There is a specific pathology in early-stage founders. They spend 3 weeks designing a business card. They obsess over the weight of the paper, the kerning of the font, and the shade of off-white. They do the same with their website logo. They call this “Branding.”
In reality, this is Productive Procrastination.
The Psychology of the Fake Work
Why do we do this? Because designing a card is safe. The card cannot say “No” to you. The logo cannot reject your pricing. Making a sales call is dangerous. The market can hurt your ego. So, we hide in the “Prep Work.” We tell ourselves we are “building the foundation,” but we are actually hiding from the market.
The “Minimum Viable Credibility”
The purpose of a business card (or website) is not to impress; it is to verify. It is a hygiene factor.
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Does it exist? Yes.
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Is it clean? Yes.
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Does it have your phone number? Yes. Done.
If you spend more than 15 minutes on it, you are stealing time from your product.
The Protocol: The $0 Rule
Until you have your first paying customer, you are not allowed to buy premium assets.
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No $500 logo.
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No embossed cards.
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No custom office furniture. Your business card is written on the back of a napkin until the revenue pays for the printing.
#DhandheKaFunda: If your offer is strong, you can sell it on a post-it note. If your offer is weak, gold leaf paper won’t save you.