Those familiar with Greek mythology know the story of Icarus, who was gifted a pair of wax wings in order to fly out of the labyrinth where he was imprisoned. The wings were suited perfectly for their job, but they weren’t indestructible. Before he took off, Icarus was warned that he had to fly at just the right height: Too high, and the sun’s rays would melt the wing’s wax; too low, and they’d be soaked by the sea.
We all know what happened next. Overcome by enthusiasm for flight, Icarus arced higher and higher into the sky—and the wings melted.
Entrepreneurs face similar, albeit more earthbound, temptations. Why make one product when you can make five? Hitting it big is all about taking risks, right?
Not exactly.
While diversifying your product offerings can be a wise strategy at some point, doing too much, too early, can be fatal for your business. Let’s break it down.
The Temptation For Too Much
Startup founders are an ambitious bunch, and many of them want to do it all. I know this because I do a lot of mentoring, and I consistently see my mentees making this mistake.
I recently met with one startup, which has been struggling for awhile. They told me about the four products they were working on at the same time—the same four products that they were wrestling with when we met last quarter.
Their reasoning was understandable: Each of their four products is earning them a small amount of money. But when I asked them to draw charts depicting the subscriber numbers for each product, three of them were perfectly even lines—in other words, they weren’t growing.
The startup’s biggest product has five big customers, and it’s from there that the company’s handful of employees draw their salaries. But this product, too, was flatlined. Only one product had a growth line, with a subscriber count that was consistently increasing.
I advised them to dump three of the products—even the most profitable—and focus on the one that is actually trending upward. Think of it as trimming away the blooms on a plant, allowing it to focus its energy on new growth.
I understand the appeal of trying to do too much. When I first started out, I thought working on a bunch of different things would hedge against failure. I realize now that was a waste of time. Doing too much, too soon, not only muddles your purpose, but overextends your resources. I’ve been working on the same product for 18 years, and my focus has only gotten narrower.
How Focus Drives Momentum (And Other M’s)
One of my favorite books is called “No Man’s Land: Where Growing Companies Fail,” written by business finance consultant Doug Tatum. In the course of his work, Tatum noticed an alarmingly consistent trend: Clients would achieve some success, then stall out, hitting a wall that seemed impossible to scale.
Escaping the proverbial no man’s land requires what Tatum calls the four M’s:
Market, which involves transitioning from a simple, founder-focused enterprise to enabling the company itself to deliver scalable value to customers:
Management, which requires replacing loyalty-based leadership with a team of qualified professionals who can effectively lead the company’s growth;
Model, which emphasizes understanding and refining the business’s economic model to ensure scalability and profitability, rather than growth for its own sake;
Money, which focuses on reducing risk, exercising due diligence, and strategically accessing the capital needed to fund sustainable expansion.
This is exceedingly valuable advice, but I also have a fifth “M:” Momentum.
Momentum is critical for growth—to paraphrase an insightful piece in Harvard Business Review, when momentum is lost, it’s as if the props have been knocked out from under the corporate strategy. I think Tatum’s advice is sound, but a precondition for achieving all of these M’s is a sharp focus. Otherwise, your business will simply find itself stretched too thin, and you may well be trapped in no man’s land permanently.
Figuring Out Where To Focus
The thing you’re most excited about may not be the one where you should direct your energy. As I advised my startup mentees, pay attention to your product growth: the one that has upward momentum is the one to work on.
I know firsthand how powerful this approach is. While my company, Jotform, is laser-focused on forms, we’re always working to make them better. One example of an unexpected growth opportunity appeared when we gave our users the ability to share their forms with other users. We were doubtful that this feature would gain much traction, so it was surprising when it took off, ultimately doubling the value of the company. We were able to take advantage of this momentum because of our incredibly narrow focus—had our attention been scattered, it would ultimately have passed us by.
It’s easy to get pulled in competing directions, especially when your business is in its early days. To avoid the fate of Icarus, entrepreneurs must resist the allure of doing too much, too soon. By focusing on what truly works and building momentum around it, you can scale to new heights in a way that’s sustainable—without melting your wings.
Read the full article here
