The Startup Perfection Curse

​"Gripped by a fear of failure we sometimes fail to start and that's a problem."
​

Just start your startup and don't over think it. This is why.

I've had the Anchor app on my iPhone for 6 months. Anchor is radio reinvented - an innovative podcast app which enables you to easily record anything and share it immediately. I made 30 attempts to record an Anchor intro and each time I was more dissatisfied than the last. Striving for perfection and never satisfied with the content and style of my recording - I only have myself to blame for not launching yet. I'm so self critical.

This self inflicted social pressure to present a perfect version of me combined with an irrational fear of failure can be crippling. Don't let the perfection curse get you. Word to Shia LaBeouf who implores us to 'just do it' - it doesn't need to be perfect and that's totally ok.

That's the beauty of startups. By nature, startups are a journey of discovery. An opportunity to identify a market gap and develop a viable solution. This means that during a process of truly understanding the opportunity, we fine-tune the answer. If we don't, we pivot. Chasing perfection is not the objective. After all, a startup is about exploration and like any journey there are highs and lows.

This is where we have a lot to learn. Startups and entrepreneurs in the US generally embrace failure as a learning. If anything, our American counterparts wear the learnings of a failed startup as a badge of honour. In Australia, it's a different story. Gripped by a fear of failure we sometimes fail to start and that's a problem.

How many ideas have you shared with friends who have quickly denounced them or deemed them as impossible to achieve?  How many times have you stumbled on a concept and never explored it because a cloud of negativity or fear of failure kicks in? How many times have you wanted to launch a startup but in the process of striving for perfect execution, you fail to start?

We've all done this. We've overwhelmed ourselves with the pressure of 'getting right'. We've freaked out because we're afraid to fail. The result? Our ideas fall by the wayside as unrealised potential and our 30,000 days fly by.

Don't let this be you and don't be cursed by a fear of failure or gripped by perfection paralysis. What matters most is authenticity. Just be you, be fair dinkum and give it a go. ​

We live in disruptive times in which we can do anything with the amazing tech that sits in the palm of our hands - so, what are we waiting for? Relinquish fears and preconceived notions of perfect execution and [thank you again Shia + Nike] 'just do it'.

As for Anchor, stay tuned, we're hitting the airwaves soon.