There are many times I heard the advice that you, who are new in the startup career, should think big.
And I agree, it is important and maybe it’s what defines a successful startup success. To make real changes in the world. Many people compare thinking big with make lots of money but it’s not the same thing. Regardless, you have to dare to take a risk to win, that’s one thing that’s for sure.
As an entrepreneur, I believe it is crucial to think both big and small.
Thinking big will give you an understanding of how to change the world. Thinking big gives you your mission which drives you through the roller coaster ride you are taken through as a startup. Thinking big ensures that you tackle a big market. The big vision is essentially what your startup can look like when it hits traction and scales out.
However, there is a problem with thinking big. You start a startup with nothing. No users, no code, zero traction and zero scale. Nothing. Changing the world is not made overnight. You have to start in small steps.
This is where it becomes important to think small.
You must take your big picture and break it into smaller parts, to that first step. The first step will be your entrance to your big vision, the big picture.
It is best if you can do this entrance within a small and limited amount of time, that it requires relatively few resources and solves a problem that the market has right now. A so-called minimum viable product (MVP).
Big or small, is that the question?
Amazon seems to have started big from the start, Jeff Bezos (CEO and founder) probably knew where he was going and began with a online bookstore. While Mark Zuckerberg seems to have gone small first. Mark built something small for his university that gained traction. First, somewhat later, he developed the great vision and mapped out the steps for accomplishing it.
It seems like you could go either way, but I think you must be able to think both big and small.
In which order do you start, small first or big first?
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