10 Things to consider before deciding if an idea is worth pursuing

This year I have been executing at the intersection of no-code, product management and helping black founders get their first 10 customers. It’s forced me to think deeply about the challenges that are stopping people who look like me from solving problems that are important or that they are passionate about.

When I think about barriers to entry, a lot of people think that not being able to code or get Angel/VC funding is the blocker. But on the flip side, speak to any Angel/VC and all they talk about is traction (a leading indicator of revenue).

You’ll be forgiven for thinking it's about putting analytics in place and sending marketing campaigns, but during 2019 I spent a lot of time sharpening my frontend coding skills only to see my friend whip up a landing page in weeks and get paying customers in weeks — I knew that many people fall for the same trap.

1. Build something you want for yourself or someone you care about
2. Create a Lean Canvas so that you can be focussed on 1 plan and be objective enough time to switch tact one component at a time (Double down on what works and remove things that don’t work). TIP: Write down your objective upfront and review weekly. Reach out to people in the community to know what objectives you should have
3. Start selling value consistently
4. Write down who you think your Buyer Persona is. 2 sentences will do to start with
5. Listen to your buyers and use their language in your messaging
6. Become a trusted member of communities. FB Group, LinkedIn Group, Subreddits, Quora, Slack, Meetup. Understand, connect and add value. Create content for that community. Identify questions people commonly have, and put together a cheat sheet.
7. Reach out to influencers and community managers. Message me for a script
8. Create content to share with that community. Meaningfully understand the community. Connect with them. Create a cheat sheet for commonly asked questions. Identify ways to create content for the community
9. Don’t forget to pitch or do the shameless plug once in a while. Remember why you are there
10. Monitor social keywords for unhappy customers and observe and increase the quality of a marketing persona.

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Photo Credit: Martial Arts