Senorics was founded in June 2017 as a spin-off of TU Dresden. What started with only a handful of employees, has grown into a company employing more than 40 people. Much has happened over the years, and we have faced many challenges and successes on our mission to give people a seventh sense.
In this article, we have gathered six lessons that we have learned over the past six years.
Lesson #1: Be prepared to tweak your products (time and again)
Do you like your product? Do you find it novel and think it will solve real-world problems? That’s a great start. However, the real question is: Do your customers like your product? Is it going to benefit them in some way?
Over the past six years we have optimized our products continuously to make sure that they cater to the needs of our customers. We did this because as everybody knows, listening to and implementing customer feedback is the ultimate trump card. After all, a product will only be successful if it meets customer requirements and makes their life and work easier and more convenient. This has taught us to be willing to adapt our products and see every adjustment as an opportunity to make them even better.
Lesson #2: Learn from your defeats and mistakes
Occasional defeats are part of every company’s journey. For Senorics, one of these defeats was the beer analyzer that was developed some years ago. The device turned out to be too complex and a product-market fit couldn’t be achieved with our technology at the time. This was a valuable lesson as it showed us the importance of being able to tell when an application has failed and when it is time to focus on another.
When it comes to addressing mistakes made in everyday working life, we maintain open and trusting communication. We have learned to see mistakes as something very human and we don’t blame each other when something goes wrong. Instead, we focus on how we can deal with it in the best possible way and what we can do as a team to prevent it from happening in the future.
Lesson #3: Scalability is important
There are several challenges when it comes to the scalability of hardware. Unlike software, hardware needs to be physically manufactured to be sold on the market. While we have now installed a production line that assists us in the first big scaling step, we have also learned that hardware startups need to be a little creative. While software companies can rely on ongoing profit from updates and subscriptions, hardware can generally only be sold once. This is why it is important to consider business models that allow for scalability, for example hardware rental services, and in Senorics’ case: Material Sensing as a Service.
Senorics' handheld device - The SenoCorder
Lesson #4: No two days are the same
Another thing that we have realized is that no two days are the same at a startup. This means it never gets boring, but it also means that people need to be willing to adjust their schedule and tasks according to current occurrences. This has taught us to stay agile and flexible and be prepared to tackle current issues as soon as they appear.
Lesson #5: A motivated team that communicates openly is key to success
We have also learned that having a great team leads to great results and that it is wise to choose new team members carefully. While professional skills are immensely important, interpersonal skills are too. So, when we are hiring a new employee, we pay close attention to their ability to communicate clearly and their preparedness to work in a team as well as self dependently.
Additionally, we have found that...
- An employee’s level of passion for the product and their willingness to contribute their ideas are crucial for a company’s success
- The experience that people bring into the company from similar technology fields is extremely valuable
- Combining motivation and fresh ideas with industry insights is an amplifier for successful outcomes within teams
Lesson #6: Giving up is not an option
The final and maybe most important lesson we have learned is that giving up is not an option. There have been many challenges in our path, but each of them has only motivated us to try harder and stay on track. We have learned that defeats don’t mean failure and that the next success is just around the corner.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers, investors, and partners for their support and commitment over the past six years. We wouldn’t be where we are today without you, and we are looking forward to what lies ahead.
Last year we celebrated our 5th anniversary with a big celebration and the release of the SenoCorder 2.0. Take a look at this blogpost for a throwback to last year's event.
