We may have an opportunity to start an idea, but if the product market fit is not even viable in the beginning, we can waste a lot of time and money in our entrepreneurial pursuits.
Here is something you can do to get a feel for the risk and reward:
- Find an existing business in the market. Look up their performance on Crunchbase or other databases to see what their revenues, headcount and recent news looks like.
- Find the owner and call them. Bring value so you are not one-sided in your conversation. At minimum ask to pay for their time for a call.
- Have a list of questions you are seeking answers to. Ask open-ended questions. Don’t assume anything. Otherwise, you may limit what you gain in insights that might otherwise be volunteered. Come as a learner.
- Ask if it makes sense to start something new or do a deal. Perhaps there is opportunity to partner rather than start from scratch and go through the giant learning curve and costs.
- Repeat the cycle until you get a feel for what the downside vs. upside is. Those who have gone before you have hidden understanding that you will not necessarily get on Google.
This is high impact, low cost in its approach to figure out if your enthusiasm should be checked or nurtured. It’s a first step that simply starts with conversations while honoring those that have experience through their sharing.
