Retune: One Mea Culpa and Two Lessons (a Needed Update)

February 22nd, 2007

Remeber Retune?

It’s been a busy few months for the group - positive momentum, lessons learned, some iterations, a mea culpa, and … well, here’s an update on the early stages of a social enterprise.

A few months ago I used my contacts to get introduced to a few groups who are doing amazing things within the community. The passion and drive of the groups to create change is inspiring.

It was a rewarding string of meetings as I pitched Retune - every single pitch saw the value proposition resonate with the individuals. It was exciting that Retune was initially going to partner with, and support, such incredible groups.

Except I should have known better.

Starting a social enterprise is really no different from starting a business. And, just like you shouldn’t expect to land a ‘trophy’ customer as your first one in business, I shouldn’t have expected it for Retune.

In business, as the company transitions from a nascent idea to an early-stage business, a cardinal sin of startupology is to focus, initially, on major customers. It’s a waste of time and can negatively impact the start-up.

I knew this. And yet.

The problem was that the social organizations have such great potential and are doing such great things in the region that they are the equivalent of a major customer. They’re well funded. They’re well staffed. They’re well supported.

And I came to these groups offering a new and unique (read: foreign) service.

For free.

Again, I should have known better.

Price can ensure an appreciation of input. It can create a perception of high-value. At the very least price forces an acknowledgement of value.

With a price of free, a foreign service offering, and little credibility (we’re a start-up!) Retune had a difficult time getting the well funded and supported groups to acknowledge the value in the partnership.

Again, I should have known better.

I adhere to an iterative approach to business plan development and I’m taking the same approach with Retune. The past few months have been great for the organization - we’ve validated assumptions, learned some lessons, and now have a better understanding of what we need to focus on in the early stages. I’ll let you know about the new plan in the coming days.