Responding to a question about the number of times he had failed in his attempt to invent the light bulb, Thomas Edison made a statement to the effect that he had never failed — he had merely discovered many ways not to make a light bulb. He viewed every attempt as a valuable learning experience. Although this is a commendable philosophy, when software entrepreneurs fail, the failures can be very costly. Therefore, it might be helpful for you to review the most common traps into which others have fallen.
Lack of Market Research: Overwhelmingly, the most common reason for failure was a lack of adequate market research. A great software idea can meet with commercial failure if there is no market for the product. Perhaps the software was designed for a specific industry or occupation that was too narrow a niche to provide enough sales to justify the development costs, or perhaps there were too many well-established competitors with superior products.
Developing the Wrong Product: Although it is always a bonus to develop a product for which you have enthusiasm, your main goal should be to provide a product about which many other people will be enthusiastic. The software might be the perfect solution to an issue you have, but others might not be experiencing the same issues – meaning that they have no need for your software. Similarly, an extremely expensive software geared to startups with a sole proprietor might have few sales, while a product with a similar concept that could be sold at a more reasonable price might have been successful.
Lack of Marketing: To create a demand for any product, you must make sure that your market is aware of its existence. One mistake that software entrepreneurs frequently make is to fail to budget funds for marketing or spending the time to self-market. Press releases and social-media sites can help you get the word out for free, but you will probably need to commit some funds for paid advertising as well.
Developing Based on Personal Skills: Development needs to be based on what will deliver the best results. Often, software entrepreneurs try to force a match between what they know best, such as a specific language, and the functionality of the product. If you do not have the skills needed to produce the best software, consider entering into a partnership with someone possessing those skills, or outsourcing the development.
PhaseAlpha is a professional software-development company with experienced team members possessing a wide range of skills. If you would like to discuss your idea, feel free to contact us atinfo@phasealpha.com or (913) 648-9200.