Three Practical Reasons Why Your Business Needs A Big Picture

The concept of the "big picture" often attracts attention, yet it's true functional potency frequently lies concealed beneath its glamorous facade. If you search it on Google, you will find a variety of articles describing the benefits the company gets from developing this sort of vision in pretty vague terms: address everyday challenges, stay open-minded or more realistic, and adapt to changes easier. While all of this may be true, having the big picture has several much more practical benefits that shouldn’t be underestimated.

The practical importance of the big picture can be unveiled only when the comprehensive perspective is accurately defined. It's not solely about envisioning the future you aspire to achieve for your product; rather, it requires the creation of a meticulously crafted roadmap outlining the specific steps and strategies that will lead to that desired outcome.

The Deep Tech company I founded follows the biggest picture possible. Our goal is to develop a smart contact lens that will become a next-generation computing category, revolutionizing the whole concept of human – technology interaction. In only 16 months, we have gathered just under 40 scientists and engineers from the best universities and technology companies all over the world to our research and development team and are moving close to bringing the first prototype to life, which often takes other companies more than ten years.

In this article, I will share three practical reasons why having a clear strategic vision for the future, and how your product reshapes and defines it, is essential to run your business effectively.

Direct impact on company valuation

When it comes to attracting investments, the positioning of your business is not just an abstract beautiful story but a practical tool of high importance. Imagine there's this tech company that had developed an ultra-thin waveguide that has a whole range of promising properties clear to the expert community and their target audience. However, when their invention is evaluated by investors, the attention will be paid to:

• Value of the market of the waveguides
• The share of the market they will be able to take
• Number of units they will sell

So, it would be calculated that the company will capture a modest 3% percent of the market, sell a bunch of these waveguides, and their valuation lands at a neat sum, $X.

Now, let's pivot to a different scenario. Picture the same company that boldly declares, "We've developed a waveguide that then will be integrated into a cutting-edge smart contact lens, opening up a whole new realm of possibilities." Suddenly, the device has the potential to revolutionize how we perceive and interact with the world, and its value appears to be well beyond a tiny specific market, but rather can potentially create a whole new one.

The best example of the big picture at work is Apple. When they first introduced the iPod, they didn't merely sell a device, but introduced an ecosystem and a whole new way to consume music. Their device transcended mere music, ushering in a transformative shift in our perception and consumption of it. Investors and users didn't just see a device; they saw a movement, a shift in the way the world operated.

However, to create a grand vision that transcends the mundane, it’s not enough to vaguely describe the bright future you want for your product. Investors are looking for a company with a strategic direction and a clear and detailed roadmap, providing measurable to evaluate progress regularly. The big picture you’re drawing should show what you have already done, your aim, and what is your clear path to get there, proving each step to be achievable in a measurable time period.

For example, when I describe XPANCEO, I not only state how the smart lens is able to change the future but emphasize that we know how to develop it: we have a research and development team of almost 40 world-class scientists and engineers, a strong product expertise ,resulting in a very clear and specific roadmap, and plenty of executive will to bring it to life without being distracted by anything whatsoever. This kind of message resonates with people who want to see their contribution make a lasting impact on the market and society as a whole.

In this case, the valuation of the same company will be increased by several times compared to the situation when they just developed a new technology without providing a clear picture of why it deserves attention. See Tesla as a reference: its’ market valuation went from $1.8B in 2012 to $1000B in 2021.

Key to attracting exceptional talent

The recruitment of top-tier professionals is hardly achieved through endeavors of banality. At some point of professional development, money and material perks work may only serve as an additional motivation but can’t distinguish the offer from dozens of others the best candidates get. But the opportunity to play a role in building something that will transform the future can.

When your company has a global goal and the resources to suggest to the finest minds, you can refrain from mere discourse revolving around the salary and working hours. Instead, you should build a narrative, one that unveils your inception and articulates your aspirations. When hunting a candidate, describe your vision of the future and explain the role they can play in reaching the goal. And this can even make your offer more desirable for a person than running their own business.

Moreover, it’s vital to determine the motivation of the individual and explain how your global perspective can help them get it met. Being an integral part of a collective that develops something extraordinary bears a distinction of honor. However, it is the role of the founder of such a project to offer what an individual seeks. These motivations span an array from financial aspirations to the allure of recognition, from the desire to contribute to a transformative narrative to the prospect of collaborating alongside intellectual luminaries, and even from being able to spend more time with one’s family. Even if their goal is the latter one, the company that sets high goals will be the best fit for them because their impact on the team would mean much more than their lack of desire to come into the office.

As a result, you will gather a team of professionals committed to unwavering integrity. And later, you will not only achieve the results you’re striving for but also may find yourself thinking of opening a side project with your CPO just because it’s something they are a fan of, which is where I find myself now.

Commitment for a long-term development

The virtue of pursuing a substantial goal lies in the reduced tendency for individuals to leave their endeavors prematurely. In a project that proves its’ magnitude, the abandonment of objectives becomes a rarity, even in the face of adversity. I personally know people who continued to work in a failing startup just because they firmly believed in the project. Even though his story is far from being an inspiration, it illustrates how powerful of a motivation the big picture can be.

I recall a situation where a group of research colleagues, including a friend of mine, set out to launch a startup and develop a particular component. However, they decided to put this idea on hold because they felt it wasn't globally impactful enough to satisfy their scientific curiosity. As a result, they shifted their focus to other research areas, diverting their attention from this project, even though similar technology was enough to revolutionize several industries, they didn’t even consider.

I have noticed a direct correlation: the more accomplished a scientist or an engineer, the grander and more enduring their ambitious undertakings tend to become. This phenomenon arises because they aspire to create something transformative for the world and recognize that achieving this necessitates time and dedicated effort. Thomas Edison serves as an illustrative example; his relentless pursuit of a functioning light bulb was characterized by numerous attempts before success finally graced his endeavors.

This dedication becomes particularly pronounced within the realm of R&D team. But other employees also want their deed to matter in the long run, even though their inspiration may be a bit different. For me as the founder, the motivation revolves around constructing an expansive and accomplished company possessing a truly innovative product able to transform the future. For Valentyn, it's the prospect of translating scientific explorations into tangible products. Others aspire to craft outstanding research papers or etch their names into the annals of history through participating from the very beginning in the product that will change the way people live.

In essence, it's the monumental nature of the undertaking that fosters commitment. When individuals invest a considerable amount of time, they develop a vested interest not just in the project's completion, but in the legacy, they are crafting. They yearn to carve their names onto the historical timeline, to etch their contributions into the narrative of human advancement.