The Big Tech Announcement Not Enough People Are Talking About
Entrepreneur Office Hours - Issue #218
The big tech news of February focused on the release of Appleās new Vision Pro headset. Heck, it was such a big deal that I even posted an article (and a TikTok!) about it.
But there was some other really big tech news last week. In some ways, it might even be bigger than Appleās newest wallet gouger, but I havenāt noticed nearly as many people talking about it, so I figured Iād mention it.
According to reports, ESPN, Fox, and Warner Brothers are teaming up to launch a streaming sports app.
Finally!
To be clear, Iām hardly the biggest sports fan in the world. Iām as likely to bird watch as I am to watch the Super Bowl. But, but, butā¦ I appreciate the enormous value and reach of sports.
Simply put, the sports industry is absolutely massive. Combined, itās one of the biggest and most influential industries on the planet, which is part of why itās so shocking itās taken this long for there to be a major push for sports on streaming.
Sure, there are reasons sports werenāt on streaming. Those reasons strongly correlate with the desperate desires of cable companies to remain relevant in a world that increasingly didnāt want them. But weāve finally made it.
Just like I wrote in my article about the impact of Appleās Vision Pro extending well beyond the technology itself, Iām pretty sure the impact of the upcoming, TBD sports streaming app is going to extend well beyond the new streamer itself.
For starters, remember that sports have been in a steady decline because younger people werenāt watching as much of them. I have to assume a big reason for that was cord cutting. Now that cord cutting isnāt an issue, will the trend reverse?
Also, sports advertising has been the biggest advertising market on television for decades. What happens to all those ad dollars? And how does the lack of buyable eyeballs impact marketing strategies for some of the worldās most prominent brands?
Then thereās the question of what kinds of new sports opportunities a combined sports streamer might enable. For example, e-sports are almost certainly going to play a big part. Are we about to see e-sports finally take their place atop of the sports world pile?
Iāve got lots more questions. And the point is, you should too. Again, just like with the Vision Pro, when a major technology shift happens, itās our job as entrepreneurs is to A) recognize it; and B) immediately ask āwhat opportunities does this enable?ā
Did you do that when you heard the news about the upcoming sports streaming app? Just as importantly, if you didnāt, why not? And how can you train yourself to better recognize important entrepreneurial opportunities?
-Aaron
This weekās new articlesā¦
I Met Three Entrepreneurs in a Row Making the Same Foolish Mistake That Always Kills Young Startups
Most new startup ideas fail for the same reason, and it has nothing to do with the quality of the idea.
This One Strange Psychological Quirk Could Be the Key to Entrepreneurial Success
Overcoming the mental challenges of startups is often the hardest part of being an entrepreneur.
Office Hours Q&A
āāāāāāā
QUESTION:
Dear Aaron,
I would appreciate your sage advice on this. Iām in the early stages of a startup where my focus and resources are highly limited. With this in mind, what are the core areas I should concentrate on to lay a solid foundation for my business? How do I prioritize tasks in a way that maximizes my startup's chances for success without spreading myself too thin?
Looking forward to your insights!
Best,
Emanuel
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āEarlyā can mean different things to different people, so I want to be careful about the advice I give here.
If, by āearly,ā you mean youāve identified a startup idea that interests you and youāre considering whether or not to pursue it, then my advice is to focus as much as possible on validating the idea.
Is there a significant need for a solution to the problem youāre focused on? Can you access the people with that need? And so on.
In other words, make sure to spend the bulk of your time proving (to the best of your abilities) that the opportunity is worth pursuing. After all, itās better to spend a couple extra weeks/months doing market validation than a couple years building something nobody wanted.
If, by āearly,ā you mean youāve already validated the opportunity and have a product youāre ready to bring to market, then your focus should be almost entirely on customer acquisition.
Customer acquisition is the only thing that matters in the earliest stages of launching a startup. Yes, eventually youāll need to care about other things (like customer success, new features, hiring, fundraising, etc.), but all those things come after customer acquisition.
Simply put, your earliest goal should be to prove you can get customers because, without customers, you donāt have a business.
Got startup questions of your own?Ā Reply to this email with whatever you want to know, and Iāll do my best to answer!