Page 164 - 6 Secrets to Startup Success

Startup Agility 143

CORE IDENTITY – The most radical iteration a business can make is to
shift its very identity and purpose. Nokia, the communications and
mobile phone maker, began as a pulp paper mill in Finland. Texas
Instruments started out as an oil exploration service. DuPont, backed
by French venture capital, started as a producer of gunpowder. The
driving force behind such a change is almost always the discovery of
an unanticipated market opportunity that aligns with existing capa-
bilities of the founding team. Returning to the example of Stacy’s
Pita Chips introduced in Chapter Four, founders Stacy Madison and
Mark Andrus abandoned their plans to start a health food restaurant
to pursue an unexpected retail opportunity, because customers wait-
ing in line for a sandwich just couldn’t keep their hands off of pita
chips that had been created as an afterthought. The founders were
able to quickly direct their talents and resources to begin capitalizing
on the pita chip opportunity and eventually decided to close the orig-
inal sandwich cart business.

HARVESTING LESSONS USING THE FOUR-QUADRANT
FRAMEWORK

For an early-stage venture, the question, “What have we learned?” is
more important than the question, “What have we done?” As you
bring your concept to life, you will move along a learning curve that
takes you from passionate belief in your idea to a more basic under-
standing of how it plays out in the real world. You get to experience
your idea in motion. But how do you make sense of all the informa-
tion available? How do you separate the signal from the noise and
harvest the right lessons amid the often-overwhelming stress and ur-
gency of the startup path?

The four-quadrant framework provides a useful filter to direct
and balance your learning across four domains that drive new venture
success. Gathering facts, generating insight, and reducing uncertainty
in these four areas will reduce your risk and help you position for
growth. Build a consistent practice of coming up for air to review your
plan and evaluate progress. You can concentrate your learning in the

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