LinkedIn is ablaze with posts that tell you, “Never quit.” But the biggest mistake I have made as an entrepreneur is not quitting when I should have.
Let me share this story which started in 2012 when I quit my job and launched CourseBrew, my first startup. I built a learning platform, which had some truly novel ideas. But there was only one problem – I had zero customers. People didn’t care about the product features I thought would set the internet on fire.
So I had two options: quit and try another startup idea, or keep going.
The problem was that I had never, ever quit in my life. So how could I quit now?
My mother told me, “You have tried hard. And if it isn’t working, there is no shame in trying something else or even taking up a job.” But I didn’t listen to her.
Instead, I rationalized, telling myself, “This product is obviously great. All it needs is this ‘XYZ feature’, which is currently missing. Once I build that feature, it will fly off the shelf.”
So I added that new feature to the software, but still, no customers came!
Then I rationalized that the product needed ‘just one more feature.’ And this went on and on: from 3 months, it became 6 months, then 1 year, and finally 2 years. But even after adding lots of new features, the product was heading nowhere.
At that point, I had no idea what to do next. I was deeply ashamed but the more time I invested in the product, the harder it became for me to quit.
So now looking back, what should I have done?
– Rajan