Last week, we had our first official shoots for our family-storytelling startup, CaptureFully.
We had spent the past month conducting about 1001 tests at an Airbnb in Durham, NC—including what equipment to use, what settings were most effective and efficient, what naming conventions we should use, what workflows and processes to follow, what we needed in our early partners and contractors, if we could convince people to visit the website, if we could convince them to book, and of course the other 995 questions we needed to answer.
But for the past year before that, we had been working towards assembling a team, securing early investors, and fully developing the idea of how we were going to deliver a very specific product, typically reserved for service-based businesses, at scale.
One thing became extremely clear, extremely fast:
We were wrong.
Well, let me clarify. We were right about the impact we thought we could have on people and their families, but we were wrong about what they were most interested in. So, as any company at this delicate stage should do, we listened to our customers.
We made an early pivot, as well as an early partnership with senior facilities, that focused on the selling of our process—which was resonating with people deeply.
Four facilities quickly invited us to set up our pop-up studio in their buildings and help tell the life stories of the seniors who lived there.
We shot seven interviews in two days.
Here's what I've learned in our first week about personal life stories:
Our elders are often reluctant to talk about themselves, but once you can break that outer crust, their gooey centers contain all the good stuff—rich experiences, unique perspectives, life lessons, and tons of emotion.
EVERYONE has a powerful story to tell. Yes, even you.
And the power within your story lies in its ability to impact others—in most cases, your family and loved ones, as well as people who can relate to your story and/or learn from it.
If you are empathic and can make people comfortable enough, they'll tell you things they haven't even told their closest family members.
Life is challenging and it is beautiful. And learning about the lives of strangers is extremely powerful and extremely emotional.
Here's what I've learned in our first week about building a startup like this:
You cannot be rigid. You must listen, learn, iterate, and pivot frequently.
Internal "partners" or early adopters are PRICELESS. Leverage them as much as absolutely possible.
Test, test, test. And then after you've looked at your learnings, test again.
It's never too early to make marketing a priority.
CLARITY above all else. Where are you going? Why? How do you plan to get there? Why? What do you need to get there? Who do you need to help you? Who exactly is your customer? What makes them buy? When do they buy?
And if you don't have those answers, go back to #3.
This stage of a startup is chaos. But for someone like me, it's incredibly exciting and fulfilling in a way I didn't anticipate.
But I am working on a business that is making a real, heart-driven impact on people and I partnered with the best team I've ever been a part of.
And I suppose that's the most important lesson of all that I've learned.