Real Founder Lessons
The best startup advice from experienced founders...one real-world lesson at a time.
At the very beginning focus on a niche, passionate group of potential customers
(at minute 25:04)
Founder Lesson
Founders who focus on their own passion projects are often told that their ideas are too niche & small. While this is sometimes the case, it’s important to remember...
Lots more people are coming online and spending more money online, so all online markets are growing over time.
Many successful . . .
The only metric that really matters for an early startup
(at minute 7:05)
Founder Lesson
Momentum is oxygen for startups. This is something that I’ve experienced many times. Momentum can be anything that motivates you and your team. Getting selected for a big conference. Convincing a local angel to invest. Getting a good press story. All of these small victories keep the founders going and make the difficult . . .
Who are your real competitors?
(at minute 21:54)
Founder Lesson
Over the years I’ve struggled with how to think about competition. There are obvious competitors in your industry that you can find with a simple Google search, but I’ve found that the best founders think more deeply about this topic.
The best founders fixate on their primary customer value proposition and who else . . .
Financing strategy depends on the potential of the business
(at minute 5:39)
Common Founder Issue
I often hear founders discuss whether or not a certain business is “VC fundable” or “should we raise $250k or $1M?” What I’ve learned is that businesses and management teams are going to do what they do and financing strategy follows the operational results that happen as they execute their plans.
In other . . .
Most startup products are 10% better. 10x better is required to beat incumbents.
(at minute 16:33)
Common Founder Issue
Founders typically try to get as many users as possible as early as possible. What typically works better is for a startup to find 100 super fans initially because "it's a lot easier to take something that has a real depth of appeal - something that people really love - and grow that than it is to take . . .
