Real Founder Lessons
The best startup advice from experienced founders...one real-world lesson at a time.
Focus on one key metric
(at minute 4:57)
Founder Lesson
This morning I was having coffee with a first-time founder discussing his new business idea. Like many (first time and experienced) founders, he spent most of the conversation discussing “at scale” issues. These are issues that become hurdles down the line (eg partnerships that drive new customer acquisition, legal issues, . . .
The pit of despair
(at minute 30:49)
Founder Lesson
The common belief is that you become a founder the day that you leave your day job to focus full-time on a new startup idea.
I’m beginning to believe that the path is more like this...
Step #1 You start off with a problem that you want to solve.
Step #2 You have a vision of what the future with . . .
Example of not having product-market fit
(at minute 6:20)
Founder Lesson
I’ve spent a decade of my life in the “local discovery” part of the startup universe. In 2009 I co-founded a company called Scoutmob, a very early entrant into the part of the local discovery space that Groupon kicked-off a year earlier. This was after working for two years on the same problem with a different startup . . .
Test investor reactions before running a full process
(at minute 33:33)
Founder Lesson
Once founders have a good handle on their startup, the topic of raising money is never too far behind. Because raising capital takes so much time & energy I’m always looking for lessons to help me think about this topic.
This podcast captured my attention because the founders detailed a step-by-step process . . .
Startups come from where people aren't paying attention
(at minute 44:19)
Founder Lesson
Over the past few weeks - for no particular reason - my mind has been focused on the topic of unique product visions. Partly fueled by some recent thinking about MailChimp and Snapchat, I find myself thinking about what it means to have a truly contrarian view of the world.
With all of these thoughts swirling . . .
Remain true to your product vision
(at minute 10:52)
Founder Lesson
It’s always great to see startups hit their stride. I’m fortunate to know the founders of MailChimp and I’ve enjoyed seeing their rapid rise over the past decade. Another company that seems to be experiencing a similar rise is Snapchat.
Two years ago I heard this podcast on Product Hunt Radio. The two founders . . .
Avoid distractions and focus only on what matters most
(at minute 2:27)
Founder Lesson
Everyone has that one initial failure that helps inform their future startup work. For some people it might have been something low-risk while they were in school. For me it was my first startup in San Francisco. For the the founder in this podcast, his first “bad” startup came out of a side project in 2006.
What . . .
