Most founders launch for all the right reasons.

They experience a problem firsthand, build something to solve that problem, and iron out the kinks until it works.

With any luck, they score a few early wins, and they start to feel the wind in their sails. In my experience, however, that sense of momentum sometimes turns out to be a trap.

I call it the founder empathy trap.

You build for people you feel empathy for – people like you. And you make the unconscious assumption that’s exactly the massive market that will shoot you to the stars.

Having ‘solved’ the market problem, you fixate on tuning the product. Maybe you land a few early sales every time you tweak, reinforcing your idea that this is the path to growth.

But as Geoffrey Moore wrote in Crossing the Chasm, early adopters are not the market. They are willing to take a chance. Most people aren’t. They’re fickle and price sensitive. The minute someone adds a new tweak to their product, you fall out of favour.

The result? You start to push harder, but you are pushing into resistance. Worse yet, all this effort is being devoted to selling customers who won’t give you the growth you need.

Getting Out of The Trap

This is where I usually come in (I’m doing so with 2 clients right now). I work with founders who want to grow, but who have realized their product is not landing.

The solution? We take a step back. Not to slow down, but to refocus.

The Revenue Clarity Sprint

The process begins with what I call a Revenue Clarity Sprint.

We run structured interviews and dig into what’s on the market. More than anything, we’re looking for a sizeable gap between level of pain a potential customer is feeling, and how satisfied are they with they solution they’re currently using.

That gap is everything. If the pain is sharp and the satisfaction with the current solution is low, there may be an opening. But if they’re moderately happy with their current solution, good luck convincing them to switch.

The Sprint is designed to surface Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs) who are VERY unhappy with their current solution AND have the money / motivation to switch. Like any sprint, however, the goal is to bring clues to the surface. Solutions come next.

Testing Our Hypotheses

Once we have a few possible buyer profiles, we test them. A digital marketer delivers messages describing our solution to thousands of people who fall under different ICPs we’ve identified. We track which ones click, engage, or start conversations.

That tells us who’s really in pain and motivated to act, vs who’s just mildly unhappy.

Prototyping Solutions

When the signal is clear, we work with a prototype lab to develop the product and offer these people in pain really want. Pricing, packaging, delivery models, and product tweaks – nothing is off the table.

We’re looking for one thing: is this offer a clear jump up from the buyer’s current solution?

Moderate improvements rarely motivate action. I’ve learned it takes a lot of pain to overpower our natural apathy around switching.

Marketing

Finally, if the response is strong, we launch. A targeted campaign brings the refined offer to a larger segment. We continue to learn as we go.

This is not a magic formula. Sometimes we find that a founder was on the right track all along. Other times, the most valuable insight is where not to go.

But in both cases, we get the clarity needed to move forward with purpose.

If you are in the middle of a shift, or thinking about how to grow without wasting time and energy, this kind of discipline might be worth exploring. Always happy to help.