In the giant gap between survival: Rookie entrepreneurial group bitterness bitter spicy

Editor's note: This article from ILIKELABSS co-founder ☠ hard Ball ☠ contributed, and you share some of their team experience of the story, hoping to give some help to the same small team, but also hope that through this way, to know some new friends, give them some advice and help, micro-letter hardball. I'll tell you 2 stories. At the end of 2011, several of our friends who love the internet have formed an interest group called Ilikelabs, we are not industry stars, nor technology Daniel, we are a bunch of enthusiasts. We didn't have any business plans at the time, we liked it all, we liked the mobile design, and we liked to play with all kinds of cool products on our phones. At that time, we were all in the company, we spent the night, the weekend café and any available debris time, made a fashion shopping App called Ilike, on the iphone and ipad, especially the ipad version, and today, Basic All Shopping Guide products are reference to our product logic and design. It took us nearly 6 months to do this because of my spare time (now it looks more like a weight loss plan than a business plan haha). Like all developers, we also experienced the application of Apple Developer account, waiting for foreigners to call, anxious to pray Apple audit, etc. Similarly, after the official release, we are also very excited about the future full of vision. I remember at that time, my favorite thing to do is to rob a friend's mobile phone, whether there is no Wifi, to his installation ilike ... And, seeing people with their cell phones and saying, hey, this is what we do, make some comments, introduce to your friends ... "however, the actual situation is ilike download is very general, although we often ranked in the commodity Guide classification Top5, user feedback is also good, but ilike The profitability is not enough for us to go to the coffee shop to drink cola money. We were a little confused at the time ... To put it simply, I've been through so many nights, but I don't get the rewards ... Do not make money does not matter, can have more users, we can be very Happy (laugh low Poor), but in fact, the user is not too much, there is no income. We are aware that we need a market operator to join the Ilikelabs. But the problem is, it costs money to do the market, but we have everything, we just don't have it. To this day, we still do not have a good market partner, because I found that people who do the market, compared to products to do technology, more realistic, more value the results. Relatively speaking, do products and do technology, more persistent and process. Luckily, Ilikelabs is not dissolved because of the dismal project, we are still discussing various possibilities, fiddling with all kinds of fresh things, we do not give up, maybe we can together, by this is theObsession, or the insensitivity to vested interests, and the love of technology ... OK, the first story is this, the story is called "experiment". Product experiment failed, but for the Ilikelabs team, the experiment is very successful, we still appreciate each other rely on each other, like brothers to take care of each other, this may be our current biggest harvest: A core team can host failure. In this stage, our little summary: 1. Serious cleanliness, too pursuit of perfection. Avoid too idealistic, do not for their own neat and late release products, fast release is the right path; 2. Do not pick up the atmosphere, do not understand national conditions. Our benchmark is Fancy, when I first saw this site, I really fell in love with it, and Ilike recommended in the quality of goods and higher, and online shopping in China, far from this grade; 3. Don't start a part-time job, be sure to be full-time. Part-time work is not reliable (we are very exotic, can insist on making products), I know a lot of small team, very good project, product to do half, the group dispersed ... In fact, to do one thing wholeheartedly, the probability of success is higher, because the most expensive is not rent, but youth, the sooner the project is carried out, is vital. And more important is the mentality, in the absence of an escape, it is easier to make a pragmatic choice; 4. Paranoid thought the product is good, everything is good ... In fact, the operation and the market is sometimes more important, the Internet on two things, bring users, retain users, indispensable; 5. We only did one thing right: everyone got together and started doing things. In fact, as long as people, others are secondary, the internet has never been said in the media that the overnight fame, success only belong to those who can pat dust after the fall, adjust the pace, continue to move forward team. Let's start with the second story ... After that, we work together in a café every week, a chance to help a Taobao shop to do micro-letter public accounts of the simple development, we think this thing is very interesting, and the shopkeeper seems to need us such people, micro-shop "became our second small project." And