Part 4: Future in the Making

The service or product has been launched, consumers started exploring it, making sense of it and potentially acquiring and using it, but more importantly they are allowed to offer their feedback to the entrepreneur for improving it.

There are several questions an entrepreneur would need to reflect on pre and post launch of their product or service to the world or target audience - even if it was a very niche segment - including many “how to’s” that relate (but not limited) to the following:

• Elevating engagement between themselves as founders and co-founders and their target product or service audience, while adopting a customer / user experience first strategy
• Intriguing product or service feedback, for continuous development and performance improvement
• Capturing and filtering through the hype and noise to understand what’s feasible, while remaining open to and humble enough to learn and turn confusing feedback into opportunities for pivoting and growth
• Better analyzing and categorizing feedback, considering the art of the possible, resources and budget availability, and constraints
• Following up and tracking execution of meaningful and useful feedback received

Well there are plenty of martech products (with AI enabled functionalities) out there to support entrepreneurs in:

• Preparing and launching product or service campaigns in a manner backed up by algorithms aware of consumer trends, patterns and behaviors  
• Capturing, filtering and analyzing feedback collated from consumers and across different platforms, social and professional media channels
• Assessing penetration, engagement and success rates versus set goals and expectations of the product or service campaign

Yes, some of these martech products might come at a continuous subscription cost and compete with other key priorities for an early-stage entrepreneur, but usually great things do borne costs and take time to reach their envisioned heights, so all value adding endeavors should always be considered as contributing to an entrepreneur's “Future in the Making”.

On the other hand, an entrepreneur should never shy away from the fact that manual ways of outreach to gather and action feedback received is an option to be exploited when all else fails, hence performing a cost-benefit analysis is key for an entrepreneur to weigh available options and instigate cost-effective work arounds to reach their destination.

Another action an entrepreneur needs to pursue, include devising appropriate strategies, techniques and processes for product development and improvement. Timeliness of go-to-market is also key, where they can view their product or service as an output of a highly productive environment that enjoys the following attributes:

1. Accelerated ideation, conceptualization, production and launch activities
2. Reasonable pre-launch quality controls and testing mechanisms
3. ESG friendly and inclusive, adding value to customers and world at large
4. Strong culture that is committed to long term learning and improvement

The “Future in the Making” might be vulnerable to risks and encounter ups and downs as this is a normal price an entrepreneur pays in their entrepreneurial journey. They should, therefore, be mindful that the journey will never stop once their desired heights are reached, and that it will continue to rise into even greater new heights.

The “greater new heights” an entrepreneur would want to consider after achieving business stabilization goals, also comes with its unique set of needs and challenges, and scaling actions would be carved out to tailor those accordingly.

For example, for a product or service that reaped benefits and attained its initial goals from launching in a select jurisdiction or geography, an entrepreneur might want to examine feasibility of launching into new jurisdictions or geographies. This requires conducting a holistic study to strategize and plan for that expansion. Another entrepreneur’s scaling actions may be focused on expanding their existing line or suite of product or service offerings by adding new ones, while a third might be seeking to fully transform an existing product or service.

All in all, and irrespective of how bitter or sweet the journey turns out to be, aspiring entrepreneurs need to remain optimistic, enjoy the journey and learn how to pivot and work through different paths in the process to realize their dreams. If they reach their goals eventually, then that’s great – and they should keep on stretching to achieve new greater goals for the benefit of themselves and customers – and if not – there are abundant new opportunities they can pursue, and it is not the end of the world yet.

We will end our Aspiring Entrepreneur series with this article but remain open, as always, to support you overcome your entrepreneurial dilemmas, set your captivated vision free and participate in building together your sweet future.

Follow our other series of articles and stay tuned for more!

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