Focus on the problem, not the solution

It is said that the problem is nothing but a wake-up call to creativity.

Look around. There is plenty of evidence to support that view, given some of the recent startups such as Tesla, WhatsApp, Facebook, Uber and Netflix. The list goes on.

Uri Levine knows a lot about startups. He is the co-founder of He Waze, the world’s largest community-based traffic congestion and navigation app. In 2013 he was acquired by Google for $1.1 billion. He was also a key investor in Intel, which bought him for $1 billion, sometimes called “Waze, he’s the public transportation company.” He was also the first board member of Moovit.

Levine has launched over a dozen startups and has seen everything from failures to mid-market successes to financial and market home runs. He has the skills and tenacity to build a successful company, combined with the self-awareness of how he did it.

Levin’s book Preoccupied with Problems, Not Solutions: A Handbook for Entrepreneurs. His focus on connecting with the end consumer should be a key guideline for every entrepreneur at every stage of their business building journey.

Roger Dean Duncan: The title of your book itself seems like a good formula for evaluating business opportunities. What questions should an entrepreneur ask when conducting such an assessment?

Yuri Levin: Creating a lot of value for a lot of people is certainly a formula that works. This seems obvious, but it’s not that simple. Let me explain.

Value means solving problems. When you solve a problem for someone, you create value for them.

Then you have to figure out how much value you create and how many “someones” you have. As a general rule, before you start your journey, you should think about a problem, a big problem, something worth solving that would make the world a better place. and try to define them by group (for example, “working parents”). Try defining multiple groups.

Then talk to them and understand their problem recognition.

Only then will you start thinking about solutions. Talk to as many potential users as possible. The result looks like this:

1. It qualifies and helps you fall in love with matters.

2. Provide correct awareness of the problem

3. Provide travel anecdotes to help

Duncan: You say that an entrepreneur’s passion for making a difference must outweigh their fear of failure or replacement costs. How can you be self-aware enough to know if you really have the mindset to succeed as an entrepreneur?

Levine: Entrepreneurship is about taking a leap of faith, even if people around you, in so many shapes and forms, say, “This will never work.” , you must also be in love.

If you’ve never taken such a leap, ask yourself, “Why?” It may help overcome this barrier. But in general, and this is what we have to accept, there are too few entrepreneurs in the world.

Duncan: It may sound counterintuitive, but you say startups are a journey of failure. Why are failures so important?

Levine: Startups are a journey of failure largely because they are trying to do things that no one else has done before. We start off with the confidence that we know exactly what we’re doing, but in reality we don’t.

For example, if you try one solution or product and find it doesn’t work, try something else. Repeat over and over until you find one that works.Once you realize that this is going to be a journey of failure, the most important insight is that you have to fail. fastbecause you have time for another attempt and another experience.

Imagine trying to hit a three-point shot from half court. One shot is very unlikely. But if you have 10 shots, your chances of scoring are about 10 times greater. With limited time and money, the best way to get more shots is to fail early.

Duncan: One of your “good advices” for entrepreneurs is “Launch before the product is ready.” Can you give me an example of how it works to my advantage?

Levine: The only real way to make progress is to try the product and get user feedback. The sooner the product faces real users, the faster it will move and the sooner it will be good enough. The risk of releasing an immature product seems high, but in reality it is not at all. You don’t have a brand name or users yet, so you have nothing to lose, but you have a lot to gain by moving faster.

Duncan: How can a disruptive perspective help entrepreneurs identify promising opportunities?

Levine: it’s the other way around. Nearly all disruptions have come through startups that can take a completely different approach because they have nothing to lose. It could be about products, business models, pricing or information. Her POV on Disruptor is pretty straightforward. It always starts with the current state being completely wrong as a trigger for another thought process and a destructive approach.

Duncan: What do you think is the key to successful fundraising for entrepreneurs?

Levine: Let me share two pieces of feedback I’ve received from seasoned investors over the years. The first one was basically about first impressions. I asked one of her partners, a leading Israeli VC managing her, how long it takes to decide if she likes an entrepreneur she meets. The surprising answer is “Before you sit down.”

This seems completely absurd and definitely inappropriate, but ask yourself how long it takes to establish a first impression of a candidate or date. seconds. And it may take a few more minutes to let that first impression sink or change your mind.

In cases like this, I’d like to start with the strongest points first. Because by the time they get to the point, they may already have made up their minds.

A second insight is perhaps even more important. When I asked some investors why they decided to invest in a particular company (the first investment round), I got very consistent answers. If so, I think there are two conclusions here: (1) The CEO goes to the first investment meeting alone. (2) CEOs need to learn how to tell good stories, and good stories are not about facts and data. It’s about creating an emotional engagement with your audience and building the trust that a CEO can offer.

Duncan: What are the tell-tale signs of a startup opportunity that should be abandoned?

Levine: My friend and super-entrepreneur Dov Moran, who invented the USB drive, said that entrepreneurs never know when to quit. he is right Entrepreneurs never give up. But he has two main signs that entrepreneurs need to stop. (1) The team is not suitable and cannot be changed. We recommend that you consider changing teams by leaving. (2) the problem or awareness of the problem is gone;

Duncan: What do you consider to be best practices when hiring people to staff your startup business?

Levine: My book has a full chapter called Firing and Hiring, and when I submitted book proposals to various publishers, I heard it should be Hiring and Firing, so I said no! Getting fired is a difficult decision. Hiring is an easy decision.

Hard decisions are hard and easy decisions are easy. Launch first. Forget hiring. It hardly matters whether you are a good hiring manager or a little above average if you start by knowing who to fire and how.

If someone doesn’t fit, everyone will find out within a month, sometimes sooner. Therefore, there is one critical phase in the hiring process. A month after you hire the person, ask yourself, “If I knew what I know today, would I hire this person?” If the answer is no, fire them immediately. Everyone already knows they are not a fit, and the longer you wait, the more damage you do to the organization, to you, especially to new hires, to everyone.