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Why Better Products Don’t Always Win
May 15, 2013 By Karl Stark and Bill Stewart
You may have superior technology or a great feature set, but if your product doesn’t create value for the customer, its chance of success is slim.
What’s the lesson for entrepreneurs here?
Entrepreneurs building a new business often falsely assume that their novel product will succeed based on its great new feature set or superior technology. While the next great technology may in fact sell regardless of the competition, few products are so lucky. In most cases we need to shed our rose-colored glasses and instead focus on building what the customer wants.
How can an entrepreneur build a great business around an average product?
- Only build the features that customers want and are willing to buy.
- Make your product’s value proposition a clear comparison to the market alternatives, and work to lower barriers to acceptance.
- Build a complete business model, including sales channels and distribution partners that allow you to deliver on the value you aim to create.
- Understand the underlying economics of your business model, and build them to scale up as your business grows.
- Build an investment plan that will fund your business growth and allow you to drive customer awareness, trial and adoption.
You Don’t Have to Be a Product Visionary to Create a Great Product
According to Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup, most start-ups fail because they built something that nobody wanted.
Check out how Lean Startup Machine is helping entrepreneurs test the riskiest assumptions about their businesses with their Lean process!
Recession Proof Your Small Business
Great advice from fashion power couple, Elizabeth & David Klein of Beyond Vintage, on how finding a void in the market can create a strong small business
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25 of the Smartest Pieces of Advice from Women Who Started Their Own Businesses
For Makeup Artist Trish McEvoy, Custom Brushes Led to Fortune
Trish McEvoy says she used to struggle to find quality cosmetic brushes. So she would buy brushes from art-supply stores and cut them into the shape she needed to apply eye liners, lipsticks and blushes. Ms. McEvoy, 61, now has her own line of beauty products carried in about 250 stores in the U.S. and Europe. She also co-owns a skincare center and beauty studio with her dermatologist husband, Dr. Ronald Sherman. The New York entities combined have more than 500 employees and generate just under $100 million in annual revenue.
In this article, the WSJ interviews Trish McEvoy on the start and evolution of her company and brand.
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PAPER Presents: A Guide to Small Business Saturday in New York
PAPER Magazine and American Express have come together to present Small Business Saturday in New York City. On November 26, 2011, “thousands of independently owned restaurants, bars, boutiques, salons, record stores, bookstores, etc. will open their doors to the public and offer special deals”. All of the boroughs will be represented and gives all of us a great opportunity to see how small businesses in New York thrive.
You can download the guide here and look out for the Chicago and San Fransisco guides!
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An entire section in today’s The Wall Street Journal… what do you think of the winning choices?
Women Entrepreneurs: It's Your Time
By Lynn-Ann Gries
This article in the Huffington Post summarizes women as entrepreneurs and the positive effect they can have on our economy. It shines a light on how women don’t pursue starting high-growth companies and tend to stick with smaller businesses to maintain a work/life balance.
