You’ve got your startup. It’s your baby. More directly, it is a part of you.
It is natural that you would want your startup to be perfect before it goes into the world.

I have been dealing with this for some time now. I still have plenty of explanations, and I think I am justified in holding off on jumping into the go live pool just yet. But really, I am afraid.

I think the whole thing about sunk cost–really any excuse that we are afraid of failing because we have invested so much time, money, effort, blood, sweat, tears, etc. into a thing– it is BS.

We’re scared because our project is a piece of ourselves. If it fails, who are we?

But your idea, your startup, your project is a part of you. It is a product of you.

Your startup is not you. And it won’t do any better from picking up your insecurities.

Get over this root feeling, and you will be able to do what you need to do with your company and your startup. You are still the person that can come up with more ideas. And your idea is unconnected to your ability to make more ideas. So stick with it until you shouldn’t.

People Will Give You Reasons

As if you didn’t have reasons to wait, delay, procrastinate and fret (see above). There are tons of other people with very good reasons to tell you to wait as well.

Traction – somewhere along the line someone is going to tell you that you need users before you can get funding. There are several examples of this not being necessary. If you are still looking for excuses–you’ll take this one.

Partnership, team, experience – it doesn’t matter who you have… someone is bound to ask if you have someone on your team that specializes in underwater basket weaving. You can save the basket weaving, contract it out, or barter for it if you need it. Handle this if it is an issue, but don’t take this as an excuse to wait.

There are more excuses. Handle them and move forward. Get to market. Don’t wait.

Put aside your worries. When the product is ready, it is ready.

This weekend I spent some time talking to friends about Fun Bucket. I am trying to reach out and learn more about what I can do to make it a great service for people to share their goals.

As I listened to and wrote down my friends’ feedback, I had to deal with something you’ll never be told you will encounter. I started stacking dollars in my head.

“I really want quick access to this. I think if I had an app that worked for it, I would be more likely to use it.” [Me: $10,000-20,000]

“I think I would be more likely to use this if my friends were on it as well.” [Me: $5-$8 per initial user for advertising]

I had to pay really close attention to this growing feeling that my user focus group was writing checks I couldn’t cash. The feedback is important, and a professional focus expert can follow the feedback and get down to the kernel of what the user really wants. You can’t do that if you know that more questions about the smartphone app are going to mean your mobile development budget will be shot to hell.

You are going to hit the point where you start to hear feedback, ideas, and excitement in an entirely new language–your money. When that happens, take a breath and actively ignore it. If you can’t ignore it, set up a new story. All the money you have and are spending right now isn’t for you. The money you are spending right now is for your customers. Later, maybe they’ll give you money because of all the nice things you are doing for them now.

Later.