At least once a week I speak with an entrepreneur who tells me they are stuck. They have so many customers that want the product, but they don’t have the money to build it and can’t move forward without raising capital. They cite the chicken and the egg problem – I disagree.
Find authentic demand
In our Studio we don’t launch a business until we have proven authentic demand. We define that as people will pay for the product before it exists to build it with you because the problem is so important to solve and anything you do will be better than the current options. If they tell me to build it and then come back and they will buy it, I don’t believe them (hint – I have been burned many times on this … they won’t buy it when you come back). Be careful believing everyone wants your product yet won’t pay a trivial amount now until you have built it.
Focus your approach
Part of the challenge is many entrepreneurs feel they have to build the perfect product with all the features out of the gates. That takes a lot of time and money and the product will never be perfect. Instead, start with just the 1-2 core features that match your ICP and their problem and you can be 10x better. It will be far more valuable to your customers and will allow you to get going quicker and with less capital needs.
Fund without external capital
There are many ways to fund your business without “raising money.” Side hustles, consulting projects, grants, and paying customers are all ways to push a little further without convincing yourself the only way forward is to raise money. Do things that don’t scale but can help improve your learning and value proposition.
So the next time you feel stuck that you have so much demand but the only way forward is to raise money, pause and reconsider. How can I further prove authentic demand and test willingness-to-pay before building? How can I focus and be creative to move the product further along without having to build the perfect solution?