A year ago I decided to try and prototype a new SaaS product in the evenings and weekends around my day job. The classic side hustle we read so much about.
On paper I stood as good a chance as anyone. I am an entrepreneur and it was an industry I knew about, or at least thought I did, and I have built and scaled businesses before. I am currently the co-founder of a fast growing, tech business that’s raised over $10m and I also support and mentor early stage entrepreneurs. Surely, I could make this work.
The story is typical, a large but fragmented market that has yet to embrace technology. I thought I could knock up a bit of a website and before I knew it I’d be ringing the bell for the IPO.
Sadly it wasn’t to be and I have decided to switch off the life support machine.
I have not actually totted it all up but it’s probably in the region of £20k down the drain. I do hope my wife is not reading this. To set some context £20k is a lot of money to me and it therefore hurts but I learned a lot or at least reminded myself of what I already knew but foolishly ignored.
The concept was sound (and I still think it is btw), I managed to get hundreds of people to sign up very cheaply but it lacked engagement so what went wrong?
Looking back there are 10 key mistakes I made that I am sharing so you don’t do the same:-
1. Lack of research
2. Overly complex MVP
3. Underestimated marketing
4. Tried to digitise something that inherently is a human activity
5. No partner / co founder
6. No plan
7. No budget
8. Didn’t explore grants
9. Bursts of energy without consistency
10. Kept it going too long
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Lack of research — While it is good to go fast you always have more time than you think. I always advise people to speak to at least 20 potential clients before doing anything. I didn’t do that and rushed into the build. Mistake 1.
Overly complex MVP — I fell into the “classic product death spiral.” I kept adding features and tweaking without properly testing with users and keeping it simple. Mistake 2.
Underestimated marketing — If you want people to come into your shop you need a good shop front and that is marketing. It doesn’t matter how good your shop is, if no one comes in you are doomed. In today’s parlance that is social media. You need to invest a significant amount of time in this to be successful. I knew this but didn’t invest the time needed. Mistake 3.
Tried to digitise something not ready for it — Not everything can be put on a platform and even if it can the timing may not be right today. Some things are more heavily suited to traditional human to human contact. You can’t force it. I tried to. Mistake 4.
No partner / co-founder — If anything, having someone to bounce ideas off and hold yourself accountable to, is really important. There are huge benefits to this. I didn’t have this and as such made loads of mistakes I wouldn’t have if I had someone to challenge and support me. Mistake 5.
No plan — It’s really important to create milestones and plans. These don’t need to be detailed but they are important so you focus your time, energy and resources on the most important things. Is what I am doing the most important thing to do now is a question you should constantly ask. I didn’t do this and ended up not prioritising properly. Mistake 6.
No budget — You should always set a budget. This, like a plan, helps you focus on the right things. I didn’t and ended up drifting and overspending. Mistake 7.
Didn’t explore grants — There are absolutely loads of grants available in the UK. They do take a bit of time and effort to find but the application process requires you to have quite clear plans etc. The process of applying will make you think hard about your business. I didn’t do this. Mistake 8.
Bursts of energy without consistency — The key to any business is to make consistent small steps each day. If you look at a mountain you will get overwhelmed but if you tackle it step by step before you know it you will be at the top. I didn’t do this and did bits in bursts then nothing then a burst. Mistake 9.
Kept it going too long — knowing when to give up is hard emotionally. The easy thing is to keep it going that bit longer just in case. A bit longer turns into a long time and more money. Mistake 10.
Looking back these are all very clear with hindsight, but it is always hard to see clearly during the event. Be careful. I do hope you don’t make the same mistakes, as I certainly intend not to repeat them but I probably will…..
Good luck!
