Building the Plane in the Air
I can't remember who showed us this EDS advertisement but it is at least 10 years old and is such a great analogy for the work we do here at Lynn Street as well as what many companies (startups and otherwise) struggle with constantly. That is the nature of growth and innovation. If you waited to fly until after the plane was built, your plane would be obsolete by the time you takeoff. Thankfully this doesn’t apply to actual aviation because this flight would be horrifying!
That is not to say that you can launch a company or a product without some basics, but in technology, identifying your MVP (minimum viable product) really is critical.
Why you must take off before being “done”:
competitors are likely developing competing offerings
the market changes so quickly
you need real market response to fully develop a viable product
your product or service will never be “done”...I always think of artists when we say this to clients
This makes the work exciting. And it really is an effective way to launch.
Why is that scary:
See all points above (competitors, market changes, product viability, etc)
What if this doesn't work and the “plane” crashes?
What you need to launch:
Obviously you need to know what problem you are solving for your buyers and at least an MVP. And truly assess what your MVP is. Often, it is more dangerous to have a poor implementation than a "half built" product. Maybe “half built” is the wrong terminology to use but we all have seen examples of really great products or services who failed because of poor implementation. And the converse is true-there are plenty of mediocre products and services that do great because they are executed well. In Edtech, it seems like it only takes a few of these poor products/services or poorly executed great ideas to "poison the well" (a future post).
The famous phrase of "If this was easy then everyone would do it" holds true. The trick is to have the supports you need to adjust and scale over time. Look for opportunities to pivot and/or create new offerings to meet market needs. Continue to innovate existing products based on customer needs to stay ahead of competition. And, if you do nothing else, do what you need, when you need it...not sooner (more on that in future posts).
I should add in postscript that any advice I give through this blog are lessons I have to remind myself of constantly. To quote Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting when referring to psychiatry, "I teach this [stuff], I didn't say I knew how to do it.”
Please share with us your thoughts in the comments. Are you building your “plane” in the air? What have you learned?
