BRAND COURAGE: Soar to market success

by Anne M. Berg

Two nearly full-grown eaglets, preparing to fledge from their enormous nest, tempt my attention daily. They live 75 feet up in the air in south central Minnesota. The captivating view is thanks to a solar powered camera with a live video stream going direct to the Internet. The camera features audio and pan-tilt-zoom functionality (when it’s working). Brought to us by Ron Schara Productions and Minnesota Bound.

Imagine. The moment of courage – after all the feeding and growing, flapping and branching – when that first young bald eagle takes flight and realizes how wide and wonderful the world really is. When she stands on the rim of the nest, pans the landscape, flaps her wings, trusts the air, and jumps.

That same leap of faith compels startups to enter the marketplace and trust that success is within reach. Yet the top reason startups fail is that there’s simply no demonstrated market need. Founders fail to “pan the landscape” and determine the relevance of their offering before taking flight.

Market differentiation is important; yet market relevance is imperative. However, the only thing more disappointing than failure is never starting in the first place. You can only soar if you leap. That’s when you truly learn.

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare,
it is because we do not dare that things are difficult.”
— Seneca —

Success requires deep wonderment, determined will, and inexorable work. It requires paying attention and taking risk. Most essentially, it requires a nearly ineffable sense of belief – an encouraging voice that whispers: “Believe that you can. Believe anything is possible.”