Obvious Startup Advice

The CEO is Responsible for the First 30 Sales

Sales is the difference between running a company and having a hobby. So if you’re the founding CEO, or want to be a founding CEO, but you don’t want to make the first 30 sales, don’t be the fucking founding CEO. Full. Stop.

Unexpected & Inevitable

The investor hears it and at first they don’t believe you. “Nah,” they say, as they start to argue with you whether that’s the way the world really works. Then, after a beat or two, they go, “wait, you’re right.” And after another moment, they think “fuck, that’s the only way it can be.”

Simple Ain’t Easy

Think about the last time you tried to get into an exercise routine. Or consistently wake up earlier. Or quit smoking. None of those things are complicated, but all of them are hard to accomplish. We don’t fail at them because they’re complicated, we fail at them because we don’t prioritize them and think about them (let alone do them) on a daily basis.

The Tie Goes To The Runner

In startup land, we like to tell ourselves a bedtime story that it’s all a meritocracy and we’re strictly about finding the best people. Hacker News is filled with comments like “who cares what race or gender they are; just pick the best people.” If only it were that easy, my little brogrammer.

Understand Your Customers’ Business As Well As They Do

As CEOs and product owners, we are effectively outsourced team members, contract force accelerators. Yet more often than not, we act like clueless employees, sleepwalking through the day, hoping that our actions align with our employer’s goals or, at worst, praying we don’t fuck up enough to be noticed.

The Work Is The Dream

“Those times when you get up early and you work hard, those times when you stay up late and you work hard, those times when you don’t feel like working, you’re too tired, you don’t want to push yourself, but you do it anyway. That is actually the dream.” – Kobe Bryant

The 1-10-100 Process

Investors are looking for a solid framework of how your company will grow and succeed, and they want to understand all of the assumptions underpinning that framework. It’s called The 1-10-100 Process, and it meets all the same criteria as a five-year projection, without the arbitrary time variable.

The #1 Killer Of Startups Is Solving Problems That Aren’t Problems Yet

Why the hell would you worry about your site’s scalability if you don’t know how to effectively acquire customers? Your site falling over someday MIGHT kill your company (probably not). Never growing past eight customers WILL kill your company. Instead of using your beautiful brain and precious funding to solve theoretical scaling issues, perhaps you should go run some customer acquisition experiments. Build a fucking landing page. Buy some AdWords.

Do One Thing Well

December 2, 2020 Eric Marcoullier and Megan Hanson

The odds you can do even one thing well when starting a business are LOW. The odds you can simultaneously do multiple things well are VERY low. And, if you’re trying to derisk your business, that’s the first place you should start. Find your one good thing, and focus on it.

The CEO is Responsible for the First 30 Sales

November 18, 2020 Eric Marcoullier and Megan Hanson

Unexpected & Inevitable

November 11, 2020 Eric Marcoullier and Megan Hanson

User Stories Not Wireframes

November 4, 2020 Eric Marcoullier and Megan Hanson

Starting with wireframes is the equivalent of “Ready, Fire, Aim”. Even before you’ve spent the time to capture all of the user needs, you’re off to the races, drawing pretty pictures.

“That’s Interesting” is the Kiss of Death

October 28, 2020 Eric Marcoullier and Megan Hanson

“That’s interesting” does not in any way, shape or form mean the person is excited about your company or wants to buy your product. All it means is they don’t want to be a dick. “That’s interesting” is what people say when they’re trying to be polite.

Simple Ain’t Easy

October 21, 2020 Eric Marcoullier and Megan Hanson

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Obvious Startup Advice

The CEO is Responsible for the First 30 Sales

Unexpected & Inevitable

Simple Ain’t Easy

Beware Bullshit KPIs

The Tie Goes To The Runner

If You Want Money, Ask For Advice (If You Want Advice, Ask for Money)

Understand Your Customers’ Business As Well As They Do

CORONA: The Startup Guide To Surviving The Apocalypse

CORONA: Thriving In Times Of Great Change

The Work Is The Dream

The 1-10-100 Process

The #1 Killer Of Startups Is Solving Problems That Aren’t Problems Yet

Do One Thing Well

The CEO is Responsible for the First 30 Sales

Unexpected & Inevitable

User Stories Not Wireframes

“That’s Interesting” is the Kiss of Death

Simple Ain’t Easy