macrobug

“So, let me get this straight. You’re producing tools which may not be technically possible, trying to co-operate with a large company that could decide you are a competitor at any time, and trying to sell to a limited market who may not be interested in the tools in the first place?”

Err, yes.

That’s three big obstacles, any one of which could sink the whole idea. Actually, I believe that if the tools are possible, and co-operation with Symbian is possible, then the tools will be marketable. I may just be saying this as I have no experience of marketing, but either way, it’s the other two obstacles I’m most worried about. *

Firstly, by not being too dedicated to it. I’m going to be working part-time on my new company, for at least 3 months and hopefully longer. That will give me time to get a view on all three of the obstacles – I will have a go at producing a prototype, talk to customers, and see how easily I can co-operate with the big monster company.

This part-time decision seems to be controversial. Several people have said it will be impossible to get anywhere unless I focus on my plans 100%. They’re probably right, but it’s just too much risk right now to cut myself off from an income stream. There’s no way I’d have left my full-time job if I had to face that level of risk. However I do accept that one of these days I may have to go full-time… and that’s when the really hard decisions become necessary.

Secondly, by focussing on the obstacles. I’ll be working really hard to talk to Symbian and the customers, and face up to the technical risks. In particular I have to talk to the phone manufacturers before I make a major commitment – if they won’t buy, there’s no point in doing it.

Thirdly, by having back-up plans. The company could evolve into a more general Symbian tools consultancy company. Or I could give up after a while and do something else instead!

But what about risk in general?

I tend to think of myself as a fairly timid, risk-averse person. But, as someone pointed out, I tend to fall off my mountain bike and snowboard quite a lot (especially lately). I personally think this is incompetence rather than an appetite for risk. Certainly I find it much more acceptable to take known, simple risks (e.g. a 0.1% chance of breaking a bone) than the complicated risks involved in setting up a business. Oh well. It still seems like the right thing to do, to give it a try.

* = I wrote this post about a month ago. I am now suitably worried about the marketing side too.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 17th, 2006 at 7:17 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.