Vision, Technology and Consumer

Its been around two months since we launched an alpha version of LinkNSurf. These two months have made me realize what it takes to run a consumer focussed startup and what's the difference between vision, technology and a consumer!

If not all atleast some of the startups start with some vision and then work towards it. Technologists try to put the best use of technology and write up some very complicated piece of software. But in the end, it all boils down to weather a consumer needs that piece of software! What specific need your vision and technology fulfills for your consumer?

An online busines needs lot of iterations and one has to adapt quickly. A startup is always constrained and it has to always keep on doing lot of trials and incorporate user feedback. What is more harder in an online business is to specifically identify a target audience and fulfill the need for your target audience. At times your vision would exactly match and at times it would deviate. One has to rethink the basic assumptions at every stage. And at times one would think how could I make such a mistake in the past! But it's all a part of what a startup is. Providing and improving product, improving technology are all easier stuff but actually identifying a business need of a consumer can be much harder, especially for the technologists.

At LinkNSurf we are now exactly trying to solve this problem. We are now having release cycles every 10 days, each release is not about getting new small features done but its about improving usability, its about a user finding a value in the product.

Startups are not just about identifying problems but its about solving them. Business problems can be real hard, but solving them is the thrill. Lot of people appreciate great vision and great technology, but that doesn't build a business out. At the end it's a consumer that builds a business so start talking to your consumer from day one!