Two Years of Innovation: 6 Key Lessons About Venture Building from Struck Studio (Part 2)

As we celebrate the two year anniversary of Struck Studio all week long, continue reading to learn three more important lessons our team has learned in venture studio building.

Lesson 4: There are No Silver Bullets in Product Development

The idea that a single solution or a miraculous product can instantly ensure success is a myth. In reality, the path to creating a product people love is paved with endless iteration and receptive user feedback.

The process is far from linear. It involves back-and-forth adjustments, tweaking features based on user experiences, and sometimes, even overhauling entire concepts. It's a process of continuous improvement, where each iteration brings us closer to a product that resonates with our ICP.

This approach has taught us the value of patience and persistence. Building a successful product is not about launching something perfect on the first try. It's about being open to feedback, willing to make changes, and understanding that each iteration is a step forward. Accepting the fact that the way a product looks today, might not be the way it looks tomorrow, allows innovation to flourish.  At Struck Studio, we've seen products evolve in ways we couldn't have imagined at the outset, all because we remained open to the process of continuous evolution and improvement based on real user needs and feedback. 

Lesson 5: Diversity in Ideation

At the beginning of launching a studio, everyone has their backlog of 50 company ideas they never pursued leading to exciting brainstorms and ideation sessions, but ideation quickly falls off a cliff once that list has been exhausted. To be successful as a studio, ideation has to be sustainable.  At Struck Studio, we've embraced a multifaceted approach to ideation, recognizing that great ideas can emerge from anywhere and anyone. Inviting our ecosystem into our process not only keeps things fresh, but adds significant diversity of thought that leads to the best ideas.  Example of some approaches we’ve used:

Internal Brainstorms: Our team is a melting pot of ideas. Regular brainstorming sessions are not just formalities; they are opportunities for our team to bring their interests, passions, and experiences to the table. We encourage every member, regardless of their role, to contribute. This internal ecosystem of ideas has led to some of our most successful outcomes - especially when they relate to real problems someone has experienced first hand.

Expert Collaboration: We don't confine our ideation within the four walls of our studio. Collaborating with external partners, industry experts, and even our user community has opened doors to unexpected and valuable insights. This outside-in approach keeps us aligned with real-world needs and trends, and also fast tracks us to a list of potential co-founders and advisors if the exploration results in a great idea.

Founder Exploration: We love working with founders who already have an idea in mind. Whether it’s a just sentence on the back of a napkin, or a concept inspired by user interviews, our flexible process allows them to bring ideas at any stage.  Idea stage founders that bring their passion and vision are infectious and often lead to breakthrough ideas when combined with our resources and expertise.

Lesson 6: “Productize” the Process

Our process is our product, and as a start-up ourselves (one that just so happens to build other start-ups), our product rapidly evolves and grows.  The key has been identifying what activities and decisions have led to our successes and building infrastructure that makes them repeatable.  One example of this is the way we vote concepts through stage gates. In our early days we found concepts were graduating through early stage gates on lukewarm consensus only to get killed later on when we could not find a compelling path. In comparison, the concepts that made it were ones with a true internal champion who had high conviction even amongst team members that disagreed. As a result, we implemented a graded voting system that better reflects individuals’ convictions, and by rule, concepts don’t graduate without a champion even if there is a positive consensus.

Conclusion

While there is always more to learn, we couldn’t be more excited by where we are in our journey. These past two years at Struck Studio have been filled with growth, and an unwavering commitment to a culture where ideas are nurtured, challenged, and transformed into reality.

This is just our first post, and we’re looking forward to sharing more about our approach. Our aim is not to explain the venture studio model, but instead spark a dialogue through real experiences we’ve had at Struck Studio, and share insights that could be the catalyst for your next big idea.

We welcome your questions, feedback, and stories. Your insights will enrich this conversation and help us all grow.  So, don't hesitate to reach out and share your thoughts with us.  If you’re interested in being a co-founder, let’s chat!

Struck Studio

Struck Studio was founded in 2022 and is independently funded by top venture firms from across the United States. They form the foundation of a venture network surrounding Struck Studio companies and entrepreneurs. The studio team partners with talented leaders who bring domain expertise and a point of view to the product to join them as potential co-founders. It is their ambition as a studio to 10x the value contributed by a typical individual co-founder.

Have an idea for a business that you’re interested in building with the Studio? We are always looking to bring great founders into our network and explore ideas together. DM us on LinkedIn to connect with our Struck Studio team!