Have you ever got an idea that you KNEW was a winner, only to waste a ton of time trying to make it work?
Well…
You're not alone.
Even the most successful companies have the occasional "swing and a miss".
Like Apple:
Back in 1980, they'd had a big win with their Apple II computer. So naturally they got to work on the next generation Apple III.
Only this time they decided to shake up the development process.
Rather than assign it to Steve Wozniak — who'd designed all their previous models — they put an entire team of engineers on the project.
It took two full years to get the Apple III to market (instead of the projected 10 months). The only thing was, the machine had some pretty big flaws.
The chassis was made of aluminum. It had no fan. And it would overheat all the time.
On top of that, it would also occasionally crash when you clicked "Save."
Apple started selling the Apple III models with jaw-dropping price tags: from $4,340 to $7,800.
In today's money, that's somewhere between $13,689.86 and $24,603.89. (To put that in perspective, a brand-new 2020 Subaru Forester costs $24,495 today.)
It was crazy expensive. But the team was convinced they could find a way to make it work.
Despite their best efforts, there was a laundry list of problems with the machine. After launching, it turned out to be a massive flop. They wasted a ton of money on the project.
More importantly, they waste a ton of TIME.
Time they could never get back.
Why am I telling you all this?
And what does any of this have to do with YOU and your company?
Here's the lesson in all this:
If something feels like a good idea, it's always smart to back up your hunches with data.
Apple isn't the only company who's been guilty of this. In the 1950s, Ford spent over TWO BILLION dollars (in today's money) developing their Edsel model only to find out that…
No one wanted it!
If you're a founder, an operator, or a rising star in your company... can you really afford to chase a bad idea?
Wouldn't you sleep a lot better at night knowing where your industry is headed? Where public sentiment is headed? Which directions markets are moving and how they're evolving?
Why not just ride the wave of where popular markets are already heading?
The good news is, my team and I have already done ALL of the hard work for you.
Our premium newsletter and private community (Trends) is where you go to find out what's coming next in the world of business.
If you're interested in growing your company, Trends will accelerate your progress and give you the insight, data, and connections you need to make it happen.
Best of all?
Trends isn't based on best guesses, desires, or opinions.
It's based on real data. So you can potentially avoid catastrophes like the Apple III.
Click here to learn more about Trends ($1).
-Sam
Founder & CEO of The Hustle & Trends
P.S. Did you know Ben Franklin had a colonial version of a startup incubator? I'll share the crazy (and true) story with you in a couple of days.
Stay tuned... |
