There are lots of bad ideas out there.  They're too early.  They don't have a big market.  The business model doesn't work.  They're just flat out dumb.  The key thing when you have one of these ideas is to REALIZE IT'S BAD QUICKLY!!!  And then drop it and run as fast as you can away.  

The really sad thing is when you hang on to a bad ideas for a long time.  You are wasting time and resources by clutching to something that has no long term prospects.  You can be so badly burned hanging on to a bad idea for too long that you might not be able to get back into the startup game.  Your reputation is hurt.  You are completely broke.  You are scarred from the experience. 

The key thing to avoiding this path is to get your idea out there.  Create a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and start getting it out there.  Share it with friends.  Get it in front of your target audience.  Have people try it for free.  Put it on Kickstarter.  Feedback early is super important. 

The next thing is the hard part.  You want to listen to the feedback, but also be able to filter what's truth versus what's BS.  Lots of amazing ideas had to have sounded like terrible ideas back in the day.  Paying to get into a total stranger's car.  Terrifying.  Paying to stay at a total random person's house.  Creepy.  Paying $25/day for your dog to hang out with other dogs.  Who would do that (me!)??

People will talk bad about your idea.  It happened with Sloane countless times.  You need to listen hard and understand the WHY behind that.  Is the person giving you the feedback not fashionable and wouldn't appreciate the product.  If so, that's totally fair feedback.  Does the person hate spending on clothing, so $34 for an undershirt is insane?  Again....fair feedback.  The thing is that those people are NOT your target consumer, so they really don't matter.  

If your target consumer talks badly about your product, then you need to start getting nervous.  The exact people you think SHOULD plop down money for your product are saying it's terrible?  Not good.  That's the feedback you should listen to.  What are they suggesting to improve the idea?  What are their pain points with the product?  

When people are giving you and your product feedback make sure you LISTEN!  The person who doesn't listen to feedback is the person who sticks with bad ideas for too long.  They think people don't get it and are dumb.  They'll eventually find the market for it.  Often that eventually never comes.  

Be open.  Listen.  Learn.  Developing your product is all about iterations to get it to the best place possible.  Just make sure you are listening and learning from the RIGHT people.  

I have been running Sloane as my side hustle for 10 years now.  I work at Procter & Gamble full time.  P&G is a 185 year old global company with $70B in sales.  It's huge!

I started Sloane because I was passionate about the product and wanted to bring it to life.  I THOUGHT I was going to get rich off it quickly, but from reading this blog you know that was idiotic to think.  The company has humbled me beyond belief.  The company has also given me this amazing tool to learn.  I have been able to directly take my learnings to my full time job, which has allowed me to stand out and succeed. 

Now that I look back on things I believe I have been able to learn at a 2X pace from many of my peers.  I would learn my P&G job during my normal work hours and then learn the entrepreneurial skillsets in the nights and weekends with Sloane.  I believe the biggest differentiator with people in this age of rapid disruption is learning.  Are you learning/growing/testing or are you remaining stagnant?  You will get sprinted by if you aren't broadening your understanding and skills. 

I'll talk more about this in future blogs.  I want to get very specific in the skillsets that I've learned on Sloane and been able to apply.  These skillsets just can't be taught in a course.  The principles can, but living them cannot.  I think school is helpful in teaching fundamentals, but gives students too much confidence in their skills because nothing plays out in the real world. 

The real world is where pain is inflicted for bad decisions.  And many decisions you make as an entrepreneur that might lead to poor results actually weren't bad decisions!  Timing might have been off.  COVID could hit at the worst possible time.  A vendor screws up something.  How is the person going to bounce back?  That is what true entrepreneurship is about.  It's about living it.....not theory. 

Sloane has given me so much that has allowed me to be very innovative at P&G.  I have been able to overcome challenges that other people have not strictly because I have a skillset that others have not been able to develop.  Sloane has actually brought me more benefit at P&G than it has anywhere else. 

I still drive the same 25 year old car, so Sloane hasn't given me the riches I first thought I would have.  I think the experience I've been given by working on Sloane is way more valuable than a new car though!

More to come on this topic.  It is a deep one and one that I think a lot of people could learn from.    

It's very smart to go into the startup world eyes wide open.  You can set proper expectations and prepare yourself for what's to come.  I read a lot in the space and have a few favorite books.  I've read all of these while I've been running Sloane and think they really capture what startup life is REALLY like.  

Shoe Dog - Phil Knight 

This book is about the beginnings of Nike.  The journey the founder took from a track runner at University of Oregon to the founder of one of the most iconic brands ever is incredible.  He was running the brand as a side gig while he worked as an accountant to pay the bills....for YEARS.  He said he didn't make any real money from Nike until they went public.  The struggle for him and his team was constant and they came close to dying many times.  

Lost and Founder - Rand Fishkin 

This book gives you a look into a "successful" startup that grew to a very solid level.  They beat the odds.  The founder hasn't been able to reap the rewards of the success because they haven't exited or went public.  His wealth is tied up in the company, so he hasn't attained any material wealth despite years of struggle as he's grown the company. 

Disrupted - Daniel Lyons 

I just read this one over the weekend.  The book was about two main things.  One was how a 50 year old former journalist at Newsweek restarted his career at a young startup, Hubspot, surrounded by employees half his age.  The second was a very raw view at what fast growing (unprofitable) companies have to do make it.  Low pay for workers.  Long hours.  Cut throat mentality.  Creation of a culture where these three things are somewhat disguised as FUN.  Hubspot went public in the book and it coincided with disaster for some of their top employees. 

All of these books are super entertaining.  I like reading about companies who are in it.  Not the theorizing what the startup world is like.  These books show the ups and downs of the life if an entrepreneur.  All three companies end up doing very well, but the sacrifices the founders and employees had to make was a lot. 

I run Sloane on a much smaller scale, but the challenges are similar.  You need to really want to beat the odds starting your own business.  These books give you a glimpse of what you have in front of you.       

The idea of entrepreneurship has gotten blown up in media so much.  The entrepreneur is a God.  They control their destiny.  They lead.  They conquer.  They get rich.  

An entrepreneur is inspired to bring some change to the world.  It could be as mundane as an undershirt or fun toy.  That is what entrepreneurs want to do at their core.  Once things really get going though they often lose that in their work.  

Growth at all costs becomes the goal.  The investors need growth.  Hence, you need growth.  Does massive growth really bring you the joy you were searching for then you started though?  

I thought this article in the New York Times brought out the truth in entrepreneurship.  The people who experienced that growth at all costs often times lost it all and went back to their roots to find their passion again. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/27/fashion/who-are-the-cool-new-designers.html

It's refreshing to read about people getting energy from just doing their craft.  Sharing their creativity with others.  Being ok selling smaller amounts to a more niche group of consumers versus NEEDING to be the next Bonobos (which actually didn't end amazingly for its founders!).

This article is something important for up and coming entrepreneurs to read.  Get clear on why you are doing it.  If you can stay true to that, then you will experience much more joy and fulfillment along the journey.  You'll cherish the wins that many people just look right over as they have their eyes on GROWTH.  And growth for growth's sake really isn't that rewarding.