Five Lessons I Learned From Launching Too Early – From a First-Time ResTech Founder
By Deckr
- article
- User Feedback
- Product Testing
- Automated Reporting
- Survey Analysis
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I’m Jorge Lee, a 20-year-old first-time founder, and I launched my res-tech tool, Deckr, two weeks after I’d built the MVP. I was so excited with my initial build, and I wanted to keep the momentum going and get in front of buyers ASAP. Here are a few things I’ve learned from launching early and some mistakes I’ve made so you hopefully don’t have to.
As a solopreneur and first-time founder operating in an entirely new space, there are, naturally, many things that are going to blindside you. After speaking to a friend and finding Mike & Insight Platforms, it felt like striking gold for distribution. A platform full of the exact audience I needed to get Deckr in front of. I was 19, full of hope and excitement, and within a few days of listing, I had over 10 inbound booked calls from companies all over the world. I remember feeling very excited but also a slight feeling of ‘what if I’ve bitten off more than I can chew?’ which is a feeling I’m not new to.
5 Lessons:
- Understand users before you pitch.
- Be honest about limitations early.
- Brutal feedback beats warm feedback – rejection is your best weapon.
- Know who owns the problem.
- Say no to free.
1. Talk To Your Buyers – Understand Their Problem Before You Pitch
This one feels obvious, however, the first thing I did on my first demo call was pitch. I had to go up against the entire C-Suite of a very well-established US agency. They were evaluating something I’d built in a month in my bedroom for their agency that’s been around since the 1960s. I felt this huge pressure to perform and sound fully formed when, in reality, I had never done this before. I was asked questions I had no answer to; I stumbled and couldn’t get my words out; I felt embarrassed to ask for clarification. The best thing to do is just ask and understand what they need.
Understanding your users first makes your pitch much sharper when you do go for the close. Some will volunteer their pains directly. It is then up to you to remember and solve them. Write everything down, take all the low-hanging fruit first. You only get one first impression, and if it’s spent on a bad pitch, it is gone. I also quoted a very low price to this very big company out of nervousness. Another obvious one – don’t quote on a call until you’re sure. Always defer to writing or book a separate pricing call if it isn’t a one-size-fits-all product.
First impressions will matter a lot. Linking back to my first point, once you spend a first impression on a ‘bad’ demo or pitch, it is likely burned. Busy companies don’t like to waste their time. Make sure you go in curious and consultative, but also demonstrate that you can bring value. This is what gets you perceived as an asset instead of a liability. Honesty and proof go a long way.
A user tolerates a half-built product because they’re invested in where it’s going. A buyer evaluating a vendor is making a one-time judgement. Position yourself as collaborative, open and reliable. Admitting the product’s shortcomings where needed can also make you appear more trustworthy, which is the cornerstone of B2B relationships.
2. Be Honest About Limitations Early
When your product is early (and companies can tell), be honest about the state and limitations from the outset. Fronting your capabilities and bluffing will get you caught out. It is much better to be honest, consult the client on what exactly they need and write down what your product / service must solve for that specific client. This way, you build real trust, prove you will do the work needed, and learn the most valuable industry knowledge, which will contribute to your product’s universality. For me, Deckr was my first introduction to the market research world, and through calls with buyers and evaluators, I learned so much about what it needs to do to provide value. Being honest will earn you more respect than fronting, and in most cases keep you on a client’s radar as something to watch.
3. Brutal Feedback Beats Warm Feedback – Rejection as a Weapon
I got a lot of “interesting, please come back to us with proof”, which didn’t really teach me a lot. What taught me the most was the brutal, honest feedback where prospects told me it was ‘unusable’ or ‘this is cool but doesn’t solve X or Y’ and still stuck around to see me fix it. They essentially gave me a map with instructions on how to help them. I took it.
If you’ve launched early, there are two sides to that coin. You will probably get more rejection, yes, but that rejection is the most useful thing you can get at an early stage if you know how to use it properly. Each ‘no’ shapes the product into one that will get the eventual ‘yes’. The rejections are invaluable and compound exponentially if you iterate fast. Real-life user feedback is the most important thing for product development. Launch too late, and you find out what you’ve been building in the dark. Launch too early, and you’ll burn first impressions trying to learn what people need without having much in return.
4. Know Who Owns the Problem
I’ve had many conversations with different people in different agencies. One thing I’ve learned is that the most senior people often don’t own the problem. Speaking to someone who feels the pain directly can be much more effective at getting your product championed internally.
Narrow your prospect search to those who feel the pain and cost of a problem most. They must quickly understand the value you bring firsthand, and translate it to their senior team members who can authorise spending once they see the value too.
5. Say No to Free
Very early on, an agency wanted to partner with me. They offered to help co-develop Deckr by providing insights on their workflow and FMCG studies. We verbally agreed on a discounted founding partner price and scope. The next week, I was told their CEO wanted 12 months free in return for early access. I declined because working for free isn’t an option when you need people to take you seriously. Word travels fast in market research circles, and if other agencies hear X Agency is getting Deckr for free, they will instantly undervalue you in their mind. Declining it cost me the relationship, but a ‘free’ client has no skin in the game. It is not a client you want, unless you desperately need what they have to offer. Even then, be wary of taking anything for free.
So, Launch Early?
Yes. I’d do it again. Nothing I could have reasoned out alone came close to what those first ten conversations gave me in a fortnight. They gave me a development map I couldn’t have drawn myself, especially as someone with limited domain knowledge. Part of launching early is learning everything you can in those first months.
But be honest with yourself about who’s turning up. A collaborator will forgive a half-built product because they’re invested in where it goes. A buyer is making a one-time judgement, and you don’t get to make it twice. Positioning yourself for the first is the most logical thing to do until you are ready to actually sell.
If I were doing it again, I’d list just as early. I’d just walk into those first calls knowing I was there to learn rather than to close, and I’d have been a lot less embarrassed about saying “I don’t know yet.”
A very good book I’d suggest reading for any first-time or seasoned entrepreneur is The Founder’s Dilemmas, by Noam Wasserman. It covers everything you should anticipate and avoid when it comes to the pitfalls that can sink a startup.
To anyone reading this who has been in a similar position or would like to talk more, my LinkedIn is here, and I would love to connect.
