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Why do startups die?
I have now invested in 330 companies personally or through @BoostVC. I'm not going to claim to be the perfect answer to what makes the perfect recipe for success, but I can tell you the perfect recipe for death.
1. A founder who hedges never makes progress. They always want to have a plan B, and startups can't have a plan B. They run out of money and die.
2. A founder who takes everyone advice, never makes progress, because they build a camel (a camel was a horse designed by a committee). So they die.
3. A founder that can't identify the difference between a hard and easy decision, treats every decision like it's their last, and they die from indecision.
4. A founder who is not prepared to fire team members who are not committed to the vision of the company, they die.
5. A founder without the self-confidence needed to make the difficult decisions. They die.
6. A co-founding team that does not respect the other founders skill set. They die.
7. A company that does not talk to their customer, and believe they have a sharper stick... they die. Pick up the phone and call customers.
8. Startup founders that think that Venture Capitalists are validators of their success. They die.
9. Pessimists can't create a movement. They die.
10. There are more. But I have to get to a lunch meeting. So if you have more, please add them here.
Continued after lunch
11. A founder who thinks their investors are their customers, they don't have conviction. They die.
11. A founder who thinks their investors are their customers, they don't have conviction. They die.
12. A founder who stares at what the competition does at the earliest stages, doesn't understand that the only competition is yourself. They die.
13. A consensus driven founder doesn't make decisions fast enough, or have confidence in themselves or their decision making. They die.
14. Founders who "want to start a startup." They die. Sometimes they learn on the second one that it's about solving a problem.
15. Founders who do not ask for help. They die.
16. Founders that give blame to their team for mistakes rather than take it on themselves. The startup dies.
17. Startups that do not solve a problem, but are a cool piece of technology. They die.
