How to get the right kind of people to join your company?

It is becoming increasingly difficult to grab attention of potential investors, customers, and employees. The reason for this is quite simple; there is just too much noise in the technical world.

It is the “wild west” out there. All the companies and startups are trying to grab their share of attention. The outcome is that, mostly people shut everyone out. A big company can bypass this by blasting out advertisements. But for a startup this means big problems. Startups have to connect with their audiences so that they care what they have to say.

There is no way around it.

One of the best ways of establishing a connection with your audience is to tell them the why behind your company. What are your values?  What is your vision for the world? Why you do what you do?

By letting the world know the why behind your work, you will be able to attract the right kind of people. These people will resonate with you because they might have a similar vision for the world or thing the problem you are solving is actually a genuine one. Our motivation to do anything is to large extent dependent on why that thing is being done.

Take this for example, you had to work for one day for a company. (Usually you have to work for more than one day). Will you work for a company that made hamburgers? Or will you work for a company that fed the hunger of the world? Most people will go for the second option.

Your employees, users and investors need to understand three things about your business.

• Why do you do it?
• How do you do it?
• What do you do?

Start with why

People who believe in both you and your product’s vision will always take that
extra step in helping you. They will treat your problems as their own problems. It is not just your marketing strategies that need to reflect your vision but your product also has to do the talking. People should be able to feel that yes, this is a product that has been made by someone who really cares about the problem he is tackling.
A minimum viable product will help you to gather the research you need to develop your product further. But these days your product cannot be viable if it does not provide a good user experience. People have become used to a minimum threshold of usability.

So instead of creating a minimum viable product try to focus on creating a minimum lovable product.

Chocolate candy lessons

I was in discussion about how to create great products with one of my mentors Sameer Guglani. The discussion was on similar lines, create something that reflects your vision and something you love.

Then, he showed me the cover of this chocolate.

Another great example

Actionable tips