we also from amateurs into professional players, together a little money set up a company, our company called Me Love Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. ", the Trade and Industry Bureau people think we this name is very funny, we also like this company name son. In this everyone up 4 words company name can be the same age, we incredibly leackage up a 2-word son of the names, haha ... Maybe it's all a lucky start? Back to business, the micro-shop this product and ilike is not the same, ilike is 2C products, this is 2B products, our users are Taobao shopkeepers, and we use consumer products to burnish the requirements of enterprise-class products, because we realize that Taobao shopkeepers are in fact the technical small white, We have to try to be simple, another design, development, Debug process begins ~So excited ~ can say, the micro-shop on the line, the rapid development soon, we are overwhelmed ... User response is very positive and positive, every day we all become customer service, to the user to answer questions, to provide all the help, for this we also made a special trip to Hangzhou, to and Taobao open platform contact ... Everything is in good development ... And in our not how to promote to become Taobao service platform micro-letter class Top1, and start the real planning business model, as well as to negotiate financing, Taobao gave me a call, said to the next shelf all the application of micro-letter, the reason is unsafe ... Isn't it safe to jump back to Taobao? It seems that Taobao itself is not very safe ... I remember hanging up the phone, I stood in a daze for nearly 1 minutes, the brain inside a blank, instinctively to imagine all possible tragedies. That afternoon, Taobao service market all the micro-letter application disappeared, and we are the same small partners are stunned, Taobao and micro-letter war, we became cannon fodder ... This is the second story, almost called "destruction", or more funny called "cannon fodder" ... But finally, the story name is called "Knock down the south wall" ... To be honest, we were almost finished, but after 3 days of painful struggles and discussions, we decided to go ahead and do better. In fact, user value and demand did not change because of the hegemony of Taobao. Or in other words, these QQ group comfort our Taobao shopkeeper, is that we really adhere to the reason, not for anything else, for this friendship, we have to do it. This stage, do a lot of things, feeling also more points, share to everyone: 1. First of all, the open platform is just a name, do not take seriously, you can use, but can not rely on, Xiemoshalv really is not a story, to this day, I will still worry, micro-letter will also do us one day; 2. The survival of the first development, this is the truth of the same, do not count the money in others pocket, calculate their own pocket. To be a company and to make a product, this is completely different from two things, you have to think about cost and income every day, at least have a meal, otherwise the family can not support you, no family support, a lot of things actually more difficult; 3. Don't trust the signals the investors give you, the signals are their scene, my way is to finish the project, Direct question: Vote? What do you think is wrong with our project? And then go back to the first question? Again, even if he didn't vote, you get some feedback, at least you know what the capitalists think of you. I hear it's more direct than ours, take out an agreement, sign it? This is a much easier way to get the facts to the surface; 4. The crisis is two words, danger and opportunity coexist, just like now, other small partners give up, the market can give Taobao shopkeeper to provide micro-credit public account service is rare, but may be an opportunity; 5. People hate the management of God horse, but a moderate management is necessary. You know, the world.The strongest executive force is the army, which, they say, will oppress innovation. But the truth is that innovation is not just brainstorming, it's about making it work, which requires strong executive management to support it; 6. And the book said the care process, do not care about the result "different, entrepreneurial must care about the result, because this is the company's only responsibility, make money, we can good, do not make money company is bullying, sounds tacky, but this is the team's most responsible for a thinking mode;" 7. As a leader, be sure to ask everyone in the team. Today he may dislike you, but in the future he will thank you, strict out outstanding, this is the ancient adage. And if every day everyone is very Happy, but the whole work result is not good, and you are not very strict to ask, muddle along, finally may be boiled frog of warm water, everybody is finished together. OK, our two little stories are finished, hope to be helpful to everyone, but also hope that all the small team with the dream of all the smooth, and hope that we continue to crawl forward, have the opportunity to provide you with the 3rd, 4th, 5th story ...