When every startup thinks its business is a signal, it changes not only the world, but also how people see solutions.
How do you decipher whether what you are creating is noise or a signal that people may not have yet realised, and you are too early to show them the importance of it? Do you and others really need to align right away, or are you just noise trying to broadcast a signal and make people believe you have something important to contribute?
They say be clear on the vision, be flexible on how to achieve it, and know that 70-90% of startups actually fail. Failure is inevitable, and that’s not something to look forward to, but to be aware of and learn from as you navigate toward what you really want.
I attended a sprint validation workshop recently and found it useful not only to work on your problem statement, but also to define your stakeholders clearly and where to focus. It was a stark reminder to weed out the noise and focus on signals. But for a startup, navigating both is impossible if you have to do it all at the same time and with equal time. Time management is absolutely key, but I realise that if you are flexible on how you get it while keeping your eyes on the prize, i.e., vision, then it will somehow work its way there.
We participated in a validation lab at the same time as the workshop, which I was lucky to be part of, because it helped me understand the assumptions we created and validate them with random people, which helped shape the iteration. I pitched in for all four days of that validation week or lab, and I stayed mindful of patterns in what people were asking or seeking clarification on.
I had my own questions in mind, and I had to work on articulating them well enough as I went along. I remember validating by asking what people thought about the idea, and the usual answer, “I think what you’re doing is great!” often made me feel validated, like I was onto something. One person asked, "Have you got any leads from this validation week at all?" and I silently contemplated the same question in every conversation.
Is the message landing the way I want it to, or am I confusing people? So? Was the message unclear, or was there too much to digest on a topic that needs more education before buy-in? The validation workshop I attended was a four-hour sprint focused on what I must work on and when, while the validation week was about getting those assumptions answered to validate whether the business stands or not.
Sometimes the problem you are trying to solve is so compelling that you see everything as a signal that it is. But what if people only see the noise and would rather keep it that way - noise. Because if it is not a matter of life and death, then people will do what they do, focus on what would benefit them first - that’s human nature, that’s being people, selfish intuition first before others.
The signal of what I am trying may not be the same signal one thinks is critical, but a noise that others may deem not a priority yet, but good to know it exists. For me, it is a matter of getting the right people to agree, to educate, and to learn from, and hopefully get the same frequency to do something that is worthwhile and decipher whether it is also their signal or remains a noise.
