You can't conquer the world all at once

Build your business step by step, even when the dream is big. In this video from 2010, I respond to messages from people who wanted to create the next big social network but hadn’t yet made the first part work.

Build your business step by step without giving up the dream

I have nothing against big ambitions. We need people who want to create something big. But an idea and a desire for millions of users aren’t the same as having a business.

It takes development, marketing, management and time, among other things. If you lack those skills, you need to find people who can help turn your thoughts into something concrete.

Make one corner of the market work

I used my understanding of Facebook’s early development as an illustration of starting with a smaller group and then expanding. It was an example in my argument, not a detailed history of the company.

My advice was to start in one corner: Get the concept working, learn from the people using it, and adjust it. Then you can try reaching the next group or the next area.

I mention local and larger geographical markets as a way of thinking in stages. Naturally, the order and timing will depend on the particular idea.

Show that the idea creates value

Once you’ve shown that someone gets value from the solution, you have something more concrete to build on than a plan to conquer the whole world.

Staff, division of work and financing can develop as the company grows. In the video, I’m very optimistic about finding capital at that point; it isn’t a promise of funding.

My point was to have the patience to work on the first step. Keep the big dream, but make the next task small enough to get started. Also read Iværksætter til jeg dør about my experiences of building companies from scratch.

Also read starting with a narrow niche.

The Facebook film got my inbox going

It’s been one of those Fridays when I’ve really tackled my inbox. I’ve advised around 50 entrepreneurs through MP3 messages and other means. I try to get through around 50 a week and, at this point, have helped more than 1,000 over the past couple of years. So I’m getting a bit of practice.

That doesn’t mean you should just send loads of stuff and expect a quick reply. I’m stretched pretty thin, so it may take a while.

Since the Facebook film came out, I’ve had a huge number of messages from people who’ve come up with a new Facebook that’s much better. One even wrote a letter with the name of the social network and the person hidden. But it mentioned 500 million users and the US, so it didn’t take long to work out what it was about.

A good idea doesn’t automatically bring 500 million users

There’s nothing wrong with big ambitions. It’s great to have them. But if you’re in a job with no entrepreneurial experience, can’t code and know nothing about marketing, coming up with an idea for a social network twice the size isn’t enough.

I joke that if Facebook had had two billion users, someone would probably think their network could become four times as big. I don’t want to mock the dream, but I do get a little tired when the plan mainly consists of the brilliant idea and all the users who are just supposed to turn up.

Then come the questions: How do you program it? Where do you find money? How do you market it? Building a large social network requires lots of different skills.

Who’s going to build and manage it all?

Let’s say the idea is better than Facebook. Fine, that part’s sorted. But if the plan is to conquer that market within the next year, as several people have actually imagined, I think we’re talking about an enormous task.

In the video, I mention perhaps 1,000 programmers, then say 500 to keep the number low. That’s my rough illustration of the scale, not a staffing plan. Those people need managing too. You need graphics, marketing and everything else. I’m talking about years of work.

I don’t want to take your dream away. There has to be a new Mark Zuckerberg. Your dream might also be a stud farm with 8,000 horses, and you might actually have it in ten years. But take the first step instead of the whole world at once.

Find people who can make your thoughts concrete

My advice after the film is to look at how I understand the early development. Zuckerberg could code. You don’t have to be able to do it yourself, but knowing something about what you’re doing isn’t a bad idea either.

I didn’t know everything from the start either, but I spent longer on some things than others would have. If you’re not going to train as a programmer yourself, you need to find someone who can help you move forward and make the ideas concrete.

In the video, I use the story of a small project where you could rate girls on campus to illustrate the beginning. Then I talk about getting more people involved, expanding to the next campus and the next, so the solution spread among American schools.

That’s my account and understanding of the story in 2010. What matters for my argument is that they started in a limited setting and expanded as they got things under control. I also mention the name Facebook and compare it to a school yearbook.

Five years is fast for a project like that

In my account, more people were gradually invited in. Servers could be bought, money could come in, and development could continue along the way. I describe it as taking several years and say five years is fast for a project of that size.

If, for some reason, you think you can do it all in one or two years, forget it. You need the patience to spend perhaps five to ten years working on the project, raising capital and improving it.

Start by becoming the best in a small area. Perhaps part of Bagsværd, then all of Bagsværd, then Gladsaxe. Get Zealand working, then Denmark, and later Scandinavia. In my example, we’re already several years in by that point.

Once you’ve got Scandinavia sorted, you can try Europe, and perhaps eventually the rest of the world. It’s a way of thinking in stages, not a fixed timetable for every company.

Get your concept to prove something

Whether it’s a social service or something completely different, start in one corner. Get it working. Adjust the concept and show that it actually works.

That’s what I mean by proof of concept: Something concrete showing that you create value and that both you and the idea have staying power.

In the video, I’m very optimistic and say it’s not hard to find money once you’ve got that in place. That’s my view from 2010, not a commitment from an investor. My point is that you have something much more concrete than an idea on paper.

The company and your work grow together

Along the way, you might hire employees, and the organisation grows with you. Then a new CEO can come in while you become visionary director, emperor, pope or whatever the hell you want to call yourself.

Someone handles the finances and helps hire and manage the right people while you develop the ideas and the vision. The different functions can fall into place as the needs arise.

That’s how things can grow, and perhaps they’ll go well. That’s how I believe you build big things: Keep the big ambition, but break the war down into small battles and win one of them first.

Original mention from 2010: And take a look at Amino Regnskab 🙂