{"id":10243,"date":"2014-12-03T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-12-03T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/creator\/?p=10243"},"modified":"2020-03-30T18:43:40","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T22:43:40","slug":"great-companies-lousy-timing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/great-companies-lousy-timing","title":{"rendered":"Great companies, lousy timing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In this new weekly column<\/a>, Marco Greenberg, a long-time PR and marketing jedi specializing in venture-backed start-ups, will share his experience of the most common mistakes young entrepreneurs make that keep them from getting the love\u2014and the buzz\u2014they so justly deserve.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 3: Because you have lousy timing<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That great American philosopher, Yogi Berra, had it just right when he said that you really didn\u2019t have to swing hard to hit a home run. \u201cIf you got the timing,\u201d he quipped, \u201cit\u2019ll go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was right about baseball, and even more so about business. Start a company, and it might seem that the clich\u00e9 was true and that timing wasn\u2019t everything but the only thing. So just when\u2019s the right time to launch that company, that new service, that promising product? I\u2019m not sure there\u2019s any one formula for doing the right thing, but I\u2019ve seen a couple for doing the wrong thing. Here, then, are some archetypes I’ve witnessed over the years that you want to avoid at all costs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The premie<\/b>: The rush to be first to market is understandable, especially if you\u2019ve got a technology you think is going to be game-changing. But if the product isn\u2019t ready, or the company isn\u2019t ripe yet, hurrying out the gate can be a mistake. A few years ago, for example, I represented a company backed by one of America\u2019s best-known investors. Their product was a very interesting application, which, when they engaged us, was about three-quarters of the way ready. We launched the company successfully by talking about the product\u2019s promise; then, however, some executives insisted that we load the app on an iPad and overnight it to a well-known reviewer. Against our better judgment, we did, and our worst fears were realized when, a few days later, the reviewer panned the product and the company was stopped in its tracks. Willie Nelson understood situations like these quite well: the early bird may catch the worm, he said, but it\u2019s often the second mouse that gets the cheese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The later alligator<\/b>: If being too early is bad, being too late is worse. And for too many entrepreneurs, analysis paralysis is a real condition. Show me just another bit of market research, says the Later Alligator, or wait for just one more round of product release, or watch our competitors make just one more move before we dip our toes in the water. When one of their kind asks me with trepidation when\u2019s the right time to launch, I take pleasure in sounding like Yoda: It\u2019s never the right time, I tell him or her, and yet it\u2019s always the right time. Just don\u2019t wait too long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Debbie deferential<\/b>: Their VC firm says X. Their PR firm says Y. Rather than make a decision, this start-up is happy to just listen and listen and listen. There\u2019s only one ending to this never-ending deference, and it ain\u2019t pretty: eventually, these guys get blindsided, which is what happens when you allow events to lead you rather than the other way around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crystal baller<\/b>: Do you believe in chance? This founder doesn\u2019t. Instead, he or she believes that if you only time the launch to coincide with the latest industry conference or the biggest trade show or the newest research report or the general news trend, you\u2019ll experience a perfect and smooth landing. It may be a good idea in theory, but in reality, sadly, there\u2019s clutter and noise and a thousand of one other factors that upset even the best-laid plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Evergreen<\/b>:  This founder is an organic type who is convinced that if he builds it right, his customers will come, and that the whole press thing is hype and won’t drive adoption anyway. As such, he or she even sees the term launch as pass\u00e9. I\u2019m inclined to like this type\u2014there\u2019s something refreshingly honest about anyone who just cares about getting the product right\u2014but let me tell you what happens. Eventually, some blogger is going to catch wind of Evergreen\u2019s venture and write about it. And that blogger would likely get it all wrong, because Evergreen isn\u2019t really talking to the press. And then when Evergreen wants to take control of his story, or improve his search results, or speak on his own terms, he or she discovers that it\u2019s too late and that no one cares anymore because the company is already old news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How, then, to avoid falling into these traps? It\u2019s tougher than you think, and I\u2019m not sure there\u2019s any one clear-cut answer. But begin by asking yourself the following: Have we aligned mission, core team and investors? Can we take it further and showcase users or customers who love what we do for them? Will we have everything together in time, from website and testimonials to good enough product design?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s tempting to just go ahead and say yes\u2014entrepreneurs, after all, are an optimistic bunch, and they usually giddily underestimate the amount of time required of their team. But as my wise friend, a high-profile venture capitalists, likes to say, if you\u2019ve at least asked yourself the above questions, you\u2019re probably more ready than not.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this new weekly column, Marco Greenberg, a long-time PR and marketing jedi specializing in venture-backed start-ups, will share his experience of the most common mistakes young entrepreneurs make that keep them from getting the love\u2014and the buzz\u2014they so justly deserve. Chapter 3: Because you have lousy timing That great American philosopher, Yogi Berra, had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1360,"featured_media":10291,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43902],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional-development"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGreat companies, lousy timing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In this new weekly \u2026\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/great-companies-lousy-timing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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