Solving a future problem

One of the most enjoyable periods of my professional career was the time I worked for a start-up called Xtempus. It was early 2000 and we were building mobile applications. Keep in mind that the most popular phone at the time was the text only Nokia 3310. Smartphones with colour touch screens and apps were several years away. 

However, we could see the future, and it was incredibly exciting. Imagine being able to receive emails on your phone, shop as if you were on a desktop, get directions or even work out the train timetable. All the things that we take for granted today, were just ideas in 2000. The challenge, we were way ahead of the curve, and it took years for the technology to catch up with us. 

So what do you do if you find yourself in the same situation? 

If you believe this to be the case, then be prepared for the long haul. This is commonly known as ‘bleeding edge’. It may not be the actual origin of the name, but I like to think this term comes from bleeding money into a project – as in you are going to have to throw a lot of it into this project, with no sign of return for a long time. Expect it to take 5-7 years. 

Jeff Bezos is the master of this. He will have a 5-to-7-year vision for a product and he will build towards it, no matter what the detractors say. “At Amazon, we like things to work in five to seven years. We’re willing to plant seeds, let them grow and we’re very stubborn. We say we’re stubborn on vision and flexible on details.”  

Evidence has shown that it often worked for Amazon, but you do need big pockets. 

P.S. The founder of Xtempus were some of the brightest people I have worked with. Not only were they ahead of the curve with their ideas, but also in how they ran a business. For example, they introduce us to Extreme Programming in 2000, a year before the Agile Manifesto was even created.