Obvious Startup Advice

Start With “A”

The more you’re talking about or thinking about doing something, the less you’re actually doing anything. Sure, there’s a time and a place for thinking and talking, but at the end of the day, the only way to get work done is by doing.

50% Doesn’t Matter

At the end of the day, if you don’t own the preferred shares in your startup, you don’t have ultimate control of a company. You do still have plenty of say — you are the founding CEO after all — but even if you’re careful about how much equity you sell, you quickly answer to someone else when it comes to selling, raising more capital and taking on debt.

No Manager Ever Wished They Waited Longer to Fire Someone

The first step is to take a look at your corporate values, and determine if the employee shares them. This assumes of course, that you have corporate values. And honor them. Companies have values in order to give employees a north star when faced with complex decisions.

Anatomy of a Successful Pivot: Rebric

Chris now considers himself an expert in the world of online sports betting licenses, with no question he can’t answer (or quickly find the answer to). He’s realized that while he thought he knew his customers previous to this last pivot, he knew jack about his previous industries.

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 Loneliness of the Long-Distance Solo Founder

December 9, 2021 Eric Marcoullier

Founders often want to move fast too early, before they achieve problem/solution fit, then subsequently move too slowly after they’ve validated product/market fit. This all boils down to confidence — overconfidence early and under-confidence later.

Is Your Pivot Based on Data?

November 16, 2021 Eric Marcoullier and Megan Hanson

It’s critical that when you get to the point when all your confidence and swagger is gone and you want to scrap everything, you or someone close to you HAS to ask the simple question of why. If it’s only because you’re not getting users, ask why again. WHY aren’t you getting users?

The Importance Of Admitting You’re Wrong

November 8, 2021 Eric Marcoullier and Megan Hanson

So much of the world of startups is about celebrating being wrong. Whole books, loads of whole books, have been written about the virtues of failure. Yet every founder I know has the hardest time admitting when they are wrong, because often what they are wrong about fundamentally underpins their business.

A Quick “No” Is Better Than Long “Maybe”

May 26, 2021 Eric Marcoullier and Megan Hanson

As a founder, your most precious resource is time. This is true whether you just raised a huge seed round and have enough runway for the next year, or if you’re starting to worry about how you’ll make payroll next week.

Don’t Automate What You Don’t Know

May 19, 2021 Eric Marcoullier and Megan Hanson

Without knowing how that process currently works, chances are high that whatever you build will suck. Not because it’s a process that doesn’t need some updating, but because you have idea of how it works or what success looks like.

Get Comfortable Nuking Your First Customers

May 11, 2021 Eric Marcoullier and Megan Hanson

What happens when, one day, you wake up and realize the cost of continuing to support those customers is more than they are truly worth? What if the things they’re asking for aren’t helping your larger market, or aren’t lining up with where your product is heading?

1 2 3 … 10 »