How much of the story is the grind?

• Sukanya Bharati
• August 21, 2024
• Blog
• #startups
• 0 Comments

Storytelling is a wonderful thing.

But sometimes it can be a bad thing.

Stories of product success.

Stories of startup success.

These come with an extra dose of “special effects”.

Unfortunately, such stories can be misleading.

And sometimes, misdirect those who are building.

Usually what’s missing from these stories is the grind.

Just like Bollywood or Hollywood movies.

All the training and prep seems to wrap up in one musical piece.

Everything seems to go right the first time around.

Every problem seems to have an instant solution.

In practice, the grind can be long.

A few do get lucky or hit it early.

For most, getting to product market fit takes time.

Hitting rapid growth curve on revenue also takes time.

Does this mean that you have to wait for luck or grind it out for years and years?

Not really. Not always.

There are ways in which this process can be accelerated.

Systematic experimentation can help.

Being able to identify fact from assumption/desire/projection can help.

Focus on the user pain can help.

Making design part of your entire product building also helps.

There are lot more of these things you can do right.

Can path to PMF be accelerated?

What is your experience?

What has worked?

What hasn’t?

Would love to hear your thoughts.