Real Founder Lessons
The best startup advice from experienced founders...one real-world lesson at a time.
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 . . .
Startups are all about testing assumptions quickly
(at minute 4:18)
Founder Lesson
Recently I was meeting with a first-time founder who has been working on his bootstrapped startup for two years. When I asked about his progress, he said that the first version of their app was just released into the app store.
Without going into specifics, this founding team - like most founding teams - has a very . . .
Don’t underestimate distribution
(at minute 26:01)
Founder Lesson
I’ve often said that my startup playbook is a simple, two-step process...
Step #1 - Build a 10x better product.
Step #2 - Layer on a strong brand.
The reason that I believe in this simple formula is that the dynamics that effect startup success have changed drastically over just the past few . . .
Passion, Persistency & Purpose
(three lessons in one podcast)
Founder Lesson
Every so often I run across a startup podcast that has a bunch of lessons in it, so it’s difficult to choose just one. That happened with this podcast. Every few minutes I was taking down a new lesson, so I figured the best thing to do was to mention them all.
In this podcast, the co-founder of ModCloth made three . . .
My 50th blog post
Founder Lesson
Last summer I decided that I would try my hand at blogging. A few things had come together in my startup journey, so with this first post I was in business.
Almost a year (and a few hundred readers) later and I’m still really enjoying it. Each writing session allows me to organize my thoughts about an important . . .
Just put up a landing page and get some press
(at minute 14:23)
Founder Lesson
I was recently talking with an ex-NFL player about his new startup. His startup helps amateur athletes measure their performance and compare with others. He gave me the full pitch and then said, “a big advantage I have (as the founder) is that I’ve been to the ‘promised land,’ so it gives me some credibility.” Of course he . . .
