Real Founder Lessons
The best startup advice from experienced founders...one real-world lesson at a time.
Do the simple thing first
(at minute 13:46)
Founder Lesson
Two years ago I was working with my co-founder to help renovate an old building in downtown Atlanta to become a startup hub. We didn't know anything about construction, so there were lots of lessons. Perhaps the biggest lesson was that construction is a process with lots of fits & starts. You decide one day to put a . . .
You aren't the exception
(at minute 19:31)
Founder Lesson
About a year ago I was talking with a founder going through Techstars and he told me something that really stuck with me...
"Our behavior towards our startup totally changed when it occurred to us that we are the rule...not the exception."
In other words, this delusional founder (he's . . .
Think differently about procrastination
(at minute 2:56)
Founder Lesson
Startups are creative exercises. This is true because the path to creating a tool/brand/mission to solve a problem isn't known. If it were known/correct/big, it would already exist.
If you've ever done much long-form writing, it's like that. The basics of your story are in your head (eg a new college . . .
Why founders don't heed good advice
(at minute 00:49)
Founder Lesson
I don't have all the answers. No one does.
Your best advisor doesn't have all the answers. The best VC on Sand Hill Road doesn't have all the answers. The best founder doesn't have all the answers. That's why startups are so tricky...every straight-forward problem has been solved. So what's . . .
Focus on the what not the how
(at minute 5:58)
Founder Lesson
If you spend any amount of time around startups, you won't hear many phrases more than "product-market fit." It's used so much for good reason...until some percent of your users love what you are doing, nothing else matters. Sidenote: the definition of "love" can be found here.
Whenever . . .
Savor the surprise
(at minute 31:15)
Founder Lesson
I'm working closely with two startups right now that are somewhere between launching an MVP product and getting their first few hundred customers. Both founders are trying to determine if they have product-market fit, but not quite enough customers have used the product. Over the next six months both will be able to do . . .
Startups are learning machines
(at minute 9:35)
Founder Lesson
Every founder has super powers and blind spots. The hope is that the results that come from the super powers far outweigh any problems that are caused by the blind spots. Once a company is growing you can hire to offset blind spots, but early on it's really about one side overwhelming the other for the founding team.
