Real Founder Lessons
The best startup advice from experienced founders...one real-world lesson at a time.
What's your earned secret?
(at minute 8:07)
Founder Lesson
Talk with a dozen successful founders and you'll hear a few very common themes of general startup advice...
Team. Nothing matters more than great people. The hugely successful Techstars accelerator values team so much that they say that the five things they care about (in order) are "team, team, team, . . .
Focus on problem being solved rather than technical difficulty of solution
(at minute 9:22)
Founder Lesson
A few years ago I had an epiphany moment about startups...the best founders are problem solvers. They see the world as infinitely malleable and proceed to think about ways to change it to add value. This might sound obvious, but when you compare "problem solving" to money, power or fame as primary career drivers, . . .
Creativity loves constraint
(at minute 19:11)
Founder Lesson
I don't know where I first heard this notion, but on a monthly basis I think about the counterintuitive concept that creativity loves constraint.
On a personal level I'm a moderate procrastinator for most things. Over the years I've found that forcing myself to get 50% of the work done in a tight . . .
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 . . .
