Recently, we hosted a group of Mexican entrepreneurs at Singularity University. One of the founders asked me what I believe is the most difficult thing to do for any startup. Without thinking about this too much, I said, “Getting users.”
Not getting enough users quickly enough is the number one reason why startups fail. Tweet This Quote
Today, you can reach more people easier and cheaper than ever before. You have highly advanced yet incredibly affordable (and often even free) marketing and sales tools at your disposal.
Yet, not getting enough users quickly enough is the number one reason why startups fail. Getting people to notice your product or service, having them try it out and then sticking with it is insanely hard—particularly if you want to do this at scale.
Outside of all the ‘growth hacking’ and ‘getting traction’ lessons you should learn, you need to be ultra-clear about the value proposition of your product. Start with asking, who is your customer? Not in a general sense—be very specific. Then, why does your product or service matter to her? What is the real benefit?
You can build the most amazing gadget on the planet, but if nobody is using it, it’s all for naught. Tweet This Quote
Why is it significantly better than the status quo? Where and when is the perfect moment for your customer to discover your product? How do you get your customer to not only love your product but also recommend it to her friends or colleagues? How can you make that insanely easy, fun and rewarding?
There are so many questions you need to ask yourself and find the answers to. But remember this: You can build the most amazing gadget on the planet, but if nobody is using it, it’s all for naught.
A version of this post originally appeared on Pascal’s blog.