Real Founder Lessons
The best startup advice from experienced founders...one real-world lesson at a time.
Share your idea with lots of people
(at minute 15:43)
Founder Lesson
A few weeks ago a first-time founder emailed me to meet-up. One of my favorite things is meeting new founders, so I'm always excited to get emails like that. However my enthusiasm quickly declined when I read this at the end of his email...
"Please see the attached mutual NDA and let me know if you have . . .
Good ideas have to look terrible
(at minute 11:35)
Founder Lesson
Someone from a large company was asking me recently how I evaluated new startup ideas. They asked in a way that made me think of Shark Tank. I suspect that he expected me to say something like "I look for a strong technology patent" or "there has to be a big vision for a big market."
How I think . . .
Iterate your first product with a small group ideal users
(at minute 2:24)
Founder Lesson
What I like to believe about startups is that two passionate founders who love a problem have a unique insight in a space and work on that problem until something clicks.
But lately I’ve been thinking about an alternative path.
What if founders just try to solve a problem without a big mission from the . . .
Make customer value prop one simple thing
(at minute 22:51)
Founder Lesson
Over the past week I've had two meetings with founders where I gave the same advice...
You need to identify and pin point the one magical thing that your startup will do for consumers.
This is common advice given to founders, but why?
A few thoughts...
1) Doing one thing great is . . .
Every startup is a series of pivots
(at minute 0:33)
Founder Lesson
Last week I was having dinner with a founder who had a very good exit for his startup. Halfway through dinner he begins to reminisce about the journey. It is well-known that this startup had four distinct (large) pivots, but his narrative didn't describe it that way. Because he was the person on the front lines of this . . .
Focus your time on the right investors
(at minute 6:42)
Founder Lesson
I remember the first time that someone experienced told me some version of this advice...
"Don't waste your time with that investor...they don't invest in your type of startup."
"Don't waste your time with that investor...they aren't that active."
"Don't . . .
Everything you always wanted to know about validating B2C startups (but were afraid to ask)
(at minute 8:57)
Founder Lesson
Yesterday I was talking with a first-time founder about the process of validating her B2C startup idea. Before she even decided to pursue her idea she did a survey with a bunch of consumers asking basic questions about the space and their habits.
People responded as she expected, so she decided to go all-in.
. . .