One exercise we find very useful for entrepreneurs is to have them tell their startup origin story.
The best origin stories explain why you started your business.
- What led you to solve this particular problem for a specific type of customer?
- What led you to focus on this particular problem with the solution for the customer that you’re aiming at?
- When did you take an interest in solving the particular problem?
- As you worked in this area, what have you learned?
Developing and telling your story allows you to summarize what you have learned and your near-term plans so that you can get feedback. Below are some good questions you can ask after you share your origin story to start a conversation and get feedback:
- Have you experienced this?
- What is your theory here?
- What is your model of what’s going on?
- Why isn’t this working?
- Why do you believe you are experiencing this problem?
- What solution are you looking for?
- What is the nature of the constraints on that solution?
- If we can help you solve this, what are some key things we need to take care not to break in the process?
- What would make it more acceptable or less acceptable or unacceptable?
Telling others your origin story, writing it down, and refining it are part of a longer journey of getting your business out of your head and getting it articulated. You can then use it to build a team and to find prospects who may become customers.
Share your startup origin story
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Related Blog Posts
- Mark Tweddle Asks, “What’s Your Story?” at Lean Culture
- Founder Story: Edith Harbaugh of LaunchDarkly
- Kent Beck and Don Reinertsen on Value of Storytelling
- Founder Story: Steve DiBartolomeo of Artwork Conversion Software
- So…What’s Your Story?
- Be Careful How You Tell Yourself “The Story So Far”
- The Best Feedback From Your Early Customers Is a Story