Have you heard of Airbnb before? Did you know that the founders, Brain and Joe, couldn't pay the credit card while they were running Airbnb after one and half years without any paid customers? Did you know that there is a giant social platform, MySpace which has over 100 millions users using it when Mark setted up Facebook in 2008, and it’s the time when smart phones are not yet popular around the world. How these two big techs for now turned the corner at the beginning of startup, what was the right thing they did behind the successful story.
This article I will lead you to dig the unprecedented method and underlying logic under the tech startup, and then provide you three necessary mindsets -
- Focus on the problem you want to solve instead of relying on others
- Shoot first, aim later
- Borrow idea boldly
After that, you have to build up the channel where your early user can share their feedback smoothly so that you can recognize the pain-point of the target customer and optimize the service step by step.
First of all, here is the self-evaluation checklist to recognize the accessibility of your idea to a startup in Chinese via link: 創業 自我評估表.xlsx
It can assist you in figuring out why to do, why you, why now, and so on the basic questions. Once you understand these things, you can get to know how to move forward to the next step. Otherwise, it’s hard to make a decision to invest more, afford more, pivot the direction, or adjust the product no matter what the situation you face. As you know, in the duration of running the business, there will be ten of hundreds unpredictable setbacks or issues come to you. Therefore, identifying who you are and setting the principle for yourself is the most important of all, and keep in mind that your company in the beginning is subject to your character. That's why almost all angel investors consent that they invest in the people, not the company.
Here are two methods to testify your entrepreneurship - Golden Triangle and Balance Three Characters. Let’s start from the three elements of Golden Triangle, passion, ability and market.
From the above image, we can tell that if you only have passion and ability, it’s just the hobby; if there are only passion and market in your mind, it’s just the fantasy; if you don’t have passion except of the others two, you just can run the small business which can afford your living expense. Hence, it’s necessary to get the unlimited passion, professional ability and accessible market so that you can scale your idea as well as possible.
Next, what are the three characteristics you have to balance? Actually, everyone has these three features whereas the ratio of them are different. However, once you get into the startup journey, you have to do deliberate practice for balance. That is, if you let nature make decisions, it will directly lead to the development of your business.
After completing your self-assessment, it’s crucial to establish a clear set of personal principles and behavioral guidelines. This step is especially important because, in the early stages of any venture, you’ll inevitably encounter unexpected challenges. If you haven’t taken the time to reflect on fundamental questions—like why you are doing this, what kind of person you want to become, and what values will guide your decisions. Otherwise, you may find yourself feeling constrained and unsure. You won’t know when to push forward boldly or when to cut your losses and pivot, which could ultimately lead to failure.
Once you’ve filled out your assessment form, adjusted your entrepreneurial mindset, and defined your decision-making principles, the next question is: What should your first step be?
At this point, there are a few key things to consider. You need to determine how to evaluate the outcomes of your first step—and every step that follows. Only when you understand how to measure your progress can you effectively plan your budget, set your stop-loss limits, and track how far you’ve come. Along the way, keep in mind these three essential startup concepts:
- Be Self-Reliant and Independent
Avoid relying too heavily on others or seeking unnecessary support. Doing so can waste valuable time and resources. When developing your product, adopt a subtractive mindset focused on solving a core problem. Limit your MVP (minimum viable product) to just one or two essential functions. Use the feedback from your initial release to refine and shape your business model.
- Aim Before You Shoot
Execution is far more important than having a great idea. What matters most isn’t how flashy or impressive your product is at launch, or how much money you pour into marketing. Instead, focus on whether your service truly meets a market need and addresses your target audience’s pain point. Once you’ve confirmed this, then circle back to assess your market position and determine which features or qualities you should enhance to differentiate your offering.
- Boldly Borrow Ideas
Here’s a telling statistic: Less than 10% of the internet services you use today—whether it’s social media, mapping tools, photo editors, games or apps—were the first of their kind. So stop pressuring yourself to be completely original. It’s unrealistic. Even if you come up with a unique concept, there’s a chance someone else already tried and failed—or that the idea exists in another form somewhere in the world. What matters is how well you execute and adapt, not how novel your idea is.
Once you’ve fully grasped these three foundational startup concepts, that’s when you’re truly ready to dive in and start building. To illustrate this, let me share a story I mentioned earlier.
The Airbnb Story: From Cereal Boxes to Silicon Valley
In the lead-up to the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky was watching news coverage of Obama supporters flooding the streets. They were waving flags, handing out homemade T-shirts, and wearing giant cut-outs of Obama’s face—radiating an almost fanatical energy. That’s when inspiration stuck: Why not sell something to this passionate crowd?
At the time, Brian and his co-founder Joe Gebbia were completely broke. They had gone a year and a half without income and couldn’t even afford their credit card bills due to the costs of running their website’s servers. So they came up with a wild idea: Obama O’s Cereal. They bought ordinary $4 cereal boxes, designed and printed custom Obama-themed packaging, and resold them for $40 each. That day, they sold over 500 boxes.
But the real surprise? One of the buyers was Paul Graham, a prominent angel investor in Silicon Valley. That quirky cereal box led to Airbnb’s first seed funding. With the newfound investment, they began improving their platform—starting by personally visiting each host and taking professional photos of their rental spaces. Yes, they went door to door, one host at a time. Only then did people begin to take Airbnb seriously and start booking rooms through their platform.
Facebook: The Power of Shared Platforms
Do you remember the days—probably during your elementary or middle school years—when everyone was obsessed with Facebook games like FarmVille and Tetris Battle? Whether in computer class or after school, students competed not only in CS (Counter-Strike) or Era of Empires, but also in these social games that required no downloads—perfect for sneaky matches during class.
Facebook noticed the growing popularity of these third-party games and made a bold move: they opened their platform to external developers. This gave indie developers and studios—especially those without funding—a playground to test their games and gain exposure.
The result? A win-win ecosystem. Developers got access to a huge audience, and Facebook became the dominant social platform worldwide. That is, until the rise of visually driven platforms like Instagram.
Local Success Stories: Pixnet and Bahamut
Closer to home, we’ve also seen successful platform transformations in companies like Pixnet (formerly Map Diary) and Bahamut. The common thread among these stories? They addressed real market needs.
However, here’s a truth that every entrepreneur must accept: at the beginning, you’ll feel ignored. That’s normal. The key is to establish solid communication channels from day one.
Before your product ever reaches customers, you must ensure the following are in place:
- A high-quality product
- A price point with market competitiveness
- Service that earns word-of-mouth recommendations
- Real-time, accessible channels for customer interaction
Only after these are set should you begin thinking about the next phase—and that starts with three crucial questions:
- How will you gather user feedback? Will you use questionnaires with prize draws, or conduct one-on-one online interviews?
- How will you filter valuable insights from that feedback?
- How will you design or improve your service based on those insights?
All of this leads to one key takeaway: Marketing should begin before your product launches. Your entire service experience should guide customers into understanding the core problem you’re solving—this not only builds trust, but also encourages them to share their experiences organically.
