I almost can’t believe I’m at my 25th post from this 30 days writing challenge on business. It seems like I just started yesterday. It’s been a very pleasant 30 days challenge so far, and since there are only 5 days left, I see no reason why it shouldn’t stay that way. Once again, if you’re reading this post for the first time, it would be better to start from the root post, where you have a list of all the posts in the challenge.
Speed Is Relative
The theory of relativity postulates many interesting things, but the core of it is that everything is relative. If you’re riding a train and you look at a car that rides along the train, your speed, relative to that car, will be zero. It doesn’t only feel like you’re stationary, compared with the car you really are. Relative to that car, you’re not actually moving.
What’s the link between Einstein’s theory of relativity and your business, you asked? Well, the speed of your business is not set in stone. It’s not like there’s a page in a manual that holds the immutable secrets about how fast you should push forward. It’s all relative to the size of the ecosystem. And, mind you, the ecosystem is moving at an increasing pace.
If 10 years ago spending one year to build a prototype was considered more than acceptable, now you need to come up not with a prototype, but with an MVP, in less than 3 months, if you’re serious about your game. And it’s an MVP, a Minimum Viable Product, something that has been bought with real money and used, not some prototype tested in a secluded space.
Like it or not, the world is moving faster and faster. And if you want to be relevant, you have to keep the pace. No matter how brilliant your idea, no matter how beautiful the execution, if your product doesn’t keep up with the market - and the market is literally changing day by day - you won’t be there for long.
Uber versus Facebook
I don’t think there’s a better example than this chart below:
image source: Business Insider
This picture clearly shows how fast the world is trending ahead. 10 years ago, Facebook, now one of the top 5 companies in the world, was worth less than the spoiled kid of today’s economy (both being evaluated at the same age).
And please be aware that not only the valuation in relative terms has changed dramatically, but also the business model. Uber is the largest individual transportation company in the world that doesn’t own any cars. How mind blowing is that?
In less than 7 years from starting (it was founded in March 2009, according to Wikipedia ), Uber got from zero to more than 50 billions valuation (some place it even in the 60 billion valuation).
I know it’s hard to become the next Uber (in the startup world, the “Uber for - insert niche here - “ type of pitches are common jokes, already). But that’s not important. What is important, though, is the trend, the information about to how fast the world is moving.
Steemit Is Slow
I couldn’t finish this article without poking a little bit at Steemit. I’m here for about one month and, after more than 30 articles, a few dozens of hours in the chat rooms and constant involvement in one curation project, I think I have a much clearer idea than in the first days. And the conclusion is that Steemit, as a platform, is the only functional cryptocurrency ecosystem in the world. We have something working, like really working. It’s more than an MVP. It’s a thing that attracted, at some point of its existence, more than 300 millions in market cap.
That’s huge.
But the current state of Steemit, with a market cap smaller than 30 millions, just 4 months after the peak, shows how critical speed is. All that money ran away, in just 4 short months.
Why?
In my humble opinion, Steemit was slower than it should have been. That start was a huge opportunity, one that has been lost, in my opinion. Even now, Steemit is slower in development, is slower in communication, is slower in branding. It’s like people in charge are still living in a world which ended 4 months ago and still think the amount of money they received back then will keep pouring in.
Alas, this is not gonna happen. That peak will be hard to replicate. I tend to believe now that a slower growth may be a bit more manageable for the team, but not because intrinsically, growing slower is better, but because the team seems to lack the ability to move fast. And that may be a real danger for Steemit. If it’s cooking, it’s cooking, folks, just go ahead an work full time, skip sleep but keep growing. Keep riding the wave, don’t stop. Be consistent, but be faster. Way faster than today.
The bottom line of this - very short - article is that if you think your business is moving fast, you’re actually slow.
If you want to make an impact, you have to be super-fast.
This post is part of a 30 days challenge on business, you can find the entire list of articles here.
I'm a serial entrepreneur, blogger and ultrarunner. You can find me mainly on my blog at Dragos Roua where I write about productivity, business, relationships and running. Here on Steemit you may stay updated by following me @dragosroua.
