The Daily Founder Adrian Zettl / AustrianStartups

Questions are the new answers!? Asking the right question at the right time to yourself, your team, the market, your AI…. is a key skill for founders. The entrepreneurial world is a whirlwind of decisions. From product development to team building, every step is crucial. But in the frenzy of "what to do," it's easy to forget the power of "what if.” The quality of your questions determines the quality of your solutions. A vague question like "How can we grow our user base?" might lead to generic marketing tactics. But a sharper question like "What specific user needs are we not meeting, and how can we address them?" opens doors to targeted innovation. So for today’s challenge, let’s cultivate our question-asking superpowers. • We want to challenge our Assumptions: to not accept the status quo and ask "why" behind every "how." • We want to Embrace Open Ended Questions: Instead of yes/no, ask questions that spark discussion and explore possibilities. • And we want to Get Specific to tailor our questions to the situation. We can't ask generic questions and expect specific answers. Pick a decision your facing today, pause and ask yourself: What questions can I ask that will truly illuminate the path forward?” The answer might just surprise you.Happy question quest on Day 041 of The Daily Founder. Have you joined the community group on austrianstartups.com yet?Let’s do this.

Do you like clarity? You dream up solutions, craft roadmaps, and chase that ever-elusive vision. But the reality of an entrepreneurial journey? It's a swirling fog of uncertainty. New markets emerge, pivots become necessary, and unforeseen challenges pop up left right and center. So, what's a control-craving founder to do? Embrace the ambiguity.And here's why: • Innovation thrives in the gray zone. Disruption rarely emerges from perfectly defined spaces. Ambiguity allows you to explore uncharted territories, test unconventional ideas, and stumble upon groundbreaking solutions. • Agility is your superpower. The ability to adapt quickly is a founder's secret weapon. When you embrace ambiguity, you become comfortable with course corrections, allowing you to seize fleeting opportunities and dodge unforeseen roadblocks. • Resilience is your armor. The startup journey is paved with setbacks. Learning to navigate ambiguity builds mental toughness, allowing you to bounce back from the inevitable bumps and bruises. Ok so, how do you transform ambiguity from an enemy into an ally? That’s our challenge for today. See which one of the following points resonate and where you apply one small step today: • Befriend the question mark. Instead of freaking out about unanswered questions, view them as springboards for exploration. Embrace research, gather data, and conduct experiments to illuminate the path forward. • Build a culture of "what if." Encourage your team to brainstorm alternative scenarios and contingency plans. This not only fosters creativity but also equips everyone to handle the unexpected. • Focus on agility, not rigidity. Ditch the overly-structured plans and embrace flexible frameworks. Prioritize clear goals over micromanaged processes, allowing you to adapt as you learn. • Celebrate calculated risks. Don't let the fear of the unknown paralyze you. Taking calculated risks in ambiguous situations can lead to exponential growth Remember, ambiguity isn't the enemy. It's the fertile ground where groundbreaking ideas take root and resilient founders flourish. So, take a deep breath, step into the fog, and embrace the beautiful mess that is your entrepreneurial journey. Thanks for tuning in, this is Day 40 of The Daily Founder. Find more good stuff in the community group on austrianstartups.com. Let’s do this.

As a founder, you're constantly pitching your vision. Whether it's to investors, potential customers, or even your own team, you need to be a master storyteller. But simply telling people how great your idea is won't be enough. You need to show them. Today, we’ll try to improve how you can better showcase what you got. Here are 4 ways I’ve encountered that do just that. Pick at least one today and try it out! 1: Paint a Picture with Data & Facts Instead of saying your product is "revolutionary," back it up with data. Showcase impressive user growth statistics, positive customer testimonials, or market research that highlights a clear gap your product fills. Let the data do the talking and paint a picture of the potential. 2: Demonstrations Over DescriptionsDon't just describe your product's features – demonstrate them! Have a working prototype and showcase its capabilities. If it's a software product, walk through a real-world use case. For a physical product, highlight its innovative design or functionality. A visual demonstration is far more impactful than a lengthy technical explanation. 3: Use Customer Stories to Show Impact Numbers are important, but stories resonate. Find early adopter customers who are excited about your product and let them share their experiences. These real-world examples showcase the positive impact your product is having and its potential to scale. 4.: Show Your Passion & ExpertiseBeyond the product itself, you, the founder, need to be captivating. Your passion for the problem you're solving and the deep understanding of your market should be evident. Demonstrate your expertise through your presentation style, responses to questions, and the overall confidence you exude. This is Day 039 of The Daily Founder. Join us in the community group on austrianstartups.com, like, comment subscribe. See you tomorrow. Let’s do this.

Looking to create a meaningful and lasting solution? Well, a solution starts with a problem. So before looking into solutions, you gotta identify and understand the problem. Today, we’re looking for pain points and let them be the driver for creativity and innovation. Identify a pain you face as a customer, user, community member, or any other role you might have. Answer these two questions: - Is it a big enough problem to justify big efforts to solve it? - Would you pay for a better solution and if so, how much? Both yes? You may be onto something. Try to truly understand where the problem or pain comes from and the impact it has. Then you’ll be set up to let your creativity run wild and start building a solution.A quick solution to a pain point I’m having would be for you to like, comment, subscribe and join the community group on austrianstartups.com. Let’s do this.

Do you trust your gut? I think in many situations it’s wise to trust your instincts. But on an entrepreneurial journey there are so many uncertainties that it’s also wise to recognize when to question your initial gut feeling and get some data to back it up. Don’t ignore a gut feeling, there’s probably something there to investigate, but don’t think it’s enough to take big decisions. 
So today’s challenge:Follow up your gut feeling about something that’s been on your mind with curiosity. Where does it come from? Why do you have it? Do others feel the same? Why? 
Enjoy investigating and understanding your gut feelings! Thanks for tuning in to Day 037 of The Daily Founder, please help us out to keep going with this by liking, commenting and joining the community group on austrianstartups.com.Let’s do this. 

Let’s build a prototype today! Why? Prototypes allow you to test if your ideas and assumptions are actually true. It saves you time and money to first build prototypes and test with them before building and designing your full product or service offer. Going on a prototyping journey gives you more confidence and actual data if it’s technically possible, if anybody would actually want it and how it should look like.
So let’s create one today.
I suggest to define 4 things for your prototype: First: The right question aka the hypothesis. Which assumption do want to test?
Secondly: Define the minimal feature set. What is the MINIMUM requirement, the cheapest and fastest way to get to an answer to your question?
Number 3: Design your experiment. Are you just testing if it can be done technically? Do you need two versions to show to people to see which one is better - an A/B test? Is it a questionnaire? Unleash your inner scientist and try to figure out which setup is best suited to give you the answers you need (not the answers you want!).
And for number 4: Define the success metric. How will you know whether your assumption is true or false? Define how you measure and at which number or result you’ll count it as confirmed or not.
Voila. This is it for Day 036 of The Daily Founder. Comment, like, subscribe and join the community group on austrianstartups.com Always be prototyping. Let’s do this.