Mistakes seed-stage founders make:
- Recruiting
- Management
- Fundraising
- Growth
- Sales
Reply w/ your own examples of non-obvious mistakes founders make.
Thread👇
- Recruiting
- Management
- Fundraising
- Growth
- Sales
Reply w/ your own examples of non-obvious mistakes founders make.
Thread👇
Confusing investor interest or raising a round with product market fit.
Don't let a VC convince you you're further along then you are.
Only you know whether customers actually want your product and are coming back organically or whether you're pulling them in manually.
Don't let a VC convince you you're further along then you are.
Only you know whether customers actually want your product and are coming back organically or whether you're pulling them in manually.
Hiring too quickly:
Once startups raise $1M+, they immediately want to get to 8-10 people to look "official"
At that size, CEO's job switches to management
But for pre-PMF company, CEO should be focused on PMF
They then have to let those ppl go
Stay small unless you have PMF
Once startups raise $1M+, they immediately want to get to 8-10 people to look "official"
At that size, CEO's job switches to management
But for pre-PMF company, CEO should be focused on PMF
They then have to let those ppl go
Stay small unless you have PMF
Recruiting:
- Not running candidates through a clear process
- Not communicating transparently abt comp/equity/role
- Hiring non-essential employees (if not essential within 3 months, not a good hire)
- Overvaluing hiring skills & thus not firing
- Not running candidates through a clear process
- Not communicating transparently abt comp/equity/role
- Hiring non-essential employees (if not essential within 3 months, not a good hire)
- Overvaluing hiring skills & thus not firing
Recruiting:
- Not allocating enough time to recruiting, esp. passive candidates
- CEOs think they have to build, but after they raise money their job is to hire people who can build
- Decide too quickly whether they should hire someone
- Hiring too senior too soon or too late
- Not allocating enough time to recruiting, esp. passive candidates
- CEOs think they have to build, but after they raise money their job is to hire people who can build
- Decide too quickly whether they should hire someone
- Hiring too senior too soon or too late
Management:
- Not having weekly 1on1s
- Not clearly delineating roles btw founders
- Not involving org in key decisions or having clarity on how decisions get made
- Not having clear org KPIs or transparent about runway
- Doing work on behalf of reports
- Not having weekly 1on1s
- Not clearly delineating roles btw founders
- Not involving org in key decisions or having clarity on how decisions get made
- Not having clear org KPIs or transparent about runway
- Doing work on behalf of reports
Fundraising:
- No process
- Not maximizing leverage (waiting until almost out of money without sufficient traction or a path to profitability)
- Thinking the A will be as easy as the seed
- Blaming VCs for not getting it (or being too deferential)
- No process
- Not maximizing leverage (waiting until almost out of money without sufficient traction or a path to profitability)
- Thinking the A will be as easy as the seed
- Blaming VCs for not getting it (or being too deferential)
Growth:
- Focusing on acquisition before nailing retention.
- Working on multiple products before nailing one product
- Convincing yourself and your team you have PM-fit before you do
- Not understanding what you got here so you can't re-create it.
- Focusing on acquisition before nailing retention.
- Working on multiple products before nailing one product
- Convincing yourself and your team you have PM-fit before you do
- Not understanding what you got here so you can't re-create it.
Growth (for marketplaces):
- Overvalue GMV, undervalue net revenue & unit economics. Not charging
- Overvalue growth at expense of liquidity & network effects
- Relying on paid acq.
- Scale too quickly instead of "nail it before you scale it"
- Overvalue GMV, undervalue net revenue & unit economics. Not charging
- Overvalue growth at expense of liquidity & network effects
- Relying on paid acq.
- Scale too quickly instead of "nail it before you scale it"
As a founder, you should almost feel like you’re talking to your users too much because one of the biggest mistakes founders make is not taking to enough users and getting feedback
This doesn’t mean adding every feature users want, but it does mean considering their requests.
This doesn’t mean adding every feature users want, but it does mean considering their requests.
Mistake enterprise founders make:
When they pitch a potential customer on an idea, & when the customer doesn’t like it, they try to iterate on the product to build something the customer would want
Find ppl who love what you’re doing, don't try to turn the ‘no’s’ to ‘yes’s.
When they pitch a potential customer on an idea, & when the customer doesn’t like it, they try to iterate on the product to build something the customer would want
Find ppl who love what you’re doing, don't try to turn the ‘no’s’ to ‘yes’s.
