The “no one cares” challenge is a hard one for entrepreneurs (at least it is for me) that hits early and often.
Hey, look at this cool thing I’m building!! *crickets*
What does it mean? How does it break down?
There are probably a LOT of possibilities including, but not limited to:
- People are too busy (giving attention to their own work, problems, family, life, you name it…). You’ll probably always be battling the “too busy” problem – even with an awesome idea/product.
- People don’t understand the context.
- The problem your solving doesn’t apply to them.
- The problem you’re solving isn’t a problem for them (anyone?).
- The problem(s) you’re solving aren’t big enough to invest or spend time or money on a solution.
- Impostor syndrome
That’s just off the top of my head. I’m sure there are plenty of reasons.
Early on you might be in stealth mode, building in secret, not sharing, having people sign NDAs because you don’t know any better, etc. Some folks (other founders) tell you about how this is unnecessary, but many of us (at that point) don’t yet understand why not. We saw “The Social Network” movie and have that debacle in the back of our heads forever now.
I’d like to think it happens because you’re not talking to the right people, the right audience. Sometimes you’re not. Sometimes the right audience isn’t in your normal community and you have to find them. (see “product/market fit”)
Regardless of the reason, it can definitely lead to anxiety over whether or not the idea is actually valuable to someone – other than yourself. Then you doubt yourself. Enter Impostor Syndrome and more… yada, yada, yada.
I’m sure there’s more to it. I’m still learning and hopefully always will be. But the “no one cares” thing still sucks.
I’m sure there’s more to it. I’m still learning and hopefully always will be. But the “no one cares” thing still sucks.
Don’t Lose Hope
The flip sides:
- It doesn’t mean your idea is bad (Though, it could be…).
- It doesn’t mean pieces/parts of your solution couldn’t be used elsewhere.
- It doesn’t mean you should quit. Though you should do some self-reflection from time to time. And frankly, sometimes you should quit. Just don’t be flippant about it.
- It doesn’t mean you’re not developing, learning, and growing along this path you’re on – Or that you won’t be successful with the current idea, a different idea, or another career path all-together.
How do you get past it? Talk to people. Then talk to some more. Don’t talk about your solution. Encourage them to talk about their challenges, dig in. There are plenty of articles and books about this approach.
Find that (sometimes) elusive “target market”.
There’s also: “Building in public” which has a lot of value as long as you understand when exceptions apply. Building in public gives you the ability, time, and audience to explain what you’re doing and why you’re doing it… something otherwise left to sales and marketing down the road. You usually building with an audience – with a peer group and/or potential contextual audience you want – which can save on those sales/marketing efforts down the road and maybe even land you an early customer.
This isn’t something others haven’t said before. Maybe it’ll hit a few new folks that need to hear it though. Good luck! I know I could use some. 🙂