OnLadder’s Post

As Cameron has posted- we've made the decision to close OnLadder. It's taken me longer than I'd care to admit to get my thoughts together on this. It's a loss, not just for Cameron and I, but for everyone we've worked closely with, we hoped to help get "on the ladder", or who's had a real stake in helping us try to turn this dream into reality. It's also a step forward. I can't even come close to enumerating what I've learned. A few key lessons spring to mind: • You need to take risks to really innovate. Our product was against the grain of what was happening in the market. That made it difficult to find partners, but the partnerships we formed were iron-clad: they saw the value in what we were doing and were totally invested. • Sometimes, you have make a decision with what you've got. Ambiguity rules. You'll never have perfect information, and you'll always want more. The reality is, if you wait until you know, you'll never start: you've got to take on that risk. • Finally, and probably the most important: you need to talk to your customers. Early and often. Research is great, but if you really want to understand your customers, their perspectives, and what's driving them, you have to talk to them: face-to-face. Frankly, the same goes for key stakeholders. Startups are hard. Regardless of the space or focus, it's going to be hard. Most will fail. Above all, I'm glad we tried: it's been, without a doubt, the most gratifying and professionally enriching thing I've done. What's next? It's time to take what I've learned, and start working on something else. I'll be exploring open roles in product management and working on a few side projects in the interim. I'll even get to start cooking quite a bit now that I have the time! Finally, some thanks are in order: we couldn't have done this without Paul, Jackie, Richard, James, David, Paul, Mark, Khalid, Victoria and everyone else at the Imperial Enterprise Lab, along with dozens more. As for Cameron: It's been a good run, and I'm glad we got to work together on something so important. Your drive pushed us forward even in the bleakest conditions- I'm quite certain you'll make one hell of a difference in this space, where it's so desperately needed. Thanks again to everyone who's been a part of this journey!