Entrepreneur Office Hours - Issue #158

The people you love know you best... for better and for worse

I have plenty of flaws. I’m aware of this and even wear it as a badge of honor. But, despite my willingness to accept and admit my flaws, I’m always a bit surprised when I discover another. “There’s more?????” I think to myself every time it happens.

Oh… and it happens A LOT.

Naturally, the source of those discoveries are almost always the people I’m closest with — my wife, my friends, my colleagues — and, in this issue of EOH, I share a couple articles about how my loved ones have helped me learn to appreciate my flaws.

If nothing else, maybe the stories will provide some nice inspiration that can help you see how the people in your life could be helping you on your startup journey more than you realize.

-Aaron

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My Wife Helped Me Realize I Was a Terrible Entrepreneur

Sometimes, the people we love most are also the best at helping us realize our biggest faults.

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My Co-Founder Was a Perfectionist, and It Ruined My Startup

Entrepreneurs love finding talent, but uber-talented people make crappy business partners in the startup world.

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Office Hours Q&A

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QUESTION:

I’m wondering if you could share some insights about how to set your product’s price when you initially enter the market with a new company.

Thanks,

Kristy

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The short answer is YES!

That’s probably the long answer, too, but I’d feel like I was somehow cheating everyone reading this answer if I left it at that.

What you’re identifying here is basic economics. Supply and demand, right? In a market with very little supply and huge demand, everything that makes building companies hard becomes much easier when potential customers will do all the work for you. They chase you. They offer top dollar. They won’t ask for anything that might cause additional burden in fear of losing the opportunity. And so on.

In that kind of market, yes… your dog could sell a house if it was legally and physiologically possible. And, yes, finding that kind of market is a great idea.

But, in the startup world, it’s also mostly an impossible strategy. Yes, those markets do appear from time to time. The early days of the Web had lots of them. We’ve seen some echoes of it in crypto. But, by the time most of us realize markets are ridiculously hot, it’s too late to capitalize on them.

In other words, while I agree with you in principle, I wouldn’t stop betting on skill and talent. As your brother is going to learn, every market eventually cools down, and skill and talent are always important.

Got startup questions of your own? Reply to this email with whatever you want to know, and I’ll do my best to answer!