My App Failed - My Brutal 6 Months Building a Startup

Summary

The video recounts the story of a tech startup's failure, led by the narrator as the lead software engineer. The startup's goal was to create a productivity app to help users manage multiple tabs on their computers. Despite initial positive feedback, the app failed due to being overly complicated and not solving a sufficiently painful problem. The narrator reflects on mistakes made, including underestimating development time and ignoring core user needs. He shares lessons learned, stressing the importance of simplicity, launching quickly, and focusing on problems you truly understand, before offering tips for future success in tech startups.

Takeaways

• 😀 Don't underestimate the complexity of building a product. It's easy to misjudge how long things will take.
• 😀 Feedback from friends or early users can be misleading. Be cautious of receiving overly positive feedback just because people want to be nice.
• 😀 Focus on solving a real, painful problem for people. If the problem isn't painful enough, users won’t adopt your solution.
• 😀 Keep the product simple. Don't overcomplicate it with too many features, especially in the early stages.
• 😀 Build a minimal viable product (MVP) quickly and test it with real users. See if people actually want what you're offering.
• 😀 If users aren't using your product consistently, it could indicate that it’s not valuable enough, even if the feedback is positive at first.
• 😀 Your first idea probably won't succeed, but each failure brings valuable insights that help you move toward success.
• 😀 Be mindful of focusing on building something where you have an 'unfair advantage'—leveraging your personal experience or expertise.
• 😀 Ship fast, test early, and pivot quickly when things don’t work out. The faster you iterate, the quicker you’ll find what works.
• 😀 Learn from failure. It’s not the end of the road but an opportunity to improve and approach the next attempt with a more informed mindset.

Q & A

What was the initial idea behind the tech startup?

The initial idea was to create a productivity app that would solve the problem of having too many open tabs and windows on a computer. The app aimed to automate organization by creating 'boxes' where everything related to a specific project would open together, while closing unnecessary things.

Why did the founder decide to join the startup despite his busy schedule?

The founder initially hesitated due to his YouTube business but later decided to join after finishing work on his course and finding extra time. This decision was made after his old high school friend presented the idea for the app.

What mistake did the team make when developing the app?

The main mistake was underestimating how long it would take to build the app. The team focused too much on making a technically complex product and did not build a simple, functional version quickly enough to test user demand.

How did the team's approach to feedback contribute to the failure of the app?

The team relied on overly positive feedback from friends and acquaintances, who were being kind and not necessarily providing honest, critical input. This led them to add unnecessary features to the app, making it overly complex and difficult for users to understand or use effectively.

What lesson can be learned from the team's over-complication of the app?

The lesson is that when building a product, it's crucial to focus on solving a core problem with the simplest solution. Adding too many features can overwhelm users, and it’s essential to prioritize simplicity over complexity.

What was the main issue with the problem the app was trying to solve?

The core issue was that the problem—having too many tabs open—wasn't painful enough for most users to seek out and learn a new tool to solve it. The problem wasn't urgent enough for users to adopt a new app or pay for a solution.

Why did the team ultimately abandon the app?

The team abandoned the app because, despite positive initial feedback, users stopped using it after a short time. Since no one was paying for the app, and it wasn't gaining enough traction, they realized it wasn't worth the continued effort.

What did the founder do after abandoning the startup?

After abandoning the startup, the founder shifted focus back to his YouTube business, which was already generating significant revenue. He decided to prioritize higher leverage activities that were more profitable and less risky.

What will the founder do differently in future startup attempts?

In future startups, the founder plans to focus on areas where he has an unfair advantage, like industries he has personal experience in. He also intends to build simpler products that can be launched quickly to test user demand early on, rather than investing months into complex development.

What advice does the founder give about choosing a business idea?

The founder advises picking a business idea in a niche where you have specialized knowledge or experience. This gives you an unfair advantage over others and increases the likelihood of success by solving a real problem that you personally understand.