Vivek Ramaswamy — a “startup” politician?
Opinion
I have followed Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign online for the last 3 months. I’m not American. As such, my following does not matter. I was however attracted by his impeccable credentials: 2x Ivy League (on merit), inventor, businessman, family man, 38 years old. I don’t recall anyone running for office, in any country I’m related to, who has/had a better profile. That got me interested. What kept me interested was his intelligence, eloquence, transparency and bold thinking.
Yesterday, post Iowa results, Vivek dropped out of the race. I don’t know where Iowa is on the map. I don’t understand the US political system.
As his campaign came to an end, I saw a great similarity with startups.
What follows is a brief, non-political, analysis, based on that analogy.
The perfect start
Vivek is perhaps the first startup politician we’ve seen. Actually, “non-politician” will be more precise because he is a non-politician who disrupted the political scene.
Just like a startup, Vivek began with a problem to solve — the socio-economic condition of America.
He followed up the problem diagnosis with a proposition that leveraged his capabilities — enter the Presidential Race, via the Republican Party.
Following that, we saw the equivalent of a product launch — a full-fledged political campaign.
Those who’ve read Richard Rumelt, will “see” a textbook strategy approach:
- A diagnosis that defines the challenge.
- A guiding policy for dealing with the challenge.
- Coherent actions to carry out the guiding policy.
Vivek literally came from nowhere, and ran a magnificent and exemplary campaign. He had more rallies than all competitors combined. He was also the only person who visited all 99 Iowa counties — twice!
Startups require an inordinate amount of effort to get off the ground.
Vivek showed that in abundance.
Startups also require sharp strategy.
Vivek’s strategy, as I perceive it, centred on:
- Grassroots connection with people
- Unprecedented transparency
- Clear points and actions (often listed)
- Self-funding (to not be encumbered by other vested interests)
Other strategies were also employed — of course. The above four however are apparent to the layman. It’s also easy to understand why they were chosen — because his competitors could not replicate them. Not even 1–2 of them, let alone all four!
Feasible Viable Desirable
In retrospect, we can describe Vivek’s launch as a MVP — minimal viable product. It had nearly all the essential features. The future of the campaign hinged on Iowa, the first challenge. Therefore, it was similar to an MVP.
Reading social media comments, Vivek’s campaign has been a success. The product was good and valuable. Unfortunately, it met the fate of most startups launching MVPs — the enterprise is either abandoned, or subsumed into something else. The latter has been the case here.
As a “product”, Vivek met the desirability criteria. He went from being an unknown to competing with seasoned politicians and winning 8% of the vote in Iowa, as well as gaining thousands of admirers elsewhere. The campaign was also feasible (obviously), as he managed to run it.
The problem was viability.
How long could the campaign go for? How long could he self-fund? How long could be overlap with the leading contender? How much more money does he commit after a 4th place showing in a state he covered twice? Was the “MVP” as viable as expected?
This is what happens to most startups.
The product, logic and strategy are often flawless. They also execute competently. The question mark is always — how long can they go?
Just like in a race, while a perfect start is essential, the most important thing is finishing the race, to the desired target.
While feasibility and desirability have their place, viability is, the most crucial attribute of a product.
The process of creating a product from scratch, or “0 to 1”, has become a familiar topic in product management. However, the subsequent journey from 1 to [wherever], involves a lot of uncertainty, and is arguably more difficult. It is also the part that is rarely discussed. Most stories focus on either the beginnings or the endings (in various ways) of startups.
Be it Vivek, or startups, one thing is clear. This (viability) is the space to watch out for. It will also be interesting to see what direction product and brand “Vivek” takes next. It will provide valuable lessons for those launching products, or indeed themselves in the future.
