Skip to main content

Why this, why you, why now?

In seeking investment I think the pivotal questions are Why This? Why You? Why Now?
When I wanted to get back into riding. I had to pitch my wife. 

Why This? Our van is a gas guzzler especially when it's just me driving to work and back. It's cheaper for us, and it's better for the environment (check).
Why You?  I've always enjoyed riding, and did I mention it's good for the environment...
Why Now?  I'm not getting any younger, and that minivan isn't getting anymore fun. 

The jury is still out, but I think I've covered that pitch decently. 

Why You in product development it's very similar.  The most common scenario is someone is 'scratching their own itch' they're solving a problem they have for themselves and can see it as a solution for many. Validating the problem understanding the underlying job is the main hurdle, then it's about confirming your solution gets the job done. If you've got some manner of user research or past services delivered to address this issue.

Why You? Ideas are a dime a dozen, even Good ideas. It's in the execution. Why are uniquely qualified to capitalize on this idea? Do you have an existing user base? What about you provides insight to hit the mark or sell your value proposition.

Why Now? Timing is everything, netflix needed network and bandwidth to improve for worldwide streaming. The ubiquity of connectivity and the general acceptance of "living online" led to Facebook, LinkedIn and too many dating sites. The attention economy paved the way for the destruction of objective truth - I mean journalism. Launching a digital magazine startup in 2010- fantastic! 2019 ... not so much

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Bad Behaviour and Tough Talks

It's back to school kids! read : Good News about Bad Behaviour by Katherine Reynolds Lewis I randomly came across this book at the library and picked it up ironically. Soon afterwards I was hooked. The book speaks to the underlying cause of kids acting out. Sometimes it's bad modelling or connection with parents. Often it can be just low expectations yielding minimal output. The book advocates we relinquish control in ordrer to let our kids reach their potential and unlock their own sense of agency. One of my favourite lines is "By doing things for children that they're able to do, we are robbing them of feeling capable." I know for me doing things the kids are capable of is an expediency thing, but if they never learn. quick : We are ruining childhood - Kim Brooks likens childhood to one long internship  just to get into the middle class. Overscheduling, no free time let alone free play. The idea of safety-ism means parents are trying to eliminate any and a...

just let them play??

I never wanted to be a parent dragging my kids to all sorts of activities. Research is showing that being too scheduled can affect a child's locus of control. An internal locus of control means you feel in control of your circumstances. Being able to play improves your sense of self-determination which helps you feel more in control. read:  https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-play-deficit My kids are like sponges and at this age their ability to learn new skills is incredible. I don't think I'm trying to keep up with the joneses, I feel like Im doing them a disservice by not exposing them to as many activities as possible. Another side effect is how this unscheduled time would be otherwise spent (Yes it's patronizing but I'm their parent). They're also passionate about these activities. I only have a few years of this until puberty hits and they want nothing to do with me. I really want them to have self-confidence some of that comes from accomplishmen...

Resulting

Continuous Refresh : NBA Free Agency had me fall off the social media wagon hard. Constant timeline refreshing, borderline obsessive. It came to an end when Kawhi signed with the LA Clippers. I've continued to fiend for a twitter fix. Social Media is the new smoking/standing/coffee etc. Kawhiiii: Nowadays if you build a quality basketball organization the stars will come to you. Unless they don't. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2844770-it-doesnt-matter-even-best-nba-franchises-cant-compete-with-superstar-whims Read : Thinking in Bets - This was a great read around better decision making. I love chess, but Annie Duke points out that chess is a game of complete information, everything is on the board. Life is more like poker where you have incomplete information and you must act  before you know everything.  Resulting is about judging the quality of your decision-making based on the result however there are many unknowns that affect the result. The key is to objectiv...