Mistakes, learning fast
Yesterday, I had the chance to meet with an advisor at the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute, and it was illuminating. What’s hilarious is that, as a cofounder of a SaaS startup, I religiously watch YC Startup School videos in my free time but still made the most common mistake in the book — not talking to users enough.
At ProperlyAI, our team has been building non-stop for our launch, yet somehow neglected the most crucial part: consistent user feedback to know whether we are providing real utility. Our goal from the start has been to help realtors manage their client relationships and improve their focus on leads. But along the way, our team lost sight of ensuring our features were aligned with real needs.
In our effort to match existing CRMs on the market, we ended up adding a few superficial features without first validating whether realtors even wanted them. It’s an easy trap to fall into when you're trying to compete, but now we're working to correct course. We’re actively talking to realtors to figure out whether these features actually matter to them. If they don’t, we’ll will scrap them and double down on our core offering. No more wasting time — just learning fast and adjusting.
Personally, I’ve learned that all the resources out there, like YC Startup School and advice from seasoned founders, sound great in theory. But you need to create a venture to fully understand their value. It’s not just about hearing the advice, but applying it and learning from your missteps. Fortunately, having advisors can help by pointing out where you could be making a mistake.
The beauty of being a startup is that you can experiment, pivot, and evolve in ways that larger companies can't. Flexibility is one of the biggest assets you have as an early-stage venture, and it’s a tool our team will be using more intentionally moving forward.
Stay tuned for my next post, where I’ll dive deeper into this idea. Thanks for reading!