Last week I spoke at HybridConf in Berlin, a conference for creatives. My talk was titled ‘Idea To Launch In 11 Years’ and focused on my journey in insurance, culminating with the launch of With Jack.
I shared 3 reasons it took 11 years to launch With Jack.
Reason #1: I Cut Corners
The insurance industry can be hard to navigate if you enter into it from an unconventional background, which I did. Instead of putting in the time, work and expense to do things right, I cut corners and took the easiest option available to me.
I started as an affiliate for an insurance company. While this meant I could begin trading quickly, I didn’t have any control over the design, technology or the customer journey. Ultimately it wasn’t the right route for my vision for With Jack.
Reason #2: I Lacked Focus
As a creative, I often have a lot of ideas and interests. These used to pull me in all kinds of different directions.
I was working on a lot of side projects. Photography, podcasts, photo walks. It was fun, but it prevented me from giving insurance my full attention.
It’s no coincidence that since phasing out distractions, that was when I was able to make my vision for With Jack a reality.
Reason #3: The Final 20% Is The Hardest
It doesn’t matter what you’re working on, the final 20% is the biggest hurdle.
Seth Godin touches upon this in his book, The Dip. I recommend everybody read this.
The Dip is about that part where excitement fades and “…it gets harder and less fun, until it hits a low point”. At that point most people quit. The Dip, however, is when successful people don’t quit.
I decided to push through that final, gruelling 20%. I’m glad I did!
It’s been a while since I’ve done any public speaking, but Hybrid was the perfect conference to ease back into it.
I particularly loved this illustration Malwine did of my talk.
Next, I’ll be speaking at Meat Conf in Edinburgh.
