Mistakes or strokes of genius
Or how taking the wrong path can be the stepping stone that you need to succeed.
I recently became a father, and it's more awesome than i expected. Yes, you sleep less, and yes, you are tethered to a human being that intends to self-destruct every time you stop paying attention. But it is so worth it.
Also, it reminds me of the early days of a startup: you really don't know what you are doing, can't figure out if you're the right track, and the minute you figure something out, you start from scratch all over again.
Aaah, the thrill of the beginning. I still remember the plans perfectly laid out, the certainty about what the future would hold. And then everything would turn out to be completely different to what one had imagined.
If you started all over again, what would you do differently?
The eternal question. This is probably what i get asked the most. And it's interesting because, one the one hand, it was the succession of all the decisions that we made (good or bad) led us to where we are today. So, where they really mistakes?
It reminds me about that movie: the butterfly effect. If we had not wasted our time pursuing the wrong idea, would we have been at the right time and the right moment when it mattered later on?
Many of the underlying drivers of our success were out of our control. We just happened to be there at the right time and at the right place. Some of those:
Instagram was created after we started Olapic
Instagram had to copy the hashtag, the APIs, and had to be acquired by Facebook to reach relevancy amongst brands when it did.
But by the time brands started exploring who could help them leverage Instagram, we were one of the few companies with enough relevant experience to jump to the challenge. Why? because we had been doing similar things but for the wrong market (publishers and media companies).
Think about it. If we had gone for brands too early, no-one would have cared (we had to wait until instagram was something brands organically wanted). And if we had tested it, we would have failed! We would have then discarded the idea as stupid. In reality, it's really hard to know if a product fails because of the product or because of the market.
Had we not gone to publishers (who were struggling and were willing to try things -anything!-) as an interim step, we would have not been able to be there, when it really mattered that we were.
Mistakes can age into Most Valuable Decisions
After pondering for a while about this question, i've realized that i don't regret the mistakes we made. Most of them, served their purpose in our journey -and would gladly do them again if history would repeat itself. Similarly to local maxima, mistakes can -in the short term- be seen as mistakes. It is only with the advantage of looking back that mistakes may turn into wonderfully lucky turns, and some of the most value accruing decisions we've made. Just not the way we expected them to.
Wonderful accidents
Like fermentation, mistakes can look terrible at first. But over time deliver tasty wine, cheese and bread. Wonderful accidents that have required equal parts of experimentation, luck, time, and the bravery to taste the outcomes.
Chance favors only the prepared mind. - Louis Pasteur.
No wonder that Pasteur, scientific that discovered the principles of fermentation and vaccination, understood that success and luck, when combined with your openness to be there and give it try can lead to great outcomes.
Ah... the irony!
Often times, my cofounders and I laugh that we would have not invested in Olapic if we had been angel investors. Now that we are, we reject prospects on the basis of what products/markets/plans look at face value. Ignoring what metamorphosis the original concept may go through. Alas, how could you? there is no easy way of know what lies behind those closed doors.