The notorious "experience"

As you know, the most valuable experience is the one that is given to the “minus” itself: financial, emotional, social ... What “hurts” and what cannot just be taken and forgotten is just another unpleasant dream.



More than a year ago, for us - the RZLTT Accelerator team, the history of the PromiseUP project was the first attempt to get a full experience in creating, sorry for the broken word, startups, that is, independent business, from the idea stage, based on some internet service or product with a missing supply chain or real estate infrastructure and the easiest way to distribute today - free installation on platforms popular with the audience, primarily mobile ones.





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In principle, starting from the third paragraph, it’s customary to talk about how cool we are, mi-mi-mi, look at our photos, but our pretty employee, well, the product ... but to hell with it, with the product!



In general, it will not be a success story, but a frank story about how everything was in reality. It is useful primarily for those who are dreaming of launching their own project and the subsequent cutting of hundreds of millions with an unsuspecting, stupid, and unaware audience.



In fact, the average user of most products on the Internet today is no less experienced, and sometimes even more than the creator of a different product.



In general, the reasons why we want to talk about what is rarely discussed are more than enough. Below you will find 3 errors that we made and felt in our own skin.

“Remote command = own team”

Perhaps in our history of PromiseUP development this place was the most painful. At the same time, this is one of the most common mistakes when creating products on the Internet in general.



There are a lot of reasons why people willingly try on this misconception, but the main one is that the majority of technologies have reached the philistine level. You no longer need to be a rocket scientist, nor even have any outstanding skills in order to be an average developer.



But between the "average" and "reasonably effective" there is a huge gap in which most projects are created, created not for their own needs, but outside. Or a situation is possible in which you want to create a product for yourself, but at the same time, in fact, you don’t have the resources to carry out normal development - it was in that situation that we were originally from. Therefore, in order to achieve their own goals, one way or another, you have to hire outside specialists. We expected to save time and, in a sense, the funds, turning to an external, well-established development team.



As you know, the devil is in the details. Those who have worked with large-scale projects that require a long and uninterrupted development, with immersion into it of all those involved, know this.



Remote work has its own specifics, but it is often considered that you can “discuss everything” and therefore the result will contain this “everything”. I feel that you are smiling in this place, dear readers, and I feel that it would not be superfluous to argue the fallacy of this assumption.



It is always useful and pleasant to have the opportunity to discuss any moment that concerns you, or someone else, exactly when it is necessary. Such an approach is harmonious - it does not even need to fit into the overall process, communication, as a rule, is already integrated into it.



In the situation when you have to work with a remote team or individual developers, the implementation of parts of different levels turns into hell. People stop thinking flexibly and want to get their fee, giving some result. As a result, dissonance arises on both sides, as in the classic “artist-customer” stories. I'm sure you read these, and many probably have several of their own tales in stock.



In preparing for the launch of any project, you must be well aware of the fact that in order to survive in the harsh real market conditions you will have to show enviable flexibility. If everything is so tough in your organizational structure that adaptation is impossible for you, you will become extinct with a very high probability.



You need to be able to change plans at any time without jumping out of the general strategy. At the same time, there are often situations when trifles drag after a chain of consequences in the form of more significant consequences and potential corrections that need to be considered initially, that is, be ready for this.

“Waiting for success = real result”

Initially, instead of this headline, there was a big and bold smiley, subtly hinting at a big misconception it contains (header), but later we decided to expand this thesis to all readers.



Perhaps this will help you to avoid mistakes by yourself and allow you to look at what is happening around really and (very) critically.



Very often to us, and especially to those of us who are in the “beginning of the path”, it seems that a good idea corresponds to the actual success at any stage of the development of this very idea, its evolution into a tangible product. In fact, it is quite important to realize that this is not the case. Or so. To judge you, I just give a few examples.



In the real world, a “good” idea is one that, in its practical role, is able to conquer the minds of at least a few people, simultaneously earning a couple of bucks. And, oddly enough, most of the ideas, today, are born according to the “mass” pattern: “everyone needs this.” As we well understand, it is easy to dispute such an assertion, and in general - what difference does it take for “everyone” if an individual should take care of himself first?



This is the whole point - most of the ideas, ideologies, products and platforms that we now call “revolutionary” were created “for ourselves”. The people who created them, who today run large companies, solved first of all their own problems. It's great that someone else had to like her decision.

“Reasonableness = level of implementation”

And if the above is fundamental, then what you can read below is technical. Namely - implementation.



Not for nothing, in countries with a high level of copyright protection culture, the idea cannot be patented. Only its some clearly described and standardized way of implementation.



In fact, practice shows that good ideas require a long maturation in the form of fruits of the mind and fruits of labor.



This means that it is very difficult to launch a quality product without having practical experience in its creation and development, although no one says that this is impossible.



It also means that there is a chance not to get anything but (the most valuable) experience, relying only on one’s own faith in the idea, its universality and applicability in any situation.



The “thoughtfulness” of the idea, its hypothetical representation, and its realization, of course, are not the same.



Here the same problem of subjectivity is observed as in the previous paragraph. Not all people are comfortable with the same thing, moreover - in fact, almost every person is comfortable with something “his”, special and individual. We are human.



It is also known that it is impossible to foresee everything. At any time there may be a situation in which you have to revise recent changes or future plans. This, of course, will affect the actual implementation of any idea.



Sometimes there is a situation when you made a mistake fundamentally at the planning stage, implemented and moved on. You understand that you are “missing something” - well, if you understand it. Even better, if you understand what exactly you lack. Finally, it's just perfect if you realize that after making such changes and making a sharp turn, you will have another product.



Your idea will grow into something else, transformed. Are you ready to follow the lead of the majority of users of this product who pay you a couple of bucks? In fact, it is not as easy as it may seem. But what to say, morally this is not ready for the majority of novice business people (menov and Vimen). They continue to run up, despite the obvious signs of the need and inevitability of making certain changes, the notorious transformations. And, ultimately, die.



Adaptation - the key to your health in every sense. Do not forget or neglect this. If you want to stay healthy, you have to adapt to constantly changing conditions, which are at the same time the only real constant of the universe in which we live. It is difficult and painful. But only this way, ultimately, having been born a kitten, you can become a tiger.