The Field of Dreams Theory of internet startups is extrapolated directly form the film of similar name. Basically the in the movie states the if you build it they will come. However, one thing we learned from the DotBomb era of internet statrups is that nothing could be further from the truth. This is a lesson that has been learned and revisited many times since that implosion.
If you do not build what people actually want they will not come…
Most recently this phenomenon was experienced by the startup ToVieFor (see what’s related for more info). The basic rule of business is to solve a need so that you can make money to continue solving customer issues. The problem that many startups face is that they have a new cool idea but have not really done the necessary research to determine if the idea actually solves a need. All too often they do not and as a result fail.
The essence of the Field of Dreams Theory is that if you build it they will not come unless you tap into the wants and needs of the client. This is basic business boiled down into an internet byte sized nugget. It is very rare for someone to build something without anticipating the need for that product. Look at every business with a successful product and you will see that the product fills some sort of need. It is likely that the leadership of that business anticipated that need or at the very least seized it when it appeared and built upon it.
The Field of Dreams Theory states: that if you build it they will not come unless you tap into the wants and needs of the client.
Twitter is an example of a product that was built before the need was apparent. In fact most of the social media based solutions we take for granted every day were all cart before the horse type of enterprises. At this point we have become dependent upon the virtual social interaction that services like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn provide.
Everyone is trying to build the next big social media home run but unfortunately it just doesn’t work that way. The current late day new comer isn’t even new but Google has recently opened up their new plus social media platform in an attempt to displace Facebook from it’s social media thrown. The failure here is that they have not really built anything new it’s analogous to the long slow death of MySpace.
MySpace as we all remember or should anyway was plagued with numerous add-ons that cluttered the flow of information and diluted the value of the platform. Along came Facebook which was invitation only and open to college students long before it opened to mom and dad. The initial influx was similar to what i have experienced on g+. Everyone exclaimed how simple and clean the interface was how uncluttered by annoying profile tweaks and games that slowed performance. It should sound familiar.
So some people are flocking to g+ but honestly not in droves because Google has not solved a need well other than their want to finally be in the social media game. Ultimately where does this leave us? Well before you decide to quit your day job to join some new startup you have to ask yourself this important question:
Will this new idea break through the Field of Dreams Theory?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mikel King has been a leader in the Information Technology Services field for over 20 years. He is currently the CEO of Olivent Technologies, a professional creative services partnership in NY. Additionally he is currently serving as the Secretary of the BSD Certification group as well as a Senior Editor for the BSD News Network and JAFDIP.
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