Do not fall in love with your startup

She told us Astrid Scholz, co-founder of Zebras Unite, in her TalkX, but many entrepreneurial figures have repeated it countless times: “Don’t fall in love with the solution, fall in love with the problem.” Put another way: don’t let your entrepreneurship blind you, no matter how good an idea you think it is, as that will close your eyes to other solutions.

You’re looking at one of the fundamental principles for any entrepreneur. And the word “falling in love” isn’t there by chance: the passion you feel for your initial project can “blind” you to such an extent that it will prevent you from seeing its flaws and making the necessary changes for it to survive… in the market.

Does that mean you should stay level-headed at all times? What are the chances of a project surviving without enthusiasm? We understand your doubts, so let’s clarify: you can fall in love, yes, but with the problem you’re trying to solve, not with the way you think you’ll solve it.

The dangers of falling in love with your solution

• Loss of objectivity. By falling in love with your idea, you may overlook negative feedback and only listen to the positive. This can lead you to create a product that fascinates you but that no one else needs or is willing to buy. You won’t take the market reality into account.

• Difficulty pivoting (adapting). The first version of a solution is rarely the definitive one, since by the time it reaches the market, it will have changed. If you become obsessed with your original idea, you will resist modifying it, even when tests or the results of your experiments (data, lack of sales) show that you need to take another path to survive.

• The world upside down: solutions in search of problems. Many mistakes come from developing advanced technology or products and then trying to find uses for them. The logical sequence is to first identify a real customer pain (a friction or a pain point) and then build something to solve it.

• Misguided focus. The real value is not in the product or service itself (a coat), but in the result the customer gets (being outside without getting cold in winter). Falling in love with the solution puts the focus on your own creation, while falling in love with the problem forces you to focus on the customer’s needs.

• Limited resilience. If you fall in love with your project and it fails, you might experience it as a failure, which could lead you to abandon the idea. If you fall in love with the problem, you’ll look for new ways to solve it.

Your product will change several times; the problem (usually), will remain the same.

In summary

1. Get to know your user and their pain so deeply that you can solve their pain point in the best way.

2. Launch a simple solution quickly, experiment, and adjust it based on the feedback you get from the market.

3. Listen to your customers and accept that it’s highly likely your initial idea will change.

Sources: https://navarracapital.es/no-es-recomendable-enamorarse-de-tu-proyecto-al-mercado-puede-no-gustarle/ https://nextbigideaclub.com/magazine/fall-love-problem-not-solution-handbook-entrepreneurs-bookbite/39721/ https://medium.com/darwin-digital/enam%C3%B3rate-del-problema-no-de-la-soluci%C3%B3n-8ee13b15e05b

Image generated with AI.