"Patterns of Success vs. Failure" with Bill Gross of IdeaLab
Our latest free Ubiquity University video dives into patterns of startup success that IdeaLab's Bill Gross has uncovered over 40 years of founding startups.
After decades in the startup world, certain patterns become clear in what leads to massive success or complete failure. In Ubiquity University’s latest free video, IdeaLab’s Bill Gross shares insights from his 40 years of experience, revealing key factors that drive startup outcomes in "Patterns of Success vs. Failure".
In this 11-minute Ubiquity University video (watch now), Bill takes us through the following:
Startups Now Vs. 20 Years Ago
Compared to 20 or 40 years ago when startups were less common, now if you fail at a startup, you’re not scarred for life; in fact, failing and learning from the experience is considered extremely valuable.
Now more than ever, there are many different sources of capital available ranging from the earliest stage, including: friends and family, angel investing, pre-seed, & seed.
Patterns of Startup Success
The “right” timing: you want to be ahead of your time, but being too ahead of your time can lead to pitching a product to people that they’re not yet ready to accept.
Delivering a clear solution to a problem people are having: you need to be able to communicate this and for people to understand it.
Pivoting/adapting as needed: it’s important to really pay attention to which parts of your product matter the most to customers and what’s missing that would matter most to your customers, and quickly adapt to deliver that.
Listening to Customers
Steve Jobs famously said “I don’t want to listen to customers; I want to give them what I think they want”, but he never ignored customers; he listened very intently to them to figure out what he knew they wanted.
Startups should pay attention to customer feedback but not listen to all of it.
Startup’s Key Advantage: Speed
When you have the whole planet as your reach and big behemoths like Google as your competition, startups have one advantage: speed.
How fast can you take in new knowledge and adapt your company and your product to that new knowledge? A company that is paying attention to the world and to customers and adapting to that inside their company - that's who wins.
Ubiquity University: free, short videos for early-stage startups
We built Ubiquity University to unlock growth for early-stage startup leaders by sharing the latest knowledge and advice for pre-seed, seed, and Series A stage entrepreneurs. We have dozens of free, short (5-15 minute) practical videos that dive into key concepts, mindset shifts, and tactical advice to help startup leaders grow and develop. Our speakers include the sharpest technical and business experts from the Ubiquity Extended Team and beyond. If you know individuals who would benefit from Ubiquity University, please pass this along.
Ubiquity Ventures — led by Sunil Nagaraj — is a seed-stage venture capital firm focused on startups solving real-world physical problems with "software beyond the screen", often using smart hardware or machine learning.
If your startup fits this description, fill out the 60-second Ubiquity pitch form and you’ll hear back shortly.