries on end, entrepreneurship as been defined outside the lines of technology. Look up “define: entrepreneur” on Google and the common theme that arises in each definition is the word “risk”. Not “new hot technology”. Not “brand new business idea”. While it can never hurt to have new hot technology that powers a brand new business idea, it is neither necessary nor sufficient to get a business off the ground.
The age old fact of entrepreneurship is that there is so much more to “risk” than the product and its development costs. Establishing or building your market, generating or growing revenue, finding distribution channels, building a sales pipeline, hiring the best talent, and all the other caveats that come with building a business are just as important as product development. A true entrepreneur must wear all these hats, not just the product one. A recent blog entry by Tony Wright talks about the product guy vs. business guy with the conclusion that a good product entrepreneur should grow into a business role. While I agree, I would have to say a great entrepreneur can never take off either hat.
Be a business that sells a product, not a product that happens to be a business. Be an entrepreneur that builds business, not a product person that happens to be an entrepreneur.
