Navigating Product Development Challenges: Lessons from a Solo Founder's Journey

After momentum stalled in February, I took back the reins on product development. Over the weekend, I read through scientific studies and use cases for multiple ingredients to try and determine what we should consider using in the muffins. 

 

I also had an identity crisis and questioned the direction of the mini muffins. When you’re a solo founder, every decision is on you. If you don’t know the right answer, you have to go figure it out yourself. While I’ve hired a consultant and recipe developer, they provide suggestions, but I still have to make the call. It’s been increasingly difficult in these past few weeks as the required decisions are more technical in an area where I don’t have much experience. 

 

Then, I realized that I’ve been in this position before. 

 

At my day job, when we were still a small firm, we took on a big project. We wanted to develop a subscription-based platform.

 

There was one problem… no one on our team had any idea how to develop a software product. We were a professional services firm. 

 

Did we do it anyways? You bet. 

 

We found a team who could help us develop a minimum viable product while we provided the content and the framework for the platform. 

 

Towards the end of the product development process, I hit a low point.

 

I wasn’t confident that the product would turn out the way we had envisioned it. 

 

Then, we finally received the first version of the product. I will never forget clicking through the platform for the first time. 

 

It all came together and it was so cool! 

 

All the work we’d poured into this for months finally came to life. 

 

We built a usable tool for clients and our team. 

 

Now, I feel like I’m approaching that familiar low point. 

 

Things have gotten really hard.

 

What lies ahead is probably the toughest work yet. 

 

Because I’ve been lucky enough to have a similar past experience, albeit a totally different product and industry, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.