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99% of all startups do not have to fail.
I've said it before... If you're anything like me you wake up with 10 new startup ideas every day.
The paralysis by analysis is real.
Rather than being the man with a billion dollars in ideas and none in his pocket, there is an approach that you can use to filter ideas faster than you can say 'NoCode MVP'.
"99% of startups will fail within the first 10 years."
Startup success is a numbers game. The more we build, the more unicorns will emerge. That's why VCs will be quick to tell you: "Just Build." From a macro perspective it works.
For the individual founder however, it does nothing to reduce risk. Don't get me wrong, entrepreneurship is risky either way, so don't become an entrepreneur if you're uncomfortable with uncertainty.
However, 99% of startups do not have to fail if we start applying some method to madness. Even if we can limit it to 98%, that's a 100% increase – if you follow.
The method I am speaking of, is of course: Validation. The structure? A funnel:
The 5 Levels of Validation can be seen as stages in a funnel.
Playing the numbers in your favor.
NoCode allows solo founders to build MVPs like we used to build splash pages. You no longer have to bet everything on one horse, and hope that it will reach the finish line.
Founders can now place multiple smaller bets. Reduce risk.
But: more outstanding bets, also means more metrics to track. Launching multiple ideas may have become easier – it has also become easier to lose track of them.
With multiple products pulling you in multiple directions, how do you determine which darlings to go all-in on, an which ones to kill?
Enter the Launch Funnel. The Launch Funnel is based on the 5 Levels of Validation, minus Fit for Scale. I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume you won't reach scale in your first 12 months as a founder.
I'm also assuming you already have a number of ideas you are excited about, but if you do not, you can add Zeitgeist Fit and Founder Fit to the five levels*.
*both warrant their own post, which I will write up in the future.
The idea behind the Launch Funnel is that: