When i sit here in an AirBnb I rented to the month of August (with a failing AC in the Texas Summer) I was thinking it could be fun to do a mental check of start-up life and the transition so far. Advantageous when you’re sweating from sitting 🙂 Having grown we significantly the organization aspects starts to feel “normal.” If that’s a chance. My co-founder Marissa would say we’re out from the “storming” phase and now into the “normalization” phase in our 1st year. I now use her Westpoint terminology inside my common speech, confusing friends with your terms as Sitrep, bluf not to mention MFIC. I’ll permit her to enlighten all of you on the definitions. In my opinion, normalizing the group is assisting us show we now have momentum, synergy and our folks (and internal technology) are typical aligned and the pace is picking up bigtime. Great things.
In past posts I’ve commented on product, CRE culture, investment plus more. On this page I would like to concentrate on customers and the way to hear them.
If we first launched beta and commenced collecting feedback, the response was overwhelming from our initial users. “Change this,” “I don’t under this wording here,” “consider adding X,” “is there a roadmap button for that?” (DOH!). To people with tech startup experience I’m sure that’s nothing new. I for starters, having just a humble CRE broker’s background, was quite surprised/impressed by how everybody is willing to present you with their benefit this mission. What’s the mission again? Help small enterprises make better lease decisions.
In early stages, I felt compelled to push almost all our product and assumptions from the pure real estate perspective. I knew we’re able to enhance the prevailing tech on the market, and we’re an industrial real estate product, right? Sure, we’re free and anonymous and that great stuff but we provide a platform which is CRE based to the users. The whole core assumptions and product architecture/functions were steeped in the real estate problem-solving mindset. As we grew together together, we became much less just a few these assumptions plus more plus more engaged from the feedback from our users and other people in the field. This assumption quickly changed, we’re not simply a real estate product, we’re a business product. How did look for that out?
We asked.
Our caboodling team is going daily hand-collecting reviews in Houston and I’m humbled by their efforts. They’re helping us seed the platform with real, verified feedback from business decision makers. It’s a critical and foundational objective of ours to get these experiences. However, I’m amazed at the response we’re getting from retailers, tenants, small enterprises when they hear our mission, try the platform and know what we’re about. It’s not unusual for caboodlers to spend thirty minutes on one review (that your collection part takes about 60 seconds FYI) since the small business community is just so hungry being heard. This is a group who is putting their livelihoods on the line, every single day, to create their business grow as well as their personal lives more enriched through their dreams. It’s about damn time someone sat down and heard them.
So that’s what we’ve been doing. Not just coding/testing/building/caboodling and trending hard towards our full release here in the next couple weeks (SUPER excited to demonstrate everybody) but merely all out interviewing, listening and gaining knowledge through our core customers. I’ve found that just because your products is free of charge doesn’t mean it automatically drops some inherent barrier to entry. Products have to solve down to earth damage to down to earth people. This full release I believe encompasses that mantra. We will share it soon.
As we grow we we all have a part to play only at Tenavox. Mine is heavily steeped in product, real estate and methodology. That doesn’t mean we don’t wear fifty other hats too, from fundraising (which never stops haha) to data science, startups would be best at exposing who you are pressurized. Our team (especially the founders) do no matter what to move the ball forward. People enquire about how the transition from CRE to Startup in tech will go, if and when they take the plunge too using idea? I smile and have this: Is it possible to handle the worries of this deadline, the next sprint, sales projections, recruiting, feedback, testing, adjustments, operations, payroll and a lot much more. When you decide to go for it and create something which matters you then become far more responsible. How? Well ideas are basically worth nothing, approximately I’ve learned 😉 It’s all in the execution and the team…and the culture. A solid culture will be the foundation for the strong company.
Turning ideas into reality, together.
When you have a concept, it’s just yours, you’re only accountable for cultivating the minds themselves. When you start a business (from a concept) you’re accountable for the investors, (usually your pals and families hard-earned money), you’re accountable for your people, their efforts as well as their goals, you’re accountable for your business’s growth, and moving the vision forward every single day…but a majority of of all you’re accountable for yourself. There is no automatic paycheck or salary to obtain to get up and hitting that work-day hard, so pick something you have desire for. I suppose that’s what I’ve learned most. Never underestimate just how much work it would be to begin a business, never underestimate how difficult some days might be, the worries is off the charts and the stakes couldn’t be higher. However if you have desire for what you’re doing, if you think with your mission and your culture and your team? This can be the best damn thing you’ll do your entire life.
No person seriously knows where our path will lead. Startups inside their very natures are risky ventures. We’ve made educated assumptions and therefore are beginning to test them out . inside a live environment, time, our efforts and the market will dictate part in our success. I understand this, the west will dictate how we lead and just how we interact as people…that is certainly something I’m satisfied with.
Struck me on LinkedIn or [email protected]
I’d never knock those who don’t want to start their unique business, it’s definately not easy and oftentimes personal considerations don’t take. If you undertake? Confer with your customers, listen and discover. They are going to let you know what they desire to determine and increase your thinking, in every single facet of your products. There exists a new mantra now, “Built for Tenants, with Tenants,” so we believe in that. I know what we’re doing only at Tenavox is the most rewarding professional experience with playing, and that’s worth just from the stress, risk and keenness we’re pouring with it every single day. It’s funny, if we began I wasn’t sure the best way to border the pain sensation points from the small company owner…Now? We know them because we live them. Plus a wise someone once said, “there’s no alternative to experience.”
We had a great team building last weekend in Austin too! As a result of #escapegame #Galvanize and #Laketravis for hosting us!
Keep tuned in for full release here in 2-3 weeks and appreciate your reading my ramblings of course.
You can comment below or please take a run at many of the other articles I’ve written chronicling my transition from broker to co-founder.
Have something to convey meantime? Struck me on LinkedIn or [email protected]
Be First to Comment