An earlyvangelist is a portmanteau neologism, short for “early evangelist,” meaning an early adopter of a product or service. They are a special breed of customers willing to take a risk on your startup’s product or service, because they can afford it and because they believe in its potential to solve a problem. is a term that has become more and more popular among the start-up community and was first used in a book written by Steve Blank called The Four Steps to the Epiphany.
In the early days of the startup phase, and as a real founder, you will undoubtedly be concerned about whether there is a strong market demand for your product. Therefore, one of the most effective ways to navigate this early stage problem, is to put your products in the hands of early adopters. They will first buy the vision and then the product, I mean, they need to fall in love with the idea of your product.
Earlyvangelists are important because they give startups the opportunity to get their first customer base. Also, with earlyvangelist young companies test their business hypothesis, its buying and selling processes, and its pricing structure.
Earlyvangelists can be identified by the following characteristics:
- They have a problem.
- They understand they have a problem.
- They are actively searching for a solution and has a timetable for finding it.
- The problem is painful enough that they have cobbled together an interim solution.
- They have, or can quickly acquire, dollars to purchase the product to solve their problem.
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