In fact, the problems were so severe that late last year I had to put the company into voluntary liquidation. This was devastating but I remained convinced of the need for our product and managed to find new funding to get us moving again. I saved as much of the team as I could but there was a heavy toll on business relationships that included people I’ve worked with for years and consider personal friends. Besides which the vast majority of the almost $250,000 investment was gone. A lot of work had been done but in many cases it was the wrong work, and I honestly felt a very long way away from ever delivering a product to market.
This really taught me the importance of starting small. This approach lets you get something out faster, and crucially to get feedback from early adopters which will inform future development. Looking back, we spent far too long before realising we needed to alter our approach, which took its toll in terms of time and resources. I wonder if this was because running a service business we designed our projects based on clients briefs and their available budget. In a way we were both the client and contractor, and perhaps this is why it became difficult to keep our ideas grounded in what was realistically deliverable.
If you’re a web person, I’m sure you’ve heard the expression ‘F**k It, Ship It’ (thanks LifeHacker). We came to live by this, because inevitably when building up a big project, you can pick holes in it endlessly and fret over every aspect that doesn’t yet feel quite right. You worry what might happen in this scenario, or in that event, and actually you end up procrastinating. It’s important to remember that done is better than perfect, and that getting into the habit of shipping regularly is vital to maintain your momentum.