Real Founder Lessons
The best startup advice from experienced founders...one real-world lesson at a time.
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 . . .
Thank you David Cummings
Founder Lesson
On Saturday morning I was going through email and noticed the latest blog post from David Cummings...
Like many founders in Atlanta, I read almost every post from David. Besides finding personal nuggets that I've been able to use over the years, I've lost track of the number of founders who have . . .
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.
Startups are mashups
(at minute 0:59)
Founder Lesson
If you are a regular reader of my blog then you know that I frequently talk about “knowing your space (and adjacent spaces) cold,” so that you can increase your odds of finding a 10x better product. In other words, learn as much as you can from other efforts around the country. This is particularly important in towns (like . . .
The first question to ask when you are considering a startup
(at minute 51:04)
Founder Lesson
If you are a first-time founder considering launching a startup, here’s the first question that I’d recommend you ask yourself...
Do you really want to be a founder?
In this podcast a serial entrepreneur comments on what it truly means to be a founder.
Here are some of his points…
- . . .
Startups are always messy
(at minute 4:56)
Founder Lesson
I’ve wrestled with a topic behind the scenes in writing my blog over the past two years…should I speak about startups topics cleanly (but less exact) or be as exact as possible (and risk watering-down the message)?
In writing about startups it has struck me that most “educators” or "advisors" on topics . . .
