If you have a business plan, you have decreased your chances for success. In his research, Caspe has found that there is an inverse correlation between business plans and success. Companies that stick to their original business plan are less likely to be able to adapt to changing conditions. This, Caspe says, is a major reason why companies fail. 

 

Its not that hard to make a product, there’s a lot of good, smart people that will help you build a product… The hardest thing is sales. Selling efficiently, and understanding how to sell efficiently, it the most important thing you can do as a business, according to Caspe. The first step to this process is figuring out whether or not your audience will actually buy your product. Is it rational that youre going to invest your time and energy into a product that might not be sellable?… Go out and sell air, go out and see if you can gauge a customer into buying a product. Caspe mentioned services like Kickstarter as perfect method to test the waters of your market before taking the full dive. 

 

The next step is to engage customers. Its hard to go out and engage with customers, its hard. Caspe notes that creating this relationship with customers and allowing them to latch to you is significantly more important than the actual building your product. He continues to note that customers should be begging for more after youve finished telling them about your product. if your customer doesnt chase you, then youre screwed. Continue to build your customer relations and get your customers wanting more.

 

Businesses, like animals and plants, adapt to their environment…Then what happens is a meteor comes… the assets that you relied on become liabilities. In order to avoid this Cretaceous Period fate, Caspe offers a critical piece of advice: You need to find a partner that makes you a perfect company. Partnering up with other companies rather than creating rivals will drastically help you in the long run. Most large companies will not be build anymore. Keep this in mind as you grow and make moves to make a super team of companies.

 

you dont understand how much power you have, Caspe told the 2013 Finalists, but also warned them to not make the mistakes he warned against. Focus on sales and partnerships rather than product development and business plans. Be dynamic, not a dinosaur, and be a meteor to your market.