There’s nothing better than the passion that drives startup products. The fizzing energy in a brand new team, that killer idea, everything to play for.

There’s nothing worse than running into the founder of a startup eighteen months down the line, barely recognising them because they look ten years older, and hearing how that innovative SaaS product failed for stupid, stupid reasons.

Seems like a million Medium articles have been written about how founders should bear primary responsibility for startup failures, but, to my mind, this finger-pointing conveniently masks the elephant(s) in the room…

Yes, I’m talking about those agencies and consultants who talk the talk of lean startup methodology and effective end-to-end product development, but prefer a quick fee to actually walking the walk.

Too many promising products succumb to ‘startup vampires’ 🧛‍

The unfortunate fact is that many digital product development agencies and consultants only care about their own bottom line. I call these types ‘startup vampires’ because they’ll bleed a project dry given half a chance.

Instead of championing your startup and doing the hard work to make sure the right product gets to the right market at the right time, they…

• Cut corners with conveyor belt, ‘one size fits all’ product development processes.
• Fix on an early prototype, then skip through validation in order to jump straight into expensive Beta builds.
• Advocate for needless product features, cluttering the UI and wrecking your credibility for the extra £££ on the invoice.
• Leave you dangling, without robust strategies for early startup traction, customer acquisition and retention… or even those make-or-break revenue streams.

As your product nears launch, instead of cranking up their efforts, your basic startup vampire has one foot out the door, already billing for time on another client’s project. They really don’t care if your startup sinks without trace. It’s get in, get out, get paid.

How to recognise a startup vampire before they get their teeth into your funding 🦇

So, how can you clock these dangerous entities before they wheedle their way onto your projects? Here are a few of the tells that we’ve noticed down the years…

• Proposals either read like they came from a “Startup Product Development for Dummies” template or the driest coding manual.
• Resource recommendations are both developer-heavy and suspiciously light on product design, UX/UI and content expertise.
• Lack of enthusiasm when discussing usability testing and, in the worst cases, treating usability testing like an option you can leave out “to save time and money”. (Spoiler: neither time nor money will be saved!)
• Solutions always seem to involve additional features and/or more developer time.
• Vague, kick-the-can-down-the-road answers to questions around product-market fit or any stage beyond delivery of Beta.

Why you need the right expertise on your startup product team

We know from experience how tempting it is to run with an early prototype, to feel the pressure from stakeholders waiting for that return on their investment. But sometimes the time isn’t right for that particular approach. The market isn’t ready for what you’re offering.

That’s when you need people on your team who know the importance of fast iteration and progressive validation. The value of short, sharp design sprints to address product issues cheaply and quickly. People who know that first-to-market isn’t important, that it’s first-to-market-fit that wins.

Guess who you don’t need? That’s right, you don’t need startup vampires telling you what they think you want to hear, feeding on your funding while bolting together an under-designed, over-developed, user-baffling Frankenstein’s monster of a product.

Talk to us about your startup and we’ll give you the full picture, not just the good bits

Intrface provides a truly end-to-end product development and consultancy service, supporting startup teams from the first day of ideation through to growth, maturity and beyond. We pride ourselves on openness, clarity of purpose and commitment to the success of your product.

Wherever you are in the startup lifecycle, we can help, so let’s talk! [email protected